Recordings

See: Jennie Tourel - Short Biography

Jennie Tourel Questions

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 12, 2005):
In Aryeh's biographies there is listed for Jennie Tourel two arias (see below please). One is with this "The Art of Robert Bloom". I assume it is non-CDs and only LP. The other is an aria from The MP with Casals and do I assume that it is a non-release? I know, I know, she was not a major Bach performer. I do have a serious interest in her and unfortunately too much of what she was given to record is junk (a lot of Bernstein and his gang). Of course there is also some wonderful stuff both actually released or
privately circulated.

Thanks for any information and leads,

M-1 | The Art of Robert Bloom - Bach Aria Group - Vol. 2 [C-5]
Aria for Alto (Mvt. 2) from Cantata BWV 116
Bach Aria Group
Alto - Jennie Tourel; Robert Bloom (Oboe); Bernard Grennhouse (Cello); Erich Itor Kahn (Piano)

Boston Records | Feb 1954 | Time: 4:42
=============

Pablo Casals | Alto | Aria from BWV 244
===============================

Neil Halliday wrote (May 12, 2005):
Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote:
< "The Art of Robert Bloom"...I assume it is non-CDs and only LP." >
No, it is available on CD.
http://www.bostonrecords.com/brcatalogue.htm

Note the effectiveness of the piano in the continuo of BWV 116's alto aria (with Tourel).

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 12, 2005):
[To Neil Halliday] Neil, Thanks a million. It is amazing, I recently compared the Decca and the Naxos Tourel CDs, certain items overlap. The Pearl CDs robs and misdates by a decade Columbia's La mort de Cleopatre. Other items on Columbia never have appeared on CD. Other Tourel items such as her unique Mahler's 1943 The Song of the Earth in English are sold very privately. And of course the two great Met broadcasts of Mignon and Norma are now easily available and yet for the most part what she appears again and again in is contemporary junk. I am still very curious about the Matthew Passion (BWV 244) aria with Casals and what Aryeh's listing means.

Once again my deep gratitude and I shall get the item you indicate.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 14, 2005):
[To Neil Halliday] Hi again, Neil. Do you recommend that I "spring" simultaneously for both CDs (vols. I and II)?:

SELECTIONS FROM THE BACH ARIA GROUP with oboe obbligato

BR 1036CD (Volume I)
with singers Marion Anderson, Erna Berger, Maureen Forrester, Mack Harrell, Carol Smith, William Warfield; and Maurice Wilk, violin; Bernhard Greenhouse, cello; Erich Itor Kahn and Paul Ulanowsky, piano; and conductors William Jonson and Frank Brieff (RB oboe and oboe d'amore).

BR 1037CD (Volume II)
with Marion Anderson, Maureen Forrester, Lois Marshall, Seth McCoy, Jan Peerce, Carol Smith, Jennie Tourel, Benita Valente, Susan Davenny Wyner; and Maurice Wilk and Charles Treger, violin; Timothy Eddy and Bernhard Greenhouse, cello; Erich Itor Kahn and Menachem Pressler, piano; Yehudi Wyner, organ; and conductors Frank Brieff and Brian Priestman (RB oboe and oboe d'amore).
===============
I wrote them an e-mail a full 36 hours ago asking for a more detailed description and received no answer. I usually am not a great "springer" but I am not getting any younger and I want to enjoy MY music whilst I still live. As to the other Tourel BWV 244 aria under Casals about which I remain confused, I have written several persons privately.

Best wishes and much thanks,

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 14, 2005):
Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote:
< As to the other Tourel BWV 244 aria under Casals about which I remain confused, I have written several persons privately. >
I now see: This is

M-16
No. 47 "Erbarme Dich, mein Gott"
Pablo Casals
Perpignan Festival Orchestra
Mezzo-soprano - Jennie Tourel; Alexander Schneider (violin)

Columbia | 1951 | LP / Time:

about which the eminent TNT sayeth in his scripture:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/SMP-TNT.htm
"Although it is not of 78 RPM origin, one of the most transcendent accounts of this heavenly aria was recorded by the mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel at the 1951 Perpignan Festival, with Pablo Casals conducting [M-16]".

