S2.E87 Majestically dreamy Wagner, Parsifal Prelude; Lyricism in Faure 3 Romances sans paroles; acrobatics in Semele, and pure joy in Mozart Woodwind Concertante.,

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Welcome back to Perfect Pitch with Nick Healy Hutchinson and his fresh approach to the world of classical music. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, old or young. Perfect Pitch has something for everyone.

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One of the things which occasionally winds me up about people promoting the benefits of classical music is that we're encouraged to relax. I don't want to relax, listening to any music. It may land up having that effect. But I don't deliberately put it on without objective. All music should stimulate us in one way or another. Be it cheerful or melancholic. But we're going to start today with something which can only be described as deeply meditative. And I would encourage you not to listen to this if there's any danger of you being interrupted. It's not by any means doleful, but it's majestically dreamy and requires your total recognition. The plot is unimportant here, beyond telling you that it's a Christian tale of the search for the Holy Grail. And you should ready yourself to fall into a sort of trance when listening to this brain. Don't find it. Let him go completely or take you somewhere else. I read somewhere. Stylistically, you could hardly get further away from it than the lyricism of Gabrielle Fore. But there's a charming intimacy about these three short piano pieces. Romances without words as they're called, which make them sit perfectly after the Wagner. Jean Philippe Collard is at the keyboard. from Hanel's Oratorio Semele. Semele is a mortal who is head over heels obsessed with the god Jupiter. No amount of logic is going to persuade her that he's out of her grasp, and inevitably everything goes horribly wrong for her. But as a demonstration of her obsession, Hanel gives her an Aria, which almost makes Mozart's Queen of the Night hell's vengeance in the magic fruit sound like a lullaby. I can't imagine what the first performer thought of this when looking at the score. But as we click through the pages, she must have developed a growing horror of what was expected. Really, Mr. Handel? I mean honestly. Seriously? And what that too, Emily is not after some brief encounter here. She wants nothing less than what she believes she deserves. The message is very clear about what a challenge for the singer. No, no, I'll take no less than all in the full excess sung here by Catholic Battle of the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Elder.

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You wanted me a lot. You wouldn't. You wanted me to be there. I know what you are. I know what you are. We are your powers, all your powers with all your powers, with all your powers.

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So let's conclude with some playful notes art. The final moment of its concert tentative oboe, clarinet, platoon, and fresh horn, a small orchestra, is a theme with ten variations. Each one is divided by an identical passage known as a riponelli, which is basically like a chorus or a refrain at the end of each verse of a hymn. But every variation is a total delight. And I can't believe that it's anything other than a huge fun for these heroes to play. It's a pure joy. They are the Woodwind Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Havana Lyceum Orchestra, conducted by Jose Antonio Mendes Padron, Jonathan Kelly on the Oboe, Sarah Willis on the French Horn, Stefan Schweigert on the bassoon, and Wenzel Fuchs on the clarinet.

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