Fausto reacted with great enthusiasm and said, “it depends only on you … if you can make the sound of these songs with Audiophile quality.” Fone’s Founder and Album Producer and Recording Engineer Signor Giulio Cesare Ricci says, “I worked hard to please him, but I have only one great regret, that unfortunately Fausto was unable to listen to the finished work before his passing in 2017.”

The sound quality is fantastic. The vocals and instruments are an excellent reference for lovers of good sound.

Fausto Mesolella, Guitar, Piano (Track 6)
Ferdinando Ghidelli, Steel Guitar
Vittorio Remino, Bass
Mimì Ciaramella, Percussion
Stefano Benni, Vocals (Track 6)
Raiz, Vocals (Track 11)

The post Madama Terra appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Mike del Ferro tells us “In my mind’s ear, I hear my ideal piano sound. It’s a round, dark and full sound, with a singing quality. It’s almost like a symphony orchestra hidden inside the piano, able to produce as many musical colors as possible. The danger with the piano is that if you don’t take care of your touch, it can sound very harsh and mechanical while with the right touch, dynamics, and intention you can make a simple triad sound like an orchestra. I am still working on my sound daily.

When I played with Toots Thielemans I was surprised that he almost insisted I would use a keyboard in combination with the piano in order to create an Orchestral sound on stage which he loved so much.  I started investigating how to make the sound of an electronic keyboard blend with the acoustic sound of the piano and on that first tour with Toots I realized that combining the keyboard with the piano brought a new dimension to my playing. With one hand on each instrument, the ‘piano orchestral sound’ I was hearing in my head started to come alive.

This preoccupation with sound has to do with my dad being an opera singer and thus having a strong ‘Classical’ background. As a child, I was allowed to be playing quietly with my Lego pieces in the Music room while my dad was tutoring his vocal students. And in another part of the house, my mother was playing Frank Sinatra’s Capitol albums all day long. Sinatra’s phrasing, his use of space and time, Nelson Riddle’s superb arrangements, I must have heard those albums a million times and now 50 years later they continue to be a source of inspiration, especially when it comes to interpreting melodies.

“I had a wonderful time working with the Sound Liaison team creating the solo album ‘Skylark’. Frans de Rond’s superb craftsmanship and his vision of sound have been a revelation. He managed to realize the sound of my mind’s ear.”

Mike del Ferro, Piano

The post Skylark: Solo Piano and Beyond appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

On this album ‘Lento Religioso’ we bring together several romantic works, each with a very specific expressive power of its own. Some are genuine pieces for string ensemble, others are adaptations created for us. Some arrangements are simple: you play the four parts of a string quartet with all the strings of a string orchestra and have a nice bass part written, and a ‘new work’ is born. But it can also be a complicated process. In ‘translating’ a work written for piano or symphony orchestra, the arranger must make complex artistic and technical decisions. In any adaptation lies a danger, but also a potential; will the listener be disappointed in comparing it to his previous knowledge of the piece, or pleasantly surprised by new aspects presented by the arrangement? This tender, melancholy, and languishing album is intended for the inquisitive listener.

– Candida Thompson
Artistic director, lead violinist

The post Lento Religioso appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Gabor Varga says “You are listening to a special album. It became special because it did not set this as an aim. It is special because it does not seek new ways at any price, does not want to mediate, or convince anybody of anything. It is special because it was created with the technique of a past golden age – in Hungary, it has been the first time for decades.”

Cool Jazz. A word and a feeling, too. Depending on time and place it can mean different things for people, but for us, it is the dominant jazz style of the ’50s. If something is “cool”, then it is easy-going, spontaneous, smooth, elegant, ageless, and ethereal, though deep. This album was created this way”.

On August 6, 2021, NativeDSD Music released the first-ever commercially available music in Stereo DSD 1024. This album was one of those first 10 releases. If you would like to give DSD 1024 listening a try, check out NativeDSD’s sampler: 5 Tracks in DSD 1024 (also released on August 6, 2021).

Gabor Varga Jazz Trio
Gabor Varga, Piano
Tibor Csuhaj-Barna, Double Bass
Gyorgy Jeszenszky, Drums

The post Cool Jazz [Pure DSD] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Exclusively Available in Stereo DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64 and DXD at NativeDSD Music!

