This album is included in the following sets:
This set contains the following albums:
- Producer's Note
- Full Track Listing
- Cover Art
- Historic Review
Ansermet masterful in French music and orchestration
Decca recordings from the early 50s in fabulous 32-bit XR remasters
These Decca recordings, made in Geneva and Paris in the early 1950s, demonstrate the growing technical prowess of the company in the earliest days of tape and vinyl recordings, building on their ffrr 78rpm recordings of the 1940s.
However, there was still room for considerable improvement over the original sound quality - something which would come rapidly with experience - and there are audibly significant differences between the 1951 Debussy recording and the two later, 1953 recordings. The original Debussy lacked depth and had a quite constricted sound to it, whilst the Mussorgsky was also somewhat thin, though without sounding quite as harsh.
Of the three, the Ravel, recorded in Paris rather than Geneva, was the most successful, and in these new Pristine remasterings is the one which sounds closest to the original. Fortunately Decca's equipment did capture a lot more than is apparent from a casual listen to their original LPs, and with the re-equalisation inherent in Pristine's 32-bit XR remastering technology, the hidden depths and heights of each of these superb recordings can now be enjoyed to the full.
Andrew Rose
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DEBUSSY La Mer
Recording producer: Victor Olof
Recording Engineer: Arthur Haddy
Rec. March 1951, Victoria Hall, Geneva
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*RAVEL La Valse
Recording producer: John Culshaw
Rec. 15-19 & 22-25 June, 1953,
La Maison de la Mutualité, Paris
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MUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition
Recording producer: Victor Olof
Recording Engineer: Gil Went
Rec. December 1953, Victoria Hall, Geneva
Transfers from Decca LS5267 (Debussy) & London LL.956 (Ravel/Mussorgsky)
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
*L'Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris
Ernest Ansermet conductor
XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, April 2011
Cover artwork based on a photograph of Ernest Ansermet
Total duration: 67:41
Contemporary review excerpt - Mussorgsky/Ravel, Pictures at an Exhibition
"...the Decca, I think, scores an inner;
arguably a bull's-eye. In places it sounds to me better than any record I
have ever heard ; and everywhere it sounds extremely good. It has all
the qualities of the H.M.V. and another new one, in addition: without,
anywhere, losing any vitality it has a less rasping string tone--both
muted (as in The Old Castle), and unmuted, the strings sound more human
than previously in such high tension recordings. The Catacombs—those
thundering chords for trombones and tuba—sound less impressive than in
the Kubelik version; partly due to a less altogether dominating and
convincing performance than the Chicago brass section gave. But the only
reservation worth making about the recording, I think, is one about the
second side of the disc—from The Hut on Fowl's Legs to the end: the
copy in front of me (which, incidentally, is for a Decca, quite
remarkably free from surface swish) seems to be slightly less
overwhelming here; to deteriorate just sufficiently to cause a leaf or
two to flutter disconsolately from the laurel wreath the record has
still well earned. I was convinced, listening to side one, that it was
the best recording I had ever heard, in spite of an occasional feeling
of slight overloading; the conviction wavered, though, on the reverse.
The
electrifying performance that gave the engineers material to work on in
the first place must not be overlooked; in the ordinary way it would
run no danger of that. Ansermet does the whole thing beautifully; though
Kubelik remains the only conductor of the three who joins the pictures
up properly where necessary. The Swiss trumpet player plays Samuel
Goldenburg—the picture that was the undoing of the Belgian player—better
even than the American; he makes the actual rhythm of his exhausting
phrase much clearer. Though, while individuals are under discussion, it
may be suggested that no alto-playing troubadour has yet functioned
beneath the walls of The Old Castle with quite such convincingly
lugubrious effect as the saxophonist of the Chicago orchestra... "
M.M, review excerpt, Gramophone, April 1954
MusicWeb International Review
The dazzling 1953 Pictures at an Exhibition testifies to what the Decca engineers could do
I was all set to dismiss this release as superfluous. After
all, Ansermet re-recorded all this material in excellent stereo
- La mer, in fact, twice. The rationale for resuscitating
these earlier versions seemed murky. However, the dazzling 1953
Pictures at an Exhibition testifies to what the Decca
engineers could do even working in monaural. That said, it has
taken Pristine Audio's digital processing to reveal the full
extent of their full accomplishment. The reproduction is truthful
in timbre, easily encompassing a full range of dynamics. Only
a touch of congestion on the full-throated brass chords of Catacombs
betrays any limitations.
Ansermet's performance gives the score's pictorial elements
full measure, while maintaining an unbroken musical line, both
within and between movements. The serious movements at the start
- Gnomus, Bydlo, and The Old Castle - are
evocative. The saxophone in the last-named is plangent yet contained.
By contrast, the scherzando movements - Tuileries,
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, and Limoges -
are perky and alert. Baba-Yaga is vigorous and mobile,
yet unpressured. The Great Gate of Kiev begins with dignified
restraint and opens out more grandly as it proceeds.
The Suisse Romande orchestra, as usual in its "core" repertoire,
plays with commitment - the more so, I suspect, for its not
being a sleek virtuoso ensemble. The clear, unified strings
muster some impressive dynamic surges and these are captured
well. The woodwind is expressive and piquant, with pointed articulation.
The principal horn's voicing of the second Promenade
is clunky and dispirited, but the solo trumpet is excellent
in Samuel Goldberg and Schmuyle. The brass choir, as
suggested, is firm and well-balanced.
The other items sound comparatively run-of-the-mill. La mer
is surprisingly clear for 1951 but the climaxes don't fill out
and expand as they would in stereo - or, for that matter, as
they do in the Pictures. The violins sound dry in exposed
moments.
Ansermet's lithe, even balletic interpretation sounds more spontaneous
than in his remakes. The conductor impulsively pushes the music
forward here and marks the rhythms more strongly there. The
calmer passages make a good contrast, though the recording militates
against "atmosphere". I'm pleased, however, to hear the composer's
added brass parts, which most conductors don't use, at 5:59
in the finale; without them, the passage is bare and aimless.
A change of venue doesn't benefit La valse. The Paris
Conservatoire Orchestra was officially the "Orchestra of the
Concert Society of the Paris Conservatory", a professional group,
not the school orchestra. It suffered, according to John Culshaw's
memoir Putting the Record Straight, a rampant deputy
system that worked against achieving any consistent level of
polish. Its recordings stand as testimony. Remarkably, and despite
the mushy "placement" of numerous after-beats, Ansermet still
projects the piece in a broad, coherent arc, though the introduction
and coda are noticeably deliberate.
Veteran discophiles will be curious about this Pictures.
For the general collector, however, Ansermet's shimmering, demonstration-quality
remake on Decca Eloquence will be the more logical choice; avoid
the toppy Weekend Classics issue. Also strong contenders are
the higher-octane accounts of Ormandy (RCA), Giulini (DG), or
Ozawa (RCA).
Stephen Francis Vasta
Stephen Francis Vasta is a New York-based conductor, coach
and journalist.