Composer: Aaron Copland, Morton Gould
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Walter Susskind
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: ISO
Label: Vanguard Classics
Size: 1.69 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Appalachian Spring, concert suite for full orchestra
02. Spirituals for orchestra: Proclamation
03. Spirituals for orchestra: Sermon
04. Spirituals for orchestra: A Little Bit of Sin
05. Spirituals for orchestra: Protest
06. Spirituals for orchestra: Jubilee
A MUST HAVE FOR ANY AUDIOPHILE OR LOVER OF THE APPALACHIAN SPRING!
The LSO were a world class orchestra. Walter Susskind had this music in his bloodstream: the music is fresh, tempi and dynamics just right, exciting and highly varied as befits a ballet score, but without the heavy exaggeration found on so many “modern” recordings, often with hard harsh strings…yes this is good old analog, valve based, 1/2 inch tape, dating from 1958. Recorded with just 3 mikes to a three track recorder, this of course is TRUE stereo sound.
It sounded good on the 20 bit remastering by SBM to standard cd, but this SACD version is simply magnificent!
Close your eyes with a half decent hi fi system and decent enough speakers to give the full frequency range and detail rather than the normal 16 bit 20-20,000 kh crap, and you think you are there. In the incredible acoustic of Walthamstow Assembly Hall, right up close to the wide sound stage with super realistic depth.Thank you, Everest, Harry Belock, Bert Whyte the sound engineer, the folks at Vanguard/Omega for investing the time and money to preserve a quality production and great performance. This is, I think, the best performance on record.
It is hard to whittle down to a few classic recordings that would reflect the true sound of the “golden age of hi-fidelity stereo”, but this would certainly be in it, alongside Everest’s record of the Kachaturian Gayne from Fistoulari and the LSO – available again in excellent Vanguard standard CD, or from Classic Records in a 2-CD pack containing a mind blowing DVD Audio (with the option of original 3 track output!) with full frequency and dynamic range plus a stsndard CD. These plus the usual RCA Living Stereo and Decca contenders would certainly be at the heart of such a list.
Performance 10/10, Sound 10/10.