So where is this?

Neil Halliday wrote (May 14, 2005):
Yoël L. Arbeitman asked:
<"Do you recommend that I "spring" simultaneously for both > CDs (vols. I and II)?:">
Certainly! Every track on the 2 CD's is enjoyable; and the recitative/arioso for alto (fear) and bass (holy spirit) from BWV 60 works better than many current performances.

BTW, I assume you have heard the sample of Tourel's singing with the Bach Aria Group at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Mus/BWV116-Mus.htm

(example 'M-1').

Volume 1:
BWV 202 (complete)
BWV 85 bass aria (Mark Harrell; magnificent gentle/smooth bass voice)
BWV 114 alto aria (Anderson)
BWV 110 alto aria (Smith)
BWV 60 duet, recitative/arioso, and chorale.
BWV 159 aria 'Es ist vollbracht'.
BWV 79 alto aria and chorale.

Volume 2:
BWV 116 alto aria
BWV 187 alto aria
Mass in G BWV 236 minor tenor aria
BWV 84 soprano aria (from 1980 Bach Aria Group farewell concert!)
BWV 12 sinfonia and alto aria
SMP BWV 244 recitative and aria 'Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen'.
BWV 127 soprano aria
BWV 197 alto aria
BWV 68 instrumental ritornello.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 14, 2005):
[To Neil Halliday] My gratitude again Neil. However I don't need to hear any samples of Jennie Tourel singing Bach. At her best she was amazing. I recently heard something I never knew the existence of before and that is her Virgil Thomson so-called Stabat Mater. It is in French and not the usual Stabat text. It is both not what one would expect from the composer and some of the most affecting singing I have ever heard in anything (at the risk of being a tad hyperbolic). I now understand that TNT has been responsible (in part or whole) for the assemblage of these CDs. Now to the public release of the MP aria!! A noble act of generosity that would be.

Again much thanks for your kind responses.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 15, 2005):
1951 Perpignan Festival (was Jennie Tourel Questions)

Dear All and Teri (and friend who is blind-copied)

Neil Halliday wrote: < BTW, I assume you have heard the sample of Tourel's singing with the Bach Aria Group at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Mus/BWV116-Mus.htm (example 'M-1'). >
I have ordered the set and assume that Bach never heard the aria so sung. I am still very confused as I now see (I am a slow reader) that the "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" as noted in TNT's magisterial article, when one follows the link, was indeed released on a Columbia LP.

"Although it is not of 78 RPM origin, one of the most transcendent accounts of this heavenly aria was recorded by the mezzo-soprano: <Jennie"http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/../Bio/Tourel-Jennie.htm>Jennie
Tourel at the 1951 Perpignan Festival, with Pablo Casals conducting: <[M-16"http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/../Vocal/BWV244-Rec7.htm#M16>[M-16]."

Yet TNT says "not of 78RPM origin".
I hope to have some light sheon this matter.

Thanks again,

Bradley Lehman wrote (May 16, 2005):
[To Yoël L. Arbeitman] The Prades and Perpignan festival recordings were issued as a series of Columbia LPs, from the infancy of tape recording. I have a small collection of those LPs, spottily. Fortunately they've been issued more recently on CDs: Pearl 167, 168, 174, 175, 200, 201, and 202: http://www.pavilionrecords.com/

According to that catalog, 216 is Brandenburgs and cantatas BWV 51/BWV 202, from 1953, with Danco and Munchinger.

Still waiting for the Casals Puerto Rico festival (1959?) performance of the Mozart "Linz" and Haydn "Farewell" to make it to CD.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 16, 2005):
[To Bradley Lehman] Well, this does look more promising, Brad. I have generally ceased to collect standard issue CDs. I have too many MP (BWV 244) and JP (BWV 245) recordings and too many Les Troyens and too many DLvdE recordings of both official and pirate nature and at this point I am only adding such rare beauties for pleasure and not for collecting as you can only enjoy and can't take it with you.

I shall pursue the one with Tourel first if it is extant.

Thanks for the information.

