The 1950 Mikado in 'true mono'

Gilbert and Sullivan: The Mikado

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, cond. Isidore Godfrey

From Decca Ace of Clubs 2 x Lp set, ACL 1014/1015 - MONO

Rec. 1950

The Mikado of Japan: Darrell Fancourt
Nanki-Poo: Leonard Osborn
Ko-Ko: Martyn Green
Pooh-Bah: Richard Watson
Pish-Tush: Alan Styler
Yum-Yum: Margaret Mitchell
Pitti-Sing: Joan Gillingham
Peep-Bo: Joyce Wright
Katisha: Ella Halman
Go-To: Radley Flynn

Chorus of Schoolgirls, Nobles, Guards, Coolies

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Isidore Godfrey

Source: mint condition Lp vinyls, purchased online from 'Bazers Bazaar' who had obviously, along with any previous owners, taken great care of them.

Although this recording has been made available commercially as a download or double CD album by Naxos and the 'Documents' label, I agree with at least one reviewer online that the remastered sound on the Naxos album is not their best. The 'Documents' album does not fare much better in my opinion: it has been amplified more than the Naxos, but otherwise the sound is virtually the same, having a boxy quality to it, certainly not representative of Decca's best sound of the period. 

'True mono'? With commercially produced CD's or downloads, where recordings have been sourced from 78rpm or Lp/vinyls from the mono era, you may have spotted or heard that these are actually in stereo: a stereo cartridge will have been used to make a stereo recording of a mono record. This is understandable because the sound produced is more acceptable to many, being more easy-going on the ear. Some of the 'mono' posts in this blog were processed in that way. However, there are disadvantages to this, notably that a stereo stylus will pick up unwanted noise more because of its shape not being designed with mono grooves in mind. So 'mono' CD's/downloads do not really represent what record collectors would have heard in the 1950's, even if very good results are often achieved by record companies in producing them.

Here, an aim in uploading the present album is to encourage readers to download and listen to the present transfer which has been made using a mono cartridge, recorded in mono, edited/cleaned up minimally and finally exported in mono. In other words, the sound should sound exactly as it would have done on a decent or better domestic record player when these ACL re-issues were released. 

The Decca Ace of Clubs label did produce remasterings that tended to be brighter in sound than on respective original releases and so the results as heard here will be brighter than on the original pressings which could have been used in some commercial releases.

The two vinyl discs themselves were set out with automatic record players in mind, the sides going 1, 4, 2 and 3 (but here of course following the correct order). The tracking (and song information) below reflects that as shown on the Lp labels/sleeves themselves. 

The final track is my own personally edited selection from the opera, based on the selection played by the Black Dyke Mills Band which can also be found elsewhere in this blog (yes, the songs may be in the wrong order, but it's only a bit of fun! I'd become so used to hearing the excellent band arrangement that I thought a bit of experimentation with a sung performance was called for! - A kind of reverse authenticity a bit like the Academy of Ancient Music's rendition of a Bach/Stokowski arrangement at the BBC Proms in 2016).

So, included here are: 320kps mono mp3 files suitable for mobile use/iTunes/similar libraries, wav files for the more discerning and finally the raw/unedited wavs for real aficionados who wish to clean up and re-track the whole recording again for themselves.

The performance itself is arguably one of D'Oyly Carte's best. Enjoy!

Side 1

(Track 1) Overture - Act 1 (Part I): If you want to know who we are; Gentlemen I pray you tell me; Why, who are you who ask this question?; A wandering minstrel, I; Our great Mikado; Young man, despair; And have I journeyed for a month or nearly

Side 2

(Track 2) Act 1 (Contd.): Behold the Lord High Executioner; Taken from the county jail; As some day it may happen; Comes a train of little ladies; Three little maids from school are we; So please you, Sir; Were you not to Ko-Ko plighted?; I am so proud

Side 3

(Track 3) Act 1 (Concl.): With aspect stern; The threatened cloud has passed away; As in a month you've got to die; Your revels cease; Oh fool, that fleest my hallowed joys; The hour of gladness

(Track 4) Act 2 (Part I): Braid the raven hair; Sit with downcast eye; The sun, whose rays; Brightly dawns our wedding day

