Wikipedia:Featured sound candidates/August 2009

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Andante from The Creatures of Prometheus by Beethoven[edit]

The Creatures of Prometheus by Ludwig Van Beethoven, Op. 43 — 14. Andante

Performed by Leila Storch (oboe), William McColl (basset-horn), and Anita Cummings (piano).

A chamber arrangement from the ballet The Creatures of Prometheus by Ludwig van Beethoven. It's an excellent sample of the range and distinctive tone quality of the basset-horn, an instrument primarily used during the classical period. The performers are Leila Storch (oboe), William McColl (basset-horn), and Anita Cummings (piano). The sound file is used in The Creatures of Prometheus (Beethoven) and basset-horn. Graham87 10:07, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Nominate and support. Graham87 10:07, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support Excellent stuff! Just wish we had the whole thing. Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 11:12, 31 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support --Klein zach 01:14, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support Beautiful. wadester 16 05:20, 25 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support Fantastic bit of sound. Staxringold _talk^contribs 01:13, 27 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Promoted File:Beethoven Prometheus Creatures Op. 43 No. 14 - Solo della signora Cassentini.oga --Ottava Rima (talk) 23:07, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Toccata and Fugue in D minor[edit]

c. 1705 – Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565

Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, performed by Ashtar Moïra.

While I must admit to preferring slightly longer fermatas in the opening section, nonetheless, I still think this is an excellent performance of one of the most famous organ works. Another of those works that I'm shocked we haven't gotten to sooner.

Nominate and support. Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 19:07, 28 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support per nom, an unusual organ sound for this kind of work, but it's a great performance. Graham87 00:47, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support, very nice piece, well played. weburiedoursecretsinthegarden 22:08, 1 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose until the file description page is there (Cr. 5). Which organ, where? Here, the "date" is clearly that of the performance (in 2006); the Chopin above is dated 1846, which can't be the date of the performances. Which is which? Just a bit about the performer? Who recorded this? Please read Cr. 5. On the performance ... yeah, it's OK, nothing to write home about. It's neat and clipped, the way baroque organ music needs to be, and I like the slight dètachè (if I angled the diacritics correctly) in the semiquaver passages. The performance overall is a bit robotic, though, in its failure to pull the tactus around. In that respect, it passes musically, but by a hair's breadth only. Tony (talk) 09:27, 4 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I updated it a little bit. Most of the information you asked for was already there, but the user has long left the Wikipedia, so none of the remaining missing information is recoverable. The requirements only require all known and reasonably knowable information - I'm afraid that what we have now is everything known. Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 12:29, 22 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Comment The tempo is considerably higher than any other recording (or live performance) that I have heard. It also seems very bright compared to other pipe organ recordings. Noodle snacks (talk) 23:12, 22 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Weak Support I must echo NS's concern for tempo above. It does seem reasonably fast. That said it's played beautifully. I wonder, though, if this is done on a real organ or if on a synthesizer. Synthesizer is the first thing I thought of when the recording started; the organ sounds (for lack of a better word) too "tinny", like a Yahama piano (or a synthesizer, even) compared to a Steinway, if you can appreciate that comparison. wadester 16 18:13, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Promoted File:Toccata_et_Fugue_BWV565.ogg --Ottava Rima (talk) 23:07, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Diabelli Variations[edit]

The Diabelli Variations are considered by many to be the greatest set of themes and variations ever composed (see article). As such, this complete set of variations, performed by Neal O'Doan, represents a wonderful addition to Wikipedia's library of sounds. The article also contains a full set of sheet music.

Nominate and support. Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 21:42, 20 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support as uploader. A fine performance of an important work of classical piano music. Graham87 01:43, 21 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support wadester 16 06:29, 31 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Promoted all --Ottava Rima (talk) 23:06, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Himmler - Posen speech[edit]

Himmler - Posen speech

Heinrich Himmler discussing the extermination of the Jews among senior SS officers.

This is an approx. 5.5 minute excerpt of a speech made by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler in Posen, on October 4, 1943 to the seniority of the SS. One hardly needs to elaborate on the historical significance of the most superior officer of the SS, the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany, discussing the ongoing perpetration of The Holocaust.

Nominate and support. WilliamH (talk) 08:54, 10 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support Obviously encyclopedic and important. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 187 FCs served} 12:09, 10 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support per Shoemaker's Holiday. Ironholds (talk) 21:51, 10 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support everything seems to checks out. Ottava Rima (talk) 23:18, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support per above. Staxringold _talk^contribs 01:04, 18 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Promoted File:Himmler Posen Speech - Extermination of the Jews excerpt, Oct 4, 1943.ogg --Seddσn ^talk|^WikimediaUK 20:09, 19 August 2009 (UTC)"[reply]

Walt Whitman[edit]

1890 – "America", read by Walt Whitman

An 1890 recording of Walt Whitman reading the opening four lines of his poem "America", from his collection Leaves of Grass.

I think the reasons for this nomination are somewhat obvious: It's degraded, yes, but it's from 1890, the only known recording of Walt Whitman - a major American poet, reading one of his poems. Sure, you could do a modern recording - but it wouldn't be by Walt Whitman, so historic value surely trumps the technical flaws. I have restored it as far as I felt comfortable doing: Restoration of sounds is a computer-assisted process, and there's only so much that mathematical analysis can do before you start throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Anything more than this and Walt Whitman's voice starts degrading unacceptably, so I just tried to bring his voice out a little more, and accepted that some noise would remain. In any case, this is a very good recording for its period.

Nominate and support. Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 20:50, 28 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support everything seems to checks out. Very encyclopedic. Ottava Rima (talk) 23:18, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Weak support - It's hard to understand what he's saying, but encyclopedic value is definitely strong. –Juliancolton | ^Talk 23:26, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support Very high EV. Annoys me every time I see the Levi's Jeans ad I see using this. Staxringold _talk^contribs 01:05, 18 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Promoted File:Walt Whitman - America --Seddσn ^talk|^WikimediaUK 20:00, 19 August 2009 (UTC)"[reply]