Must-have Bach and Handel of the LP Era [MCML]

John Smyth wrote (May 10, 2005):
It's very hard to find many reviews of the above in the pre-compact disc era. Any performances, (other than the well-covered "legendary" ones that have withstood the test of time?

Karl Miller wrote (May 12, 2005):
[To John Smyth] For me, one of the most interesting...I know, "what do you mean by 'interesting?'" Well I am not quite sure how to label it, but it was the first substantive recording of the Messiah...done in the acoustic era. Much of it has been issued on CD, but not all of the sides...I just got a CD from a collector who was able to locate all of the sides. Not all of the singers are good...some seem almost bad, but it is fascinating to hear. Also, as of late, I made a transfer, from a taped copy, of Koussevitzky's recording of the St. Matthew Passion. It is unlike anything I have heard...and, being a true believer when it comes to Koussevitzky, I love it...is it historically correct...beats me, as I don't really know how Bach wanted it to be performed.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 15, 2005):
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/SMP-TNT.htm

[To Karl Miller] First I am fascinated and allured by the Handel and Bach recordings you mention. Concerning outrageously great Bach singing, I do wonder whether you can shed some light on the recording of the 1951 Perpignan Festival and what was recorded and what was released and what is attainable,etc.

I am very confused as I now see (I am a slow reader) that the "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" as noted in Teri Noel Towe's magisterial article, when one follows the link, was indeed released on a Columbia LP (or so appears to have been).

"Although it is not of 78 RPM origin, one of the most transcendent accounts of this heavenly aria was recorded by the mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel at the 1951 Perpignan Festival, with Pablo Casals conducting [M-16]."

Yet TNT says "not of 78RPM origin". I hope to have some light shed on this matter.

Karl Miller wrote (May 17, 2005):
[To Yoël L. Arbeitman] I find a listing of the recording on a Columbia LP ML 4640. According to the bibliographic citation, it was recorded in 1951. OCLC does not list a CD transfer of it, however, I would guess it could be obtained from dealers of second hand recordings.

As for the "not of 78rpm origin," it could have been recorded on tape. In the late years of the 78, Columbia, in some instances, would record on 16 inch lacquer discs, unlike Victor who would record a 78rpm side at a time. The obvious advantage of the 16 inch disc is that a conductor could record an entire movement in one take. The disadvantage would be a slight loss in fidelity resulting from having to cut a master from the 16 inch disc. By 1951, tape was being used by the major companies, but since those recordings were made outside of the studio, I don't know what technology they might have used.

Karl Miller wrote (May 19, 2005):
[To Karl Miller] I don't think I have ever responded to one of my own notes before, but I got a response to this posting from a friend of mine, who truly is an authority on the history of recording. He pointed out some facts that I did not know...

Namely, that in by 1944 Victor was using 16 inch lacquers to record the Boston Symphony. That accounts for the somewhat muffled sound of their recordings from that period. Also, the LPs issued of those performances were transferred from the lacquers, which accounts for the better sound on those transfers...and a good reason to collect them.

Subsequent issues have been made from the 78s as few of the original lacquers survive.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 21, 2005):
Karl Miller wrote:
< I find a listing of the recording on a Columbia LP ML 4640. According to the bibliographic citation, it was recorded in 1951. OCLC does not list a CD transfer of it, however, I would guess it could be obtained from dealers of second hand recordings. >
A listmate elsewhere has written me the following:

"The Prades and Perpignan festival recordings were issued as a series of Columbia LPs, from the infancy of tape recording. I have a small collection of those LPs, spottily. Fortunately they've been issued more recently on CDs: Pearl 167, 168, 174, 175, 200, 201, and 202. http://www.pavilionrecords.com/ "

The Pearl website offers little in the way of detail. A friend has written to a contact at Pearl to see whether the Tourel is included in any of these. Thanks for your information and your several responses.

William Hong wrote (May 23, 2005):
[To John Smyth] Coming a bit late to this thread, and staying in the LP era, one recording that simply imprinted itself into my system from the very first hearing was the Mercury one Dorati and the London Symphony made of the Handel-Harty suites, both the Water Music and the Royal Fireworks.