Side 4

(Track 5) Act 2 (Concl.): Here's a how-de-do; Miya sama, miya sama; A more humane Mikado; The criminal cried; See how the fates their gifts allot; The flowers that bloom in the spring; Hearts do not break; On a tree by a river a little tom-tit; There is beauty; For he's gone and married Yum-Yum

* * * * *

(Extra track 6) The Mikado - an Edited Personal Selection (7 mins.). One verse each from: There is beauty (orch. only); Brightly dawns our wedding day; Three little maids from school are we; See how the fates their gifts allot; On a tree by a river a little tom-tit; For he's gone and married Yum-Yum

The motivating force behind uploading the linked sound files and details is a love for the music concerned. However, as with other posts on this blog, I will willingly remove this post in the event of legitimate complaint on legal/copyrighting grounds.

Download links:

G&SMikadoGodfrey1950Mp3  (6 sound files, artwork, notes included)

G&SMikadoGodfrey1950Wav (6 sound files, artwork, notes included)

G&SMikadoGodfreyRAW-UNEDITED-Wav (1 large sound file)

Please feel welcome in commenting on this post.

Vintage Cornet - Harry Dilley

Glory to His Name (Cornet solo by Eric Ball)

Harry Dilley, Salvationist Publishing & Supplies Band, cond. Eric Ball

Regal Zonophone 78rpm disc, MF 283

Rec. 1939

A lovely old recording from the world of Salvation Army brass bands.

Professional music organisations, most notably some of our finest orchestras and military bands, have over the years gained much from the presence of brass players with a Salvation Army or other brass band background. Harry Dilley, a one time salvationist and the soloist here, was also principal trumpet with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for many years: readers may recollect the Joan Sutherland album, The Art of the Prima Donna, which included Handel's Let the Bright Seraphim (still available on Decca) - trumpet obbligato courtesy of the same Harry Dilley. Professional colleagues regarded Dilley with unstinting admiration. His apparent easily-produced tone balanced power and projection with lyricism and sweetness, an ideal combination not least in the great ballet scores of Tchaikovsky.

Eric Ball, also a salvationist, was, and remains posthumously, a towering figure in the brass band movement, having composed marches, extended suites, and 'test' pieces which continue to this day to feature strongly in band programmes. Glory to His Name is cast in the traditional 'bandstand show solo' mould of theme and variations, the theme being the Hoffman/Stockton hymn from 1878 of the same name, an old favourite from the Salvation Army Song Book. A largely triple-tongued flourish opens the proceedings and the Salvationist Publishing & Supplies Band gives strong support under the composer's baton.

The record used for this transfer was in fair condition bearing in mind its age: considerable physical cleaning was still necessary before digital transfer but only very light filtering was applied from there in order to preserve the recorded sound: surface noise remains, but the signal remains admirably true.

As with other posts here, I will willingly remove this album from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

For an incredibly wide collection of Salvation Army recordings (not downloadable) visit regalzonophone.com . Very highly recommended for free listening via the site's online player. Based in Australia, the site's author, Ian Barton, has amassed just about every recording made by the Salvation Army over the last 90 or so years.

Download links (Flac is high quality, but takes up significant computer space (about the equivalent of an audio CD for the whole album). Use flac for reference listening or for further editing/mixing etc.; Mp3 is more suitable for mobile listening, still of fairly high quality, but takes up much less space. Both downloads come with the same notes and high resolution artwork. Click on above image for preview):

Glory to His NameFLAC

Glory to His NameMP3


Please feel welcome in commenting on this post. Enjoy!

Rare Brahms 2 credited to fictitious orchestra

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73

'Claridge Symphony Orchestra' (Philadelphia Orchestra, cond. Eugene Ormandy)

RCA Camden CAL-236 - MONO

Rec. 1939

The following information is taken from Richard A. Kaplan's excellent 'The Philadelphia Orchestra, an Annotated Discography' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), entry WGM-6, page 285.

'Recorded Mar. 26th, 1939, Academy of Music. Charles O'Connell, producer.....
.....78's: World's Greatest Music SR-28/32; Lp Camden CAL-236.

