G. Catoire, (Γ. Κатуар), Quatre Morceaux, Op. 12 (complete set)

[rachfan]

Hi,

For the listening convenience of members and visitors, I've collected here the four pieces from Catoire's Quatre Morceaux, Op. 12 composed in 1901 into a consolidated posting.  These include the "Chant du soir", "Meditation", "Nocturne", and "Etude-fantastique".  The format presented is a continuous-play recording.  Enjoy!

Piano: Baldwin Model L Artist Grand (6’3”) with lid raised on the singer prop.
Recorder: Korg MR-1000
Mics: Matched pair of Earthworks TC20 small diaphragm, omni-directional condenser mics in A-B configuration

Comments welcome!

[lostinidlewonder]

Thanks rachfan for being such a great promoter of Catoire you encouraged me try my hand at this op.

[rachfan]

Hi Lost,

For me it's been an honor to play Catoire's music.  It's gorgeous music, isn't it?  I'm delighted that you've decided to play some of his pieces.  While raising awareness of this all-but-forgotten yet extraordinary composer, it often feels like pushing a heavy boulder up a steep hill.  So when another pianist is motivated to play this repertoire, for me it's a major sense of satisfaction.  When it comes to fairly obscure music, there is never a stampede to plunge into it.  Instead I've found that it's all about winning over one pianist at a time.  As you look into this music, caution: It's most addictive!

[goldentone]

Congratulations, David, on completing this wonderful Catoire set.

[rachfan]

Thanks goldentone!  I'm glad that I was able to do this consolidated post.  I believe that hearing the four pieces in sequential order without interruption brings a whole new dimension to the listening experience.   

[furtwaengler]

I burned this to a CD and took it with me for my drive into the city. Simply put, it is users like you and recordings like this that make me very happy that I joined this forum 3 years ago. It's a side of the music world the public sadly does not see (at least not often). Your enthusiasm and love for every note you play shines forth, and is very contagious. This spirit is the glory of this site. No matter how much people complain about whatever things or users they complain about, in the end Rachfan is still here (along with many other great contributors), solid as a rock, and that for me is what matters. This is a great, great site.

Congratulations on your excellent achievement, David. It's truly special to hear the Catoire as a set. 

Dave

[rachfan]

Hi Dave,

I'm delighted that my recording of this set accompanied you into the city and made your trip more pleasant!  There's something, in my opinion, about listening to these four pieces together that gives them even greater impact.  Thanks too for those favorable comments on my playing of Catoire's wonderful music and my contributions to the Piano Street archives over the years.  I have felt a great affinity to this composer, and it has been an honor to record and share it with others here and elsewhere.  At the very least, Catoire's name is up "on the boards now".  And yes, I, and others too, have occasionally aired concerns about these forums, but nonetheless Piano Street provides a valuable service to all us who love piano music and very creative improvisations as well.   

David

[tds]

beautiful music and nice playing. thank you for sharing catoire with us, rachfan.

[rachfan]

Hi tds,

Thanks!  I'm glad you enjoyed this music.  I loved learning and playing it, and I'm very gratified that so many people like you listened and became aware of Catoire's beautiful late romantic style.

[ramseytheii]

Bravo, although I do not pieces, you have really captured a strong character, and made listening totally enjoyable.  The timing is excellent, the balance is great, it's altogether an A-pls effort.

I further commend you for posting music to the Audition Room which you obviously care about, and put real effort towards crafting.  Too often one logs on, only to log off immediately in disgust, seeing that the top hundred or whatever posts in the Audition Room are either junkyard performances of standard repertoire, or the smug, self-satisified replies to those junkyard performances.

It is a sad day when our colleagues ignore the beautiful, new, interesting, and well-done, in favor of responding to the deliberately bad.  Don't we value the piano and its possibilities anymore, or do we only want to laugh when it sounds bad?

Thank you.

Walter Ramsey

[rachfan]

Hi Walter,

Nice to hear from you.  I greatly appreciate your kind words!    