Sure, it's only marginally "Handel," but the horns are splendiferous. It's in very nice early stereo sound, and was later reissued as a Golden Import, but I have no idea if it ever came out in CD. If it did, I'm sure it would have had to be combined with something else, as even the original LP was barely 30 mins. in duration.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 29, 2005):
I wrote: < A listmate elsewhere has written me the following:
"The Prades and Perpignan festival recordings were issued as a series of Columbia LPs, from the infancy of tape recording. I have a small collection of those LPs, spottily. Fortunately they've been issued more recently on CDs: Pearl 167, 168, 174, 175, 200, 201, and 202. http://www.pavilionrecords.com/ "
The Pearl website offers little in the way of detail. A friend has written to a contact at Pearl to see whether the Tourel is included in any of these. >
Alas this is the dreadful response:

"As it turns out, for reasons that are unclear to me, Pearl did not bother with either the Tourel "Erbarme dich" or the Schiotz recordings of BWV 189 and Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte that [were YLA] the final discs in the Perpignan Festival series".

This is really a sad commentary on the affairs of CD transfers. Happily I did receive today the 2 CDs of the BAG (Bach Aria Group) from Boston Records and there seems to be a small treasure trove there. Thank goodness for small companies like that that do bring such items back into the catalogue.

Cheers for some and sigh for others,

Richard Pennycuick wrote (June 4, 2005):
[To William Hong] Indeed it did, coupled with Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and some minor Mozart. The good news is that you can get it from Berkshire Record Outlet.

1951 Perpignan Festival (was: Jennie Tourel Questions)

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 25, 2005):
Brad Lehman fairly rewrote wrote: < The Prades and Perpignan festival recordings were issued as a series of Columbia LPs, from the infancy of tape recording. I have a small collection of those LPs, spottily. Fortunately they've been issued more recently on CDs: Pearl 167, 168, 174, 175, 200, 201, and 202.
http://www.pavilionrecords.com/ >

================
Since the Pearl website is pretty useless, a friend of mine contacted someone he knows at Pearl and this is the dreadful response:"As it turns out, for reasons that are unclear to me, Pearl did not bother with either the Tourel "Erbarme dich" or the Schiotz recordings of BWV 189 and Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte that [were YLA] the final discs in the Perpignan Festival series".

This is really a sad commentary on the affairs of CD transfers.

Tourel Ebarme dich

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 13, 2006):
Since a great injustice exists in the CD discography of Jennie Tourel, I am putting together a number of items that have landed either in my computer or from single Tourel items that are not on the five Tourel CDs that I know of (there is a sixth, the L.V. without much unusual there). I am not including all the junk music that she recorded with and for Bernstein.

I have
(1) "Mira, o Norma" with Bampton;
(2) "Trovatore duet" with Peerce;
(3) "Rigoletto quartert" with Bampton, Peerce, and Warren;
(4) Bach cantata BWV 116 aria "Ach, unaussprechlich ist die Not";
(5) Mozart scene with rondo, K. 505 "Ch'io mi scordi di te?";
(6) Thomson's French "Stabat Mater";
(7-10) Mahler "3 Rückert-Lieder" and "Das irdische Leben"
(from a radio broadcast the day before the Columbia/ Sony studio recording).

That which is missing and so needed is:
Bach "Erbarme Dich, mein Gott" (BWV 244)
Pablo Casals
Perpignan Festival Orchestra
Mezzo-soprano - Jennie Tourel; Alexander Schneider (violin)
Columbia LP 1951,

never released on CD and which I have never had the LP of. Any help in obtaining an MP3 of the Bach Matthäus-Passion aria would be greatly appreciated. In want thereof I shall proceed with the CD-R at all events but with a great gap.

Raymond Joly wrote (May 13, 2006):
<>
And what is a L.V.?

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (May 13, 2006):
[To Raymond Joly] <>
L.V. = Lebendige Vergangenheit, a very well known label for historical singers and historical operas. And of course there is always a connection between opera singers and Bach/oratorio singers. Some of the uploads I have on my GMHof group are from either L.V. or Preiser CDs. L.V. is actually a division of Preiser and again both are very well known, of course not for HIP recordings:-),

Jennie Tourel: Short Biography | General Discussions