The Camden Lp was credited to the fictitious "Claridge Symphony Orchestra"; it was the only Camden issue on that label, and the only Camden issue that was taken from a World's Greatest Music recording [performers were not credited at all in this New York Times subscription series, although Victor's log lists the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ormandy* as the artists here]. For many years the source of this Lp was incorrectly presumed to be an HMV recording by Fritz Busch; careful listening and examination of the label copy for CAL-236, which lists the original matrix numbers, revealed its actual provenance.'

*page 8 of Kaplan mentions Ormandy as conducting World's Greatest Music recordings made with the orchestra during 1938/9. Some sources have attributed conducting roles for the series in general as being taken by others, including O'Connell, the producer himself

Notes on the present transfer/downloads

The posting of this Lp transfer/download comes with a 'Health Warning' regarding the condition of the Lp used, ie. there was a significant degree of surface noise, several scratches, much 'crackle' (most notably on Side 2 during movement 3) and an occasional minor wavering of pitch. Furthermore there was some peak distortion here and there. Because of the outstanding playing and rarity of the recording, much time was invested in taking out scratches and experimenting with various audio cleaning software programs and settings, the overriding aim being to maintain the integrity of the original recorded sound. The results may still only be just acceptable, but this remains a superb piece of music making by a truly great orchestra whose musicality and lyricism are hard to resist.

Please refer to the extra guidance re. the download links below. These also include completely unfiltered Wav files for home editing if preferred.

Track Listing

Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73

Side One

1. First Movement: Allegro non troppo
2. Second Movement: Adagio non troppo

Side Two

1. (Trk 3) Third Movement: Allegretto grazioso
2. (Trk 4) Fourth Movement: Allegro con spirito

As with other posts here, I will willingly remove this album from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

Downloads

FLAC files: take up a large amount of computer space but offer the best relative quality listening experience. Here, the main Lp surface scratches were initially edited out manually and then minimal auto-scratch and de-crackle filters were applied:

Brahms Symphony No. 2FLAC

MP3 files: take up much less space, remain of very good relative quality but are better suited to mobile listening. Same clean up process as FLACs:

Brahms Symphony No. 2MP3

WAV files: take up a similar amount of space to FLACs and also offer a similar quality listening experience. Here, only the main Lp surface sratches were edited out manually but no auto-filtering of any kind was applied:

Brahms Symphony No. 2WAVunfiltered

Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the link or box below.

Sound Off / Sousa on Review

Sound Off / Sousa on Review

Eastman Wind Ensemble, cond. Frederick Fennell

Mercury Living Presence, MG 50264 & MMA 11163 - MONO versions from sessions recorded in mono and stereo

Rec. 1960 & 1961 resp.

This post replaces an earlier one which included 'Sousa on Review' only.

While all of Fennell's Sousa (and others') stereo era march recordings have been issued on excellently remastered Living Presence CD's in stereo, there are few if any good quality transfers of the mono counterparts from the same sessions available on CD or in high quality download format. Although in this case the stereo versions would be considered by many to be far superior, it is worth remembering that most listeners at the time would have heard these performances in mono and that it would still be a few years before the majority could afford a stereogram or similar state-of-the-art record player. 

The Lp's used for the present transfers had evidently seen much use over their 50 or so years, but nevertheless remained in generally very good to excellent playing condition.

The Eastman Wind Ensemble comprised students from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, several of whom would later occupy positions in major American symphony orchestras: standards were extremely high, as they remain today. The ensemble has inspired concert band players across the world throughout its existence, not least through its recordings made under Fennell's direction.

Both Lp's were recorded in single sessions with the band sitting in their customary straight rows across the stage of the Eastman Theatre. Some of the marches are more well-known than others, but all are worth exploring. Before Sound Off, Fennell had already recorded eighteen marches, the best-known ones of all appearing on a collection entitled Marching Along, which also included some by other composers. 

Items to watch out for here in particular are Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, whose score unusually calls for harp and 'Turkish Crescent' (or 'Jingling Johnnie' - shown on the sleeve above): at the conclusion, the score states that the latter's bells should be allowed to ring on until the sound has died away naturally; New Mexico has special effects recalling the history of that US state; Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company utilises 'Auld Lang Syne' during its trio section whilst Pride of the Wolverines and The Black Horse Troop (Sousa was himself a keen horseman) remain exceptionally strong examples of the genre in general. Playing is outstanding throughout. The Mercury team led by Wilma Cozart (later to become Cozart-Fine) capture all departments in very natural sounding recordings: the bass drum 'thwacks' are superb! In all, stirring stuff!

