Munch's "Damnation" in stereo - is it or isn't it?
Spam Scone
box. The Damnation of Faust was recorded in 1954, and is allegedly a
monophonic recording. Yet at times when listening to it I swear I hear
a slight stereo effect. I know parts of the recording were done in
stereo; has RCA