Coming in January 2020: The Sepia Records CD "Mario Lanza: Classics"

[Derek McGovern]

I'm excited to announce that in January 2020 Sepia Records will be releasing yet another Lanza CD. Entitled Mario Lanza: Classics, this is the eighth CD that Armando, Vince, Carmel, Lee Ann and I have compiled for Sepia Records. 

I'll be posting more details soon, but for now here's a description from my liner notes:

This CD brings together Lanza’s most popular recordings, including his three million-selling singles (all making their first appearance on this label), his Top 20 chart successes in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and the highlights from his two best-selling albums, The Great Caruso and The Student Prince. It also includes a representative sampling of the tenor at his vocal and stylistic zenith in multiple genres, with definitive renditions of everything from an Edwardian parlour song (“Because”) to five Neapolitan classics. As such, this CD serves as both the perfect introduction to the art and voice of Mario Lanza and—for his existing admirers—an unusually convenient compilation of many of his greatest recordings. 

[Steff Walzinger]

Hi Derek,

This sounds very promising! A treat and "after-Christmas-gift" to be looking forward to. A good start for 2020!

Congratulations to the "Sepia staff!" 

Steff

[aqui...@gmail.com]

Fantastic! Grazie, Derek!

[Derek McGovern]

I've just posted a feature in our News section about this CD:

https://www.mariolanzatenor.com/news/coming-in-january-2020-mario-lanza-classics

[Kaz]

"this is the eighth CD that Armando, Vince, Carmel, Lee Ann and I have compiled for Sepia Records."

I knew that you did two or three, but eight?  Wow!  Great work, Derek Et. Al.:-)

Do you mind providing the titles so that I can add them all to my collection?

~Sean

[AZENCOT MARCEL]

Great news and thank you for the job! Impatient to get it! Congratulations to the crew!

Marcel, Opera club Mario Lanza

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[Derek McGovern]

Many thanks, Sean and Marcel.

Sean: If you click on the following link you'll be able to see all of the Sepia CDs that we've worked on:

https://www.mariolanzatenor.com/lps-and-cds.html#4

[Kas]

Thanks, DerekJ

 

~Sean

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[Derek McGovern]

The new CD from Sepia Records will be available within the next week directly from Sepia's web site. (I'll post the link here as soon as it becomes available.)

And for anyone who wants to buy the CD, but would prefer to wait until it's released internationally on February 7th, here are the links for Amazon UK and Amazon USA. 

[Damien Quigley]

Hi all,

I just noticed that the new CD is now available to order from the Sepia Records website: http://www.sepiarecords.com/sepia1348.html

[Derek McGovern]

Well spotted, Damien!!

[Steff Walzinger]

Hi Derek,

May I congratulate you and all those involved on yet another very fine Sepia release. Well done!

I think this is not only a treat for long time fans and afficionados, but also for beginners, who so far, have not been familiar with the art of Mario Lanza. The CD has it all, Mario’s best selling songs, opera arias, art songs and Italian classics, and therefore perfectly mirrors Mario’s inimitable versatility, which gave him the position of an outstanding singing artist who is to be placed in a category of his own.

„Granada“ is a very good starter as it is such a „sunny“ song (although, those who know me well, are aware that, to me, Fritz Wunderlich’s rendition is the non plus ultra).

 

Picking out one song from the CD I have to say that, still today, I am fascinated by Mario's interpretation of the drinking song from „The Student Prince,“ (1952 soundtrack recording) which I regard as one of his best and most impressive operatic renditions. It’s just outstanding how his voice „overwhelms“ (not sure if this is the correct word) the chorus, and I am always tempted to turn up the volume at its highest, and to open the window (I avoid the latter one, though, to spare my neighbours, LOL). More recordings such as this should have been done – „Di quella pira,“ for example, comes to mind.

Again, Mario’s great ability of perfect diction, his very clear pronounciation of each word, is so striking. Many singers do not manage the balance between melody and the words. Especially when singing in a foreign language they tend to concentrate too much on the pronounciation, thus neglecting to bring emotion into a song or aria, or they just don’t „care“ for the words/lyrics, which, with a few exceptions (for example Plácido Domingo singing „Dein ist mein ganzes Herz“), is not really „charming.“ For Mario, keeping the balance, is just as natural as breathing.

The booklet is, as always, beautifully done – with a spectacular cover in a fresh purple colour, and, Derek, the liner notes are, as always, very interesting to read, so very well elaborated, and leave nothing to desire.

The sound quality is very good – as far as I can judge this, as my device is only of average quality. And, of course, it is always a nice treat to hear Mario’s speaking voice. Each time this happens, it is a „surprise moment, and you get the impression that he's standing just next to you. (I remember my excitement, about 12 years ago, when I heard his speaking voice for the very first time).