Track Listing for Sound Off

Side One

1. Sound Off
2. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
3. Sabre and Spurs
4. The Picadore
5. Our Flirtation
6. The High School Cadets

Side Two

1. (Trk 7) The Invincible Eagle
2. (Trk 8) Bullets and Bayonets
3. (Trk 9) The Liberty Bell
4. (Trk 10) Riders for the Flag
5. (Trk 11) Solid Men to the Front!
6. (Trk 12) The Gallant Seventh

Track listing for Sousa on Review

Side One

1. The Rifle Regiment
2. The Pride of the Wolverines
3. Golden Jubilee
4. The Gridiron Club
5. New Mexico
6. Sesqui-Centennial Exposition

Side Two

1. (Trk 7) The Black Horse Troop
2. (Trk 8) The Kansas Wildcats
3. (Trk 9) Manhattan Beach
4. (Trk 10) Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company
5. (Trk 11) The National Game
6. (Trk 12) The Glory of the Yankee Navy

As with other posts here, I will willingly remove these albums from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

Download links (Flac is high quality, but takes up significant computer space (about the equivalent of an audio CD for the whole album). Use flac for reference listening or for further editing/mixing etc.; Mp3 is more suitable for mobile listening, still of fairly high quality, but takes up much less space. Both downloads come with the same notes and high resolution artwork. Click on above image for preview):

Sound Off FLAC

Sound Off MP3

Sousa On Review FLAC

Sousa On Review MP3


Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the box or link below.

Berlin Philharmonic Octet in Schubert

Schubert: Oktett F-Dur D. 803

Philharmonisches Oktett Berlin

DG LPM 39102 - MONO

(printer's date on back cover of sleeve 5/66)

An excellent performance of the kind that makes record collectors wonder why such a recording has never been released either on CD or as a download, even in the context of a competitive market including at least two or three recordings from either the Berlin Octet themselves, the Vienna Octet or Chamber Ensemble and dozens of other excellent ones on various labels by numerous artists over the years.

The present recording was released in stereo and mono and the overall sound in mono here remains full and clean. The actual disc used had retained its generally very quiet surfaces although some minor marks had appeared over time in places, now mostly minimised without recourse to anything more than very minimal filtering. Overall the listening experience is highly rewarding. Readers will want to hold on to their various favourite versions, but this will please if the Viennese way can seem just that bit too sweet-toothed at times. Happy listening!

Berlin Philharmonic Octet

Alfred Malecek, Violin 1
Rudolf Hartmann, Violin 2
Ulrich Fritze, Viola
Heinrich Majowski, Violoncello
Paul-Rainer Zepperitz, Double bass
Herbert Stähr, Clarinet
Hans Lemke, Bassoon
Gerd Seifert, Horn

Track Listing

Schubert Octet in F major, D. 803 (Op. 166)

Side One

1. First movement: Adagio-Allegro
2. Second movement: Adagio
3. Third movement: Allegro vivace

Side Two

1. (Trk 4) Fourth movement: Andante (with 7 variations)
2. (Trk 5) Fifth movement: Menuetto: Allegretto
3. (Trk 6) Sixth movement: Andante molto - Allegro

As with other posts here, I will willingly remove this album from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

Download links (Flac is high quality, but takes up significant computer space (about the equivalent of an audio CD for the whole album). Use flac for reference listening or for further editing/mixing etc.; Mp3 is more suitable for mobile listening, still of fairly high quality, but takes up much less space. Both downloads come with the same notes and high resolution artwork. Click on above image for preview):

Schubert Octet BerlinFLAC

Schubert Octet BerlinMP3

Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the box or link below.