For their 6th DSD release at NativeDSD Music, the Oslo Philharmonic under the baton of Vasily Petrenko perform Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34, coupled with the Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36 and Scheherazade, Op. 35, Symphonic Suite.

This recording of Rimsky-Korsakov with the Oslo Philharmonic continues their journey together and is sure to generate critical acclaim. Previous Strauss recordings were selected as “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone Magazine and were universally critically acclaimed: Gramophone Magazine: “There’s no lack of excitement or, where needed, bombast, and the Osloers’ sound at full throttle is thrilling, their playing superb.” The Sunday Times: “As Petrenko’s tenure in Oslo begins to wind down, he revels in the standards of orchestral virtuosity he has attained with this excellent band in two Strauss tone poems that challenge all-instrumental departments…the Osloers shine brilliantly.”

It was Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s older brother, Voin, who first put ideas of travel, ships, and the sea into the would-be composer’s head. The young Nikolay had never set foot aboard a boat but Voin’s evocative letters home from the Far East, where he was stationed in the Imperial Russian Navy proved more than sufficient. In 1856, he enrolled as a naval cadet and completed six years of training.

Barely a year into his studies at the naval academy, the young Nikolay saw his first opera. Soon he heard symphonies by Beethoven and Mendelssohn and encountered a piece by his senior Mikhail Glinka, Jota Aragonesa. Even before he embarked on a three-year voyage around the world aboard a clipper, Rimsky knew he wanted to be a composer, not a seaman. Afterward, having sailed into some of the great ports of the world, he returned home happy never to leave Russia again the only journeys Rimsky wanted to make were musical.

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor

The post Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, Scheherazade & Russian Easter Festival Overture appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Sound Liaison returns to NativeDSD with Embrace Me, their 15th release featuring Blue Note recording star Denise Jannah with the Gidon Nunes Vaz Quartet.  Gary Giddins from the Village Voice says “Quite simply, Denise Jannah is one of the best jazz singers to come along in the 25 years I’ve been writing about music.”

Embrace Me was recorded in DXD on a Pyramix Workstation, transferred to a Studer A80 Analog Tape Recorder (for what Sound Liaison tells us is “a bit of what they call Mojo”) and then transferred to DXD.

The DSD editions of the album at NativeDSD, including the DSD Stereo 512 downloads, were created by Tom Caulfield at the NativeDSD Mastering Studio from the DXD edition of the album.

Sound Liaison says “Jazz is a living tradition. This recording shows yet again how the younger generation gets inspired by what came before them and the older generation gets revitalized by the energy and fire of the younger generation. Gidon has handpicked a band of seasoned young musicians. These young men are among the top talents of the European scene. In Spite of their relatively young age they already have an impressive track record: Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, Phillip Harper, Frank McComb, Cory Henry, Ignacio Berroa, Jesse van Ruller, Ellis Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Ack van Rooyen, Randy Brecker, Steve Masakowski, Wess ‘Warmdaddy’ Anderson, Gregory Porter, Johnny Vidacovich, Nicholas Payton, Peter Bernstein …… are a few of the masters where they have done their apprenticeship.

Talking about masters, Gidon hit the jackpot when he found Blue Note recording star Denise Jannah willing to add her magic to the date. Denise is in top form here, clearly inspired by her young colleagues; she delivers a pointed yet relaxed rendition of these classic songs. This recording of Don Sebesky’s ‘Yesterday’s Dreams’ is in a sense a premiere. It is the first time the composition is being heard with lyrics. Joan Gannij wrote the lyrics and Mr. Sebesky gave her his blessing for telling a good story.”

Don Sebesky says “There’s a lot of quality musicianship on this recording; it’s very clear. So very rare to hear a group of young people pick up on the vibes (of these standards) and be true to the music. God bless you…… Keep doing what you’re doing.”