Here is to hope that many Lanza fans and newcomers out there will buy this release - especially those who occasionally complain that nothing new happens in „Lanza World.“). Now, here’s something new to enjoy and to be happy about!

Steff

[Savage]

Derek,

    The new CD is wonderful. My strongest praise is for the incredible sound quality. The big notes are clear and crisp with no distortion. The most impressive for me, however, are the passages where Mario applies his lighter touch, for example the first half of The Loveliest Night Of The Year and the first half of Mamma Mia Che Vo Sape. The voice in these passages is so hauntingly beautiful. I can't imagine any other tenor producing such flawless sound. For me personally this CD is like rediscovering the Lanza voice. One more thing: the grouping of Recondita Armonia, Che Gelida Manina, M'Appari, and E Lucevan Le Stella together is brilliant.  These four recordings together represent the pinnacle of Mario's achievement as an artist.  I love this CD and can't thank Derek and the crew enough.

[Derek McGovern]

Thanks so much for your feedback, Steff and David. It's a great relief to read such positive responses to the new CD---particularly since I haven't heard it myself yet! It seems its tardiness is due to the Lunar New Year holiday period, which begins here in Korea (and in much of Asia) at the end of this week. As a result, the mail delivery service has ground to a halt. Just my luck!

I'm glad you liked the choice of the opening track (Granada), Steff. Restoring that recording (from an ancient film print) was no easy matter, but it was very important for us to get that one right, as it's arguably Mario's finest version of the song. (At the very least, it gives the 1949 version a run for its money.) 

And David: I was gratified to read your praise of the soft passages of "Loveliest Night" and "Mamma Mia, Che Vo' Sape?" on this CD. In the case of the former, Vince and I went right back to the 1951 UK album Melodies from The Great Caruso for that gorgeously warm reproduction, which has never been bettered in my opinion. And for "Mamma Mia," we used the superior pressing from the 1959 Double Feature LP. The warmth of that pressing (unlike the various Sony/BMG reproductions) is stunning, while the high b-flat rings out gloriously. 

Another thing I'm particularly happy about is that the 1949 "Che gelida manina"---unlike its previous CD outings---isn't blighted by a dropout on the word "scrivo" early in the aria. It was no easy matter finding a blemish-free vinyl reproduction in good sound of that recording (even the 1959 Double Feature LP version is faulty), but the indefatigable Vince was up to the task!  

[Derek McGovern]

A P.S. to the above:

I received my CD today, and have just finished listening to it in its entirety for the second time.

What an overwhelming experience! While I had listened to the various demo versions numerous times during the remastering process, nothing had quite prepared me for the actual finished result. As Armando remarked privately to me last week, it's a phenomenal experience to hear so many outstanding recordings in a row on a single CD, and newcomers to Mario are liable to be blown away by this compilation.

And additional kudos, by the way, to Sepia for doing wonders with "Granada" and for making the astonishingly vibrant "Passione" sound like it was recorded just yesterday.    

[Derek McGovern]

Just a heads-up for anyone who hasn't ordered this CD yet, but is thinking about it:

Sepia won't be processing any further orders from its own website till around February 19th, so if you'd like to receive it sooner rather than later, it'll be released this Friday (February 7th) by Amazon and other online sellers.

Oh, and I've been asked why I didn't specify on the back of the CD case which "Serenade" and "Ave Maria" are featured in the bonus tracks. Actually, I did include the composers' names (Drigo and Bach-Gounod, respectively) in the booklet that I signed off on (see below), but somehow in the printing process they were omitted. Irritating, yes, but not the end of the world :)

     

[Palmarola2012]

Thank you again Derek. I ordered mine on Amazon. All the best. Emilio 

Sent from my BlackBerry — the most secure mobile device

From: derek.m...@gmail.com Sent: 4 February 2020 4:29 PM To: mario...@googlegroups.com Reply to: mario...@googlegroups.com Subject: [Mario Lanza] Re: Coming in January 2020: The Sepia Records CD "Mario Lanza: Classics"

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[AZENCOT MARCEL]

Hi Derek,

I ordered and already received my 2 cds directly from Sepia. We'll announce them on our website "Opera Club Mario Lanza".

All the best and once more congratulations for this beautiful achievement!

Marcel Azencot

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[Derek McGovern]

Dear Emilio and Marcel: That's great to hear. Sepia will be delighted by all this interest in their CD---and they certainly deserve decent sales for their dedication to Lanza. 

Molte grazie and merci beaucoup!