Kenneth Alwyn conducts Gilbert and Sullivan Overtures

Gilbert and Sullivan Overtures
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Kenneth Alwyn

World Record Club (WRC) T292

Kenneth Alwyn's complete recording of The Mikado is available on an EMI Classics for Pleasure CD/download and the set includes, in addition to the Mikado Overture itself, three of the present overtures (Patience, Iolanthe and Yeoman) as 'fillers'. The uploading of this Lp here presents the only vinyl-sourced version of all of Alwyn's G & S overture recordings available online, to the best of my knowledge. As with other posts here, I will willingly remove this album from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

The RPO's playing is predictably polished in this repertoire often undertaken by lesser ensembles. Alwyn has a natural way with the music, drawing out the wit and charm as necessary. It's a pity that we couldn't have had Isidore Godfrey's coda to Gondoliers included though; his recording (with the New Symphony Orchestra of London on Decca) had Dance a cachucha, fandango, bolero as an ending, whereas here we end with the usual - but anti-climactic - Gavotte. Nevertheless, there's much to enjoy.

The WRC release seems to have made use of original masters of the recording: a subsequent release on the Music for Pleasure Lp label was less resonant and the discs themselves have not lasted as well as the WRC, produced several years before the budget label reissues. However, the MfP art (included in the download below) was much more fun than the art that can be seen above.

Track listing

Overtures to:

Side One

1. The Mikado
2. Iolanthe
3. The Gondoliers

Side Two

1. (Trk 4) The Yeoman of the Guard
2. (Trk 5) The Pirates of Penzance
3. (Trk 6) Patience
4. (Trk 7) HMS Pinafore

Download links (Flac is high quality, but takes up significant computer space (about the equivalent of an audio CD for the whole album). Use flac for reference listening or for further editing/mixing etc.; Mp3 is more suitable for mobile listening, still of fairly high quality, but takes up much less space. Both downloads come with the same notes and high resolution artwork. Click on above image for preview):

Gilbert and Sullivan OverturesFLAC

Gilbert and Sullivan OverturesMP3


Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the box or link below.

Catch the Brass Ring - Top classical players masquerade as Jazzers

Catch the Brass Ring
The Torchy Jones Brass Quintet

CL 1517 (Mono version)

This is the mono release of the above title - chosen over the stereo version because of the (almost) pristine copy of the record used in this transfer: this had been received in its original cellophane wrap unopened since production, possibly now some 60 or so years ago. One or two marks in Track 1 aside, the playing surfaces were more or less perfect.

The Torchy Jones Brass Quintet (TJBQ, aka The Philadelphia Brass Ensemble) were all members of the great orchestra of the same name during the late 1950's/1960's. What we have here is a record of tongue-in-cheek jazz arrangements of familiar tunes, some originating from the classical repertoire. Track 4, for example - Jonesy Swings - is principal Philadelphia horn Mason Jones fronting a big band-style rendition of the famous horn solo from Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony: funny to think that this is the very same player who plays the original Tchaikovsky solo for real elsewhere on this blog (see album entitled 'The Great Melodies of Tchaikovsky, Track 1)! We also visit Dvorak, Grieg, Stephen Foster as well as jazz great Duke Ellington and lighter song composers (see below for further details).

Trivia: Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Eugene Ormandy reportedly had this album withdrawn because he frowned upon the idea of his musicians making a jazz record - needless to say he was a bit too late!

Torchy Jones Brass Quintet

Trumpets: 'Gil' (Gilbert) Johnson, 'Si' (Seymour) Rosenfeld
French Horn: Mason Jones
Trombone: 'Hank' (Henry Charles) Smith
Tuba: 'Torchy Jones' (Abe Torchinsky)

Backing band: Art Ryerson (guitar), Bill Lee (bass), Oliver Jackson Jr. (drums)

Track listing

Side One

1. Riding Home (An adaptation of a theme from Dvorak's New World Symphony) - Frank Hunter/Howard Scott
2. Please - L. Robin/R. Rainger
3. Love is Just Around the Corner - L. Robin/L. Gensler
4. Jonesy Swings (An adaptation of a theme from Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony) - Frank Hunter/Howard Scott
5. Don't Get Around Much Anymore - B. Russell/Duke Ellington
6. That Old Black Magic - J. Mercer/H. Arlen

Side Two

1. (Trk 7) One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) - J. Mercer/H. Arlen
2. (Trk 8) Out of Nowhere E. Heyman/J. Green
3. (Trk 9) Spring Love (An adaptation of a theme from Grieg's Piano Concerto) - Frank Hunter/Howard Scott
4. (Trk 10) Basin Street Blues - S. Williams
5. (Trk 11) Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair - Stephen Foster/Frank Hunter
6. (Trk 12) Johnny One Note - L. Hart/R. Rodgers

I can find no evidence of this album having been produced commercially in digital (CD or download) format and will willingly remove it from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

Download links (Flac is high quality, but takes up significant computer space (about the equivalent of an audio CD for the whole album). Use flac for reference listening or for further editing/mixing etc.; Mp3 is more suitable for mobile listening, still of fairly high quality, but takes up much less space. Both downloads come with the same notes and high resolution artwork. Click on above image for preview):

Catch the Brass RingFLAC

Catch the Brass RingMP3

Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the box or link below.

