Post by terence May 13, 2007 (1 of 8)
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this has had good reviews, so i bought it.
sadly the first violinist is a SNIFFER of major proportions, snorting inwards sharply virtually every time he makes an entry.
unbelievably annoying - i didn't even reach the end of the opening movement.
and yet i've seen no reference to this whatsoever in any review.
WHY do engineers allow it, and WHY do reviewers not mention it?!
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Post by Julien May 13, 2007 (2 of 8)
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Maybe some people love these noises, proving the high fidelity of SACD and their systems...
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Post by terence May 13, 2007 (3 of 8)
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it certainly does prove that. all too clearly unfortunately.
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Post by nickc May 14, 2007 (4 of 8)
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terence said:
it certainly does prove that. all too clearly unfortunately.
hi terence
i put this on again tonight and i have to say i could only hear a few minor sniffles - it didn't bother me.
perhaps you have better ears/ a better system than me?
i must admit i do have problem with the frost/BIS clarinet discs though. i have his mozart and brahms chamber discs and got the new aho/nielsen concerti the other day. i think he is always balanced too closely, just like perlman in the old days. he just seems to overwhelm whoever is accompanying him. also i can clearly hear the air moving through the clarinet which becomes annoying after a while.
anyway i apologise and throw myself on the mercy of the court!
ha
nick
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Post by Beagle May 14, 2007 (5 of 8)
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terence said: the first violinist is a SNIFFER of major proportions, snorting inwards sharply virtually every time he makes an entry.
Yep! That's what they do, those primarii. When I first heard this on a CD, I asked my friend's wife, a first violinist "what is that strange sound?". She look at me like the bumpkin that I was and said: "That's the signal to begin.". Some groups do it with nods and eye contact, but with many the deep breath is as synonymous with music-making as page turning and applause.
I've learned to live with it, or even listen for it. At least it is 'functional', unlike Glenn Gould's singing or Davis's grunting.
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Post by bissie May 14, 2007 (6 of 8)
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terence said:
this has had good reviews, so i bought it.
sadly the first violinist is a SNIFFER of major proportions, snorting inwards sharply virtually every time he makes an entry.
unbelievably annoying - i didn't even reach the end of the opening movement.
and yet i've seen no reference to this whatsoever in any review.
WHY do engineers allow it, and WHY do reviewers not mention it?!
Like Beagle said, many have learned to live with it. I am personally as disturbed by it as are you, but I have heard much worse than this. Here I am only going to address the point "WHY do engineers allow it".
Firstly, it isn't the engineers who have any say in the matter, it is the Producer (who might also be the engineer..). Secondly, by the time you get to the recording stage, there is ruddy well nothing that can be done about it. This behaviour is ingrained into the artists, like foot-stomping and other noises. It starts already in the student phase and if noone (the teacher) puts a foot firmly down (preferrably on top of the student's) it will get so habitual as to be almost un-unlearnable. It is as bad as the "habit" (to put it nicely) of basically all cellists to play virtually every D and A as harmonics (that invariably break) instead of a firm stop. Sure it is easier, but so what? I absolutely HATE it.
If it were pointed out during a recording session, the thinking about this would be so distracting for the artist as to seriously affect the music-making - I know, since I have tried as a producer myself. Wheras I could possibly manage to "shut up" the extraneous sounds, I noticed that the artists in question were so uncomfortable with it that the musical result suffered, so I had to teeth-gnashingly give it up. Whether one, under those circumstances, makes more records with them is another matter...
As regards Fröst, it is a matter of taste. Whereas I can understand the view that the clarinet could be recorded somewhat more distantly, the backside of that would be that one would miss something of the myriad inflections, the shadings, the miniature goodies that this super Artist injects into his music-making and which sets him apart from any other clarinetist I have ever heard. It would be a crime to "hide" all that in a wishy-washy recording.
Just my two cents.... - best - Robert
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That was a very entertaining and informative two cents worth - thank you for those insights!
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I have heard very few recordings where this has happened. My brother plays clarinet and I can see where such habits can occur. I used to play flute in high school and who knows what habits I may have had that would annoy some listeners if they were close enough. I personally would find it annoying too, the breathing and such. You would have to listen to the disc enough so that you might actually be able to block such noises from what you hear. Easier said than done I am sure.
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