Gidon Nunes Vaz adds “There is no playing it safe in jazz. You could say that the safety in jazz is that there is no safety. I prefer a recording session to be as live as possible; everybody in the same room, catching the moment where creativity happens, old school, no overdubs….no safety. But…. OK…to be honest for this recording I did have a number of safety factors; Studio 2 in the MCO building is a fantastic hall to play in. With Frans de Rond engineering you know that the sound is going to be right. With Timothy, Thomas, and Yoran as the rhythm section, I know that the music will be free to flow wherever it wants to go. And Denise is such an enormous source of inspiration. Her mastery inspires you to give it all you got. It is impossible not to play well with her present.”

“I believe me and my band members all have our own voice within the tradition. We have learned to ‘speak’ by the musicians who came before us and we are very proud to be a part of that tradition, however, I do strive to crystallize my own voice and thereby contribute. I play the music I like to play. I don’t sit trying to work out some scheme that I think promoters or critics might like. I play this music because I have to…I can’t play it any other way.”

This album is dedicated to Gidon’s mentor Peter Guidi, who passed away in 2018.

The post Embrace Me appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Amsterdam Moon won two 2020 NativeDSD Album of the Year Awards for Singer/Songwriters and the Audience Award.  This release is one of the best selling albums in the Just Listen catalog.

Bill Dodd, NativeDSD Senior Reviewer says “Startlingly present, right there in front of you, The Coo (Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert) make their songs seem as if they are flowing right out their hearts for the first time.”

Brian Moura, NativeDSD Technical Advisor adds “The songs and music from The Coo are deeply rooted in a musical connection.  There is no doubt about the singing, passion, and the pure joy of the songs on this album.  An excellent debut from a vocal duo that you will be hearing more from in the future.”

LP Made from DSD Master

Just Listen Records produced a 140g vinyl LP directly from the DSD master. It was pressed at Deepgrooves. Get a 45 rpm DSD direct to LP shipped to you.

Serendipity

(read the extended story here in this blog post)

They could easily have spent their whole lives living worlds apart, but the chance encounter between the two songwriters of The Coo feels like it was always meant to be. Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert’s journey started with a serendipitous meeting on a midsummer evening and has evolved into a deep musical and personal relationship bridging the North Sea. They write and sing songs together in two-part harmony about time, love, life, and the universe.

Matt Arthur, finding himself lost and unfulfilled at home, left Britain on a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam, alone, searching for a spiritual and musical break. He took himself to a local open mic event at Amsterdam’s café De Koe. That’s where Jara Holdert first noticed him, sitting at the other end of the bar. After they heard one another’s songs, they knew immediately that they were woven from the same artistic cloth. A conversation started over some jenevers and continued when they met up again the next evening and Jara showed Matt around the canals under a full Amsterdam moon. They talked about music and philosophy, life, and heartbreak. And then they had to part, way too soon.

Discovery

Matt went back to London, and Jara stayed in Amsterdam. Too often, stories end there. And it would have been a beautiful story, even if it were only ever going to be a fleeting one. But when, a year later, Jara decided to pay Matt an impromptu visit, they discovered that their musical connection went far deeper than they’d realized. The moment they were in the same room again, something clicked. Something in the space between them – the space they had reduced from miles and miles to just meters – fell into place.

“The very first day, we went up to Matt’s studio in Tottenham and from the moment I picked up a guitar, we were playing, exploring, adding, and a song flowed out. It surprised both of us,” says Jara.

The next two years were spent writing songs over WhatsApp, meeting over FaceTime and visiting each other —- when they could afford it —- to play intimate acoustic shows together.

We discovered that there was this kind of magic between us, musically.” says Matt. “We don’t ever need to discuss things too much. We could start and end songs on stage whenever we liked, or we could change melodies and arrangements and we knew that we would follow each other”.

Jara: “Our days together were always limited, so we never had much time to rehearse. But we discovered that it didn’t matter when we played impromptu concerts – we trusted each other musically, and because we took songs on stage right after we’d written something, the material stayed fresh and the performance adventurous. We both had experience with studio projects and band projects where tracks were perfected to a tee and rehearsed for hours, but that’s not what we were about. Our playing together felt more free, spontaneous, a breath of relief. We thought part of our magic was in that – and that the live-feel of our material is what we should try to capture if we’d ever record.

The Coo

In April 2019, the time was ripe – the Coo was ready to capture their sound as it was created, as it evolved, and as it had always been heard —- in a live environment. The Coo are Matt Arthur – Guitar, Vocals and Jara Holdert – Guitar, Vocals

—Words and Music by The Coo: Matt Arthur & Jara Holdert.