The incredible Black Dyke Mills Band

Black Dyke Mills Band

cond. Whitham/Jaeger

EMI CSD 1565

Surprisingly, given the standard of playing and recording, there appears to be no evidence of this album ever having been produced commercially in digital (CD or download) format*. This is truly fabulous playing and the programme is balanced and varied with something for everyone who loves band music: a rousing march, a 'bandstand' overture, a cornet solo (featuring the great Jim Shepherd), a Gilbert and Sullivan selection, '1812' and one or two lighter pieces thrown in.

Nevertheless, as with other posts on this blog, I will willingly remove it from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

*Knight Templar and Poet and Peasant in the present recordings have recently appeared however, transferred from Lp, on a recent Black Dyke historical 3-CD set entitled 'Jewels in the Crown' on the Doyen label. Readers are encouraged to track this down, as it covers recordings made between 1905 and 2004.

Track Listing

Side One

1. Knight Templar (Allan)**
2. 'Poet and Peasant' Overture (von Suppe, arr. Rivierre)
3. Carnival de Venice (W Rimmer, arr. D Rimmer) - Jim Shepherd, cornet soloist**
4. Can-Can (from 'Orpheus in the Underworld') (Offenbach, arr. Hibbert)
5. Thunder and Lightning Polka (J Strauss II, arr. Wright)

Side Two

1. (Trk 6) The Mikado - Selection (Sullivan, arranger not credited)**
2. (Trk 7) Chianti Song (Winkler, arr. Muston)**
3. (Trk 8) Spanish Harlequin (Haysom, arr. Pope)**
4. (Trk 9) 1812 Overture (Tchaikovsky, arr. Wright)**

**Conductor: Geoffrey Whitham
Guest Conductor: Major CH Jaeger, Mus; Bac; LRAM; ARCM; psm

Black Dyke Mills Band FLAC

Black Dyke Mills Band MP3

Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the box or link below.

Hallé Brass Consort in music by British composers

Hallé Brass Consort: Arnold/Gregson/Horovitz/McCabe

GSGC 14114

Released 1968

I can find no evidence of this album having been produced commercially in digital (CD or download) format and will willingly remove it from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds.

Whilst Philip Jones was chiefly responsible for putting orchestral brass chamber music as as genre 'on the map', here for once is a relatively early example of the genre featuring another great quintet, the Hallé Brass Consort, as they were in the 1960's. The Pye Golden Guinea Records Lp sleeve subtitles the group as 'Brass Ensemble of the University of Salford'. Players were members of the Hallé Orchestra, conducted at the time by Barbirolli.

The modern day Hallé Brass can be heard on a CD devoted entirely to the music of Edward Gregson on the Doyen label. Interestingly - and no doubt for nostalgic reasons - the artwork with that CD includes a detail of the above record sleeve in the overall montage.

Hallé Brass Consort

Bram Gay (Trumpet)
Brian Tudery (Trumpet)
Julian Baker (French Horn)
Terence Nagle (Trombone)
Stewart Roebuck (Tuba)

Track Listing

Side One

MALCOLM ARNOLD: Quintet for Two Trumpets, Horn, Trombone and Tuba

1. Allegro vivace
2. Chaconne
3. Finale: Con brio

EDWARD GREGSON: Quintet for Brass
4. Andante sostenuto
5. Allegro molto ritmico

Side Two

JOSEPH HOROVITZ: 'Music Hall', Suite for Brass Quintet

1. (Trk 6) 'Soubrette Song' - Allegretto
2. (Trk 7) 'Trick Cyclists' - Vivace
3. (Trk 8) 'Adagio Team' - Lento moderato
4. (Trk 9) 'Soft-Shoe Shuffle' - Moderato ma giocoso
5. (Trk 10) 'Les Girls' - Allegro vivace

6. (Trk 11) JOHN McCABE: Rounds for Brass Quintet

Halle Brass Consort FLAC

Halle Brass Consort MP3

Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the box or link below.

