My yesterday visit to Ballet brought back some substantial facts I’ve been trying repetitly talk about in my reviews. Perhaps I should dedicated more attention in separate articles in elaboration, but let me at least set some grounds here.
I’m trying to keep my pace with visiting live music orchestra as much as possible, but due to our little boys age and commitment it was not possible as much as I and my dear wife wanted to. But, they’re growing up and its becoming easier to start planning ballet, opera and concert visit for upcoming future.
Stabat Mater minimalistic Ballet set with live smaller baroque ensemble accompanied with two female vocals was majestically beautiful. Lutes, violins, double bass, harpsichord, violas and few other instruments the era brought dramatic atmosphere and soul matching simplicity, that radiated so intimately in the concert/performing hall. We might be in the age where loudness, transparency and pin point details are becoming synonymous with state of the art high-end audio performance, but they have little or nothing to do with the real music. I’m always trying to address with my writings how real music actually comes as a harmonic whole. Not extreme extravasation on any sole instrument even when playing in solitude. Real, live music is a harmonic, vibrant thing that can be as quiet as whisper and thunderous as lighting strike. Yet, amplitude never becomes harsh, hectic and over emphasised.
With forward pushing of some of the latest products in high-end and ultra high-end audio market I really do wonder where these people and designers are coming from. They’re stating state of the art performance closely related to the real music (more then often with classical), but the sound coming out of these products is thousands of miles away from the reality.
Perhaps in 2015 I shall make something drastic and start differentiate components with the new labelling method. Audiophile oriented gear where things of importance relate are close to the details and nuances rather the sound as whole can be the first. I’ve seen this trend as ongoing battle between two camps and we might come to the point where things must be labeled properly.
Other class could be a music performing components. This is where music reproduction comes first and music is being reconstructed as close as possible to the real thing. There is only one reference when we talk about the utmost quality levels of music reproduction and this is music performed live, in dedicated acoustical spaces with real instruments and vocals. Only this we can compare and set as a reference standard. This is something that has become missing from the high-end audio. We have lost a true standard. Everything seems to became elusive due to many reasons. Sadly and mostly connected to the money driven agendas. When you’re in the hands of funds being the king, you loose your freedom.
Let me leave you with the short insert from Stabat Mater Ballet, that inspired me to start this short rant.
Here is a little video insert from the performance.
STABAT MATER, Music: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Conductor: Egon Mihajlović
Štefica Stipančević, soprano