Video about this recording

The post Amsterdam Moon (140g Vinyl) appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Amsterdam Moon is a Live Stereo and 5 Channel DSD and DXD recording by The Coo.  It won two 2020 NativeDSD Album of the Year Awards for Singer/Songwriters and the Audience Award.  This release is one of the best selling albums in the Just Listen catalog.

Bill Dodd, NativeDSD Senior Reviewer says “Startlingly present, right there in front of you, The Coo (Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert) make their songs seem as if they are flowing right out their hearts for the first time.”

Brian Moura, NativeDSD Technical Advisor adds “The songs and music from The Coo are deeply rooted in a musical connection.  There is no doubt about the singing, passion, and the pure joy of the songs on this album.  An excellent debut from a vocal duo that you will be hearing more from in the future.”

Serendipity

(read the extended story here in this blog post)

They could easily have spent their whole lives living worlds apart, but the chance encounter between the two songwriters of The Coo feels like it was always meant to be. Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert’s journey started with a serendipitous meeting on a midsummer evening and has evolved into a deep musical and personal relationship bridging the North Sea. They write and sing songs together in two-part harmony about time, love, life, and the universe.

Matt Arthur, finding himself lost and unfulfilled at home, left Britain on a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam, alone, searching for a spiritual and musical break. He took himself to a local open mic event at Amsterdam’s café De Koe. That’s where Jara Holdert first noticed him, sitting at the other end of the bar. After they heard one another’s songs, they knew immediately that they were woven from the same artistic cloth. A conversation started over some jenevers and continued when they met up again the next evening and Jara showed Matt around the canals under a full Amsterdam moon. They talked about music and philosophy, life, and heartbreak. And then they had to part, way too soon.

Discovery

Matt went back to London, and Jara stayed in Amsterdam. Too often, stories end there. And it would have been a beautiful story, even if it were only ever going to be a fleeting one. But when, a year later, Jara decided to pay Matt an impromptu visit, they discovered that their musical connection went far deeper than they’d realized. The moment they were in the same room again, something clicked. Something in the space between them – the space they had reduced from miles and miles to just meters – fell into place.

“The very first day, we went up to Matt’s studio in Tottenham and from the moment I picked up a guitar, we were playing, exploring, adding, and a song flowed out. It surprised both of us,” says Jara.

The next two years were spent writing songs over WhatsApp, meeting over FaceTime and visiting each other —- when they could afford it —- to play intimate acoustic shows together.

We discovered that there was this kind of magic between us, musically.” says Matt. “We don’t ever need to discuss things too much. We could start and end songs on stage whenever we liked, or we could change melodies and arrangements and we knew that we would follow each other”.

Jara: “Our days together were always limited, so we never had much time to rehearse. But we discovered that it didn’t matter when we played impromptu concerts – we trusted each other musically, and because we took songs on stage right after we’d written something, the material stayed fresh and the performance adventurous. We both had experience with studio projects and band projects where tracks were perfected to a tee and rehearsed for hours, but that’s not what we were about. Our playing together felt more free, spontaneous, a breath of relief. We thought part of our magic was in that – and that the live-feel of our material is what we should try to capture if we’d ever record.

The Coo

In April 2019, the time was ripe – the Coo was ready to capture their sound as it was created, as it evolved, and as it had always been heard —- in a live environment. The Coo are Matt Arthur – Guitar, Vocals and Jara Holdert – Guitar, Vocals

—Words and Music by The Coo: Matt Arthur & Jara Holdert.

Video about this recording

LP Made from DSD Master

Just Listen Records produced a 140g vinyl LP directly from the DSD master. It was pressed at Deepgrooves. Get a 45 RPM DSD direct to LP shipped to you, as well as the DSD Bundle download, both bot an incredible price here. Shipping charges apply to get this vinyl to you in perfect shape.

The post Amsterdam Moon appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

CD executive producer Lenora Meister also commissioned Facing West, for which the ink was barely dry by the time of our concert and recording session. Arian Jansen served as executive producer for our DSD edition of All Things Common which is exclusively available in Stereo and 5 Channel DSD at Native DSD Music.

Producer Bob Attiyeh says “Working with conductor and Pacific Chorale music director Robert Istad is always a pleasure.  When he asked Yarlung to record his debut album with Pacific Chorale performing music by Tarik O’Regan, I knew we were in for a treat.  I loved the acoustics at The Soraya, where we recorded Nostos with Rob, but for Pacific Chorale, we were able to work in magnificent Samueli Theater at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where Pacific Chorale is a resident company.  I always enjoy making recordings in Samueli Theater, with fabulous and adjustable acoustics, silent air conditioning and lights, and a theater staff that treats our Yarlung crew like returning royalty.

The wonderful Lenora Meister, long a singer with Pacific Chorale herself, not only commissioned Facing West, recorded for the first time on this album, but she underwrote and served as executive director for our project.

String players from Salastina joined Pacific Chorale for some of the repertoire on our album.  Salastina musicians included co-directors Maia Jasper White and Kevin Kumar on violins; Meredith Crawford, viola; Charles Tyler, cello; and Eric Shetzen, bass.  Beyond their roles with Salastina, many listeners will know Meredith Crawford as principal viola in the Pacific Symphony at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and Maia Jasper White as a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and as Martin Chalifour’s violin partner playing Schoenberg in Yarlung’s Martin Chalifour in Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Writing about Rob and Pacific Chorale, Tarik commented in our liner notes “Working with Robert Istad and Pacific Chorale… has been an especially important experience for me…. The composition comes to life measure by measure, brick by brick, until eventually it stands free, breathing and swaying ever so slightly from the breezes of subtle interpretations and gentle inflexions. This is the magic in the air….”

Pacific Chorale
Salastina Ensemble
Rob Istad, Music Director & Conductor

The post All Things Common: Music of Tarik O’Regan appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Even if the depiction of simple village folk and the direct emotional appeal of Cavalleria Rusticana were initially greeted as a welcome alternative to the gods, intellectual pretenses and dense orchestral textures of Wagner, Mascagni’s score, in fact, has many more symphonic qualities than is usually acknowledged.

Marek Janowski, a champion of Wagnerian opera and German symphonic music is the ideal candidate to demonstrate those qualities. He does this together with the Dresdner Philharmonic, the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and a cast of outstanding vocal soloists, including Melody Moore as Santuzza, Brian Jagde as Turridu and Lester Lynch in the role of Alfio. Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our times and enjoys a vast discography.

This recording is the first in a series with the Dresdner Philharmonie, where Janowski currently serves as chief conductor. Melody Moore and Lester Lynch both have been featured on several releases, including Verdi’s Othello (2017). Brian Jagde is one of today’s rising opera tenor stars and makes his Pentatone debut on this album.

On 4 February 1891, Cosima Wagner wrote to Houston Stewart Chamberlain from Berlin:”… what I experienced here – Cavalleria Rusticana – disgusted me.” How was she supposed to like what penetrated her own deepest wounds (in the 1860s, she had betrayed and eventually abandoned her husband, conductor, and pianist Hans vonBülow, through her love affair with Richard Wagner)?

On top of that, it was presented with a garish, downright overpowering directness that Frau Wagner had never experienced from her husband, who himself wasn’t frugal when it comes to expressing the torments of the soul? An expert who is as astute as he is eloquent explains:” Mascagni has once again honored aright and healthy attitude against the false, unhealthy principle of Wagner’s style: Mascagni has demonstrated that without melody there is no music and that without sung melody there is no opera.

Opera Vocalists
Santuzza – Melody Moore, Soprano
Turiddu – Brian Jagde, Tenor
Lucia – Elisabetta Fiorillo, Contralto
Alfio – Lester Lynch, Baritone
Lola – Roxana Constantinescu, Mezzo-soprano
Donna I – Anna Rad-Markowska, Soprano
Donna II – Manja Raschka, Contralto

MDR Leipzig Radio Choir
Jörn Hinnerk Andresen, Chorus Master

Dresdner Philharmonie
Wolfgang Hentrich, Concertmaster
Andreas Henning, Assistant Conductor
Conducted by Marek Janowski

The post Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana – Live appeared first on NativeDSD Music.