USSR Ministry of Defence Band on tip-top form

Showpieces for Symphonic Band
USSR Ministry of Defence Band, cond. as listed below

HMV ASD 3107

Released c. 1975

Rec. Melodiya, early 1970's 

The playing of the USSR Ministry of Defence Band is of top professional quality here and the programming both varied and enjoyable. I can find no evidence of this album having been produced commercially in digital (CD or download) format and will willingly remove it from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds. Thanks to Tin Ear/MusicParlour for supplying the files.

Track Listing

Side 1

1. Rimsky-Korsakov: Trombone Concerto (Victor Batashov, trombone; Nicolai Navarov, cond.)
2. Prokofiev: March, Op. 69/No. 1 in Bb 'March for Sports Games' (Nicolai Navarov, cond.)
3. Prokofiev: March, Op. 69/No. 2 in F 'Lyric March' (Nicolai Sergeyev, cond.)
4. Prokofiev: March, Op. 69/No. 3 in Bb (Nicolai Navarov, cond.)

Side 2

1. (Trk 5) Prokofiev: March, Op. 99 (Nicolai Sergeyev, cond.)
2. (Trk 6) Rimsky-Korsakov: Variations for Oboe and Band (on a theme by Glinka) (Yevgeny Lyakhovitsky, oboe, Yuri Pitiriov, cond.)
3. (Trk 7) Rimsky-Korsakov: Clarinet Concerto (Lev Mikhailov, clarinet; Leo Dunsev, cond.)
4. (Trk 8) Tchaikovsky: Military March in Bb (Nicolai Sergeyev, cond.)

Download links (Flac is high quality, but takes up significant computer space (about the equivalent of an audio CD for the whole album). Use flac for reference listening or for further editing/mixing etc.; Mp3 is more suitable for mobile listening, still of fairly high quality, but takes up much less space. Both downloads come with the same notes and high resolution artwork. Click on above image for preview):


Showpieces for Band FLAC

Showpieces for Band MP3

Please feel welcome in commenting on this album via the box or link below.

Fabulously played bite-sized Tchaikovsky

The Great Melodies of Tchaikovsky
The Philadelphia Orchestra, cond. Eugene Ormandy

Columbia Records CL 946 (Lp release date unknown)

Recorded 1950-1953 (Mono)

A classical sound bite Lp 1950's-style, comprising a mixture of complete movements or significant length clips from Tchaikovsky (detailed below). The practice of fading in/out or making cuts during movements may well be frowned upon in some circles these days, but don't under estimate the quality of playing here: perfectly judged, tuneful, full of romance and with the Philadelphians and Ormandy on top form. Very good mono sound.

I can find no evidence of this album having been produced commercially in digital (CD or download) format and will willingly remove it from this blog should anyone concerned in its production or copyrighting complain about its presence here on legal grounds. 

Track Listing

Side 1

1. Fifth Symphony - Andante cantabile (excerpt from 2nd movement) (9:05)

2. Romeo and Juliet - Love Theme (3:06)

3. Waltz from Serenade for Strings (3:38)

4. Theme from Marche Slav (5:48)

Side 2

1. (Trk 5) Theme from Pathétique Symphony (excerpt from 1st movement) (5:17)

2. (Trk 6) Waltz of the Flowers (excerpt) (5:30)

3. (Trk 7) Andante cantabile, from String Quartet in D (arr. for string orchestra) (7:03)

4. (Trk 8) Waltz from Sleeping Beauty (4:22)

Download links (Flac is high quality, but takes up significant computer space (about the equivalent of an audio CD for the whole album). Use flac for reference listening or for further editing/mixing etc.; Mp3 is more suitable for mobile listening, still of fairly high quality, but takes up much less space. Both downloads come with the same notes and high resolution artwork. Click on above image for preview):

The Great Melodies of Tchaikovsky FLAC      

The Great Melodies of Tchaikovsky MP3

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