I sympathize with your viewpoint on Audition Room these days.  It has often discouraged me as well. Over the years we've lost some fine contributors, both in terms of artistry and astute commentary, partly, I'm sure, because of the slide in quality, although in fairness, there are some exceptional artists here who continue to inspire us.  I've hung on for years here hoping that the issue you mention will improve.  I'm an optimist.

And, of course, you're right--there are little known composers hidden away in the dusty corners of the vast piano literature whose music is nothing less than astonishing in its beauty.  A couple of years ago I came to that realization and asked myself this question:  Do I want to offer the 902,168th rendition of Chopin's "Minute Waltz", or instead give listeners "new music", although it's actually decades old, and obscure, yet of breathtaking beauty?  I decided on the latter and that's the course I've followed with the music of Sergei Bortkiewicz and more recently, Georgy Catoire.

Taking Catoire as an example, I'd be over the moon if many more members would pause for a moment to listen to it.  But it's understandable that many people open Audition Room looking perhaps for Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Liszt, Debussy, or Prokofiev.  When they see a name like Catoire, there is a tendency to think it cannot possibly be any good and to skip over it.  But for those who have tarried and loved this music as much as I do, I say again that it's been an honor to serve Catoire and to present his extraordinary music to those who have derived so much pleasure from hearing it.

Thanks again for listening.  

David

[emill]

Hi David,
May I just say the recording was excellent as it captured the tones very well and absolutely no extraneous sounds, very professional ...  and the playing >> my ears found most of it relaxing and very pleasant to the point that one could imagine many things with it .... common day to day, regular life scenes. Thanks. ...

[ramseytheii]

Hi Walter,

Nice to hear from you.  I greatly appreciate your kind words!    

I sympathize with your viewpoint on Audition Room these days.  It has often discouraged me as well. Over the years we've lost some fine contributors, both in terms of artistry and astute commentary, partly, I'm sure, because of the slide in quality, although in fairness, there are some exceptional artists here who continue to inspire us.  I've hung on for years here hoping that the issue you mention will improve.  I'm an optimist.

And, of course, you're right--there are little known composers hidden away in the dusty corners of the vast piano literature whose music is nothing less than astonishing in its beauty.  A couple of years ago I came to that realization and asked myself this question:  Do I want to offer the 902,168th rendition of Chopin's "Minute Waltz", or instead give listeners "new music", although it's actually decades old, and obscure, yet of breathtaking beauty?  I decided on the latter and that's the course I've followed with the music of Sergei Bortkiewicz and more recently, Georgy Catoire.

Taking Catoire as an example, I'd be over the moon if many more members would pause for a moment to listen to it.  But it's understandable that many people open Audition Room looking perhaps for Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Liszt, Debussy, or Prokofiev.  When they see a name like Catoire, there is a tendency to think it cannot possibly be any good and to skip over it.  But for those who have tarried and loved this music as much as I do, I say again that it's been an honor to serve Catoire and to present his extraordinary music to those who have derived so much pleasure from hearing it.

Thanks again for listening.  

David

My pleasure.

I certainly am not opposed to seeing the standard repertoire posted in the Audition Room.  In my irritation at what seemed the long-term slog of what was at the top of the room, I probably overphrased my attitude.

But in a sense it seems I succeeded.  Truly interesting recordings, by dedicated performers, are again at the top.  certain other recordings, by intentional hacks, and those hacks' most spiteful devotees, are hardly to be seen.

In that case, do post more recordings.  Keep the tide flowing in the right direction.

Walter Ramsey

[rachfan]

Hi Walter,

I agree, there are some really refreshing new recordings of late at the top of the page--a hopeful sign! Unfortunately, those have too often been pushed off the front page quite prematurely by hacks (untrained in playing the piano) who spam Audition Room unmercifully.  I tried to address the issue in the PF Website Forum by suggesting better guidelines for members posting recordings.  There were many opinions expressed, but in the end there was no consensus, so it didn't go anywhere.  And evidently Nils wants no constraints on spates of spam recordings and to maintain the status quo.  So I've resigned myself to accept that there will be no positive change in that regard.  It's discouraging, but that notwithstanding, I'll certainly continue to participate and do my best in making recordings, as do many others here.

David