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Recommend me some music with ridiculously wide dynamic range

post #1 of 19
11/25/09 at 4:33am
Thread Starter 
I realize pretty much all concert pieces (classical) are recorded with dynamics in mind. However I'm looking for the dynamic of the dynamic. Recordings with insanely wide dynamic range.

The one I've found is Sir Granville Bantock: Hebridean Symphony; A Celtic Symphony; The Witch of Atlas; The Sea Reivers [Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ Handley]
Amazon.com: Bantock: Hebridean Symphony; Celtic Symphony; The Witch of Atlas; The Sea Reivers: Granville Bantock, David Towse, Vernon Handley, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Music

Look at this waveform: http://imgdump.org/fVTspgPAs7/LMBVpYZEWLe.jpg

You wouldn't know it to look at that but it has some parts where it literally blows me away with loud bursts of percussion. I N S A N E dynamics.

Recommend me some recordings along similar lines. : )
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post #2 of 19
11/25/09 at 5:44am
BT - This Binary Universe
SolarFields - Movements



Top is BT bottom is Solarfields. Tracks were picked at random.
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post #3 of 19
11/25/09 at 3:32pm
Almost There by The Unbelievable Truth has a really decent dynamic range, so much so that it makes a pretty poor car CD.
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post #4 of 19
11/25/09 at 4:23pm
This is a Deutsche Grammophone vinyl press of Tchaikovsky's fourth simphony...pretty broad dynamic range i'd say...

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post #5 of 19
11/26/09 at 12:15am
Is this supposed to be something worth praising? Nothing annoys me more than classical music albums that are super soft and that you can't play at an reasonable volume. And if you turn the volume knob all the way up your ears will be killed by the sudden loud parts.
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post #6 of 19
11/26/09 at 12:24am
Thread Starter 
Umm, yeah. There's nothing wrong with having to turn the volume way up to get a good level. Also, I like that it can shock you with sudden loudness. That's how it would be if you were there in the audience during the recording.
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post #7 of 19
11/26/09 at 1:50am
Basically any composition by the Georgian (that's Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains) composer Giya Kancheli uses sudden explosions of loudness, pppp to ffff -- this is such a prevalent feature of his works that people are beginning to tire of it. If you want a taste, try Trauerfarbenes Land or anything from his ECM catalog.
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post #8 of 19
11/26/09 at 2:30am
I also really enjoy music with strongly contrasted dynamics. Maybe that's why I lean towards late classical/romantic a lot. Of course, there's plenty of good examples in 20th-century music as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nisstyre56 View Post
That's how it would be if you were there in the audience during the recording.
x2

When I listen to really dynamic music like this, it usually isn't a problem to set the volume so that the soft parts are pleasant (but soft, like they should be), and the loud sections don't damage my ears. Having gear that's up to the task of resolving pianissimo passages helps, of course.

*Ahem*, getting back on track:

The very opening of Movement 1 of Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Full Sforzando Orchestral hits contrasted with very exposed, soft woodwind passages.

Wife suggests Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, "Eroica."

"Catacombs" from Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral transcription of Moussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, Nos. 1 & 7 in particular, although in more of a "phrase to phrase" fashion.

There's plenty of others. I'll check back with more suggestions after I "drop the needle" on my library a bit more. Just for fun.
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post #9 of 19
11/26/09 at 2:41am
Thread Starter 
Wow, yeah, I didn't even think of Beethoven's 7th. Really awesome. Also, Dvorak's Slavonic Dances is one I know (and love). I'll check out some recordings of the Korsakov.
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post #10 of 19
12/5/09 at 12:35pm
Classic Rock
"Amused To Death" by Roger Waters.
I love that CD, but you have to listen to it in a quite room. Definitely not a car CD.
As a matter of fact most of his CD are very well mastered IMHO, at least for classic rock.
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post #11 of 19
12/5/09 at 1:44pm
I've noticed it with Bruckner symphonies (7th or 8th) where the horns sometimes hurts my ears as it can get pretty loud....it's not so bad but i've learned to put down the volume when listening.
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post #12 of 19
12/5/09 at 11:08pm
Paganini's violin concertos (any one of them).
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post #13 of 19
12/5/09 at 11:53pm
, Especially the duets with Bobby McFerrin.
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post #14 of 19
12/6/09 at 12:26am
If you don't mind choral works you should check out John Adam's Harmonium. I performed this one with the Omaha symphony and hated it because it was so hard to sing. But its one of those pieces that, if you let it, will take you into another world. It starts out so quiet you can barely hear it, and its intended that way. However, The dynamics vary widely and there is a crescendo in the "Wild Nights" section which grows for 3 minutes, very powerful. There are no terraced dynamics if that's what you are looking for, but the wide range is sure there.
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post #15 of 19
12/6/09 at 3:49am
I recently heard Zinman's recording of the Mahler 5th, and it's probably the most realistic-sounding one I've heard in a long time.
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