(…) The beauty of the sound of each musician is probably the the first few words I would use to characterize yet another magical production from TACET. This multichannel DVD-Audio is another chamber music recording played by Camerata Freden (after the Beethoven and Schubert). As usual for a TACET multichannel recording, each instrument is distributed around the listener, and has a very precise physical location. At the same time we are immersed in their combined sound.
Each of these three recordings (of Camerata Freden for mixed strings and winds) has a different sound signature. I did confirm by e-mail from Mr Spreer that there were all recorded at the same location, yet there are obvious differences of sound perception. I will make the analogy that Mr Spreer is like a great Chef and he can vary his sauces and spices to perfectly flavour each of his meal.
I had fun listening to a few minutes of the first movement of Beethoven' Septet, Schubert's Octet and finally the first movement of Spohr's Nonet to try to differentiate the three recordings. The Beethoven is the most immediate, lively, but in comparison with the other two there is a small lack of air (presence) around each instrument. The Schubert is larger and darker, the circle around the listener wider, and each instrument feels larger (subjectively).
Finally this recording is a bit in between, there is the same closeness than the Beethoven, but each instrument has a better sense of projection, a bit more colour. This gives a great beauty to the sound. A good example of this is the Adagio of the Nonet (track 7), each instrument resonates, each note is sung, each melody is ample and rich. This is even stronger when several instruments play together to sustain the same melody. The sound is so rich it is like eating a pastry!
So as usual Mr. Spreer has adapted his recipe to Spohr music which may not be at the level of Beethoven and Schubert but glows with great beauty and feels like eating the best dessert. (…)
Jean Marc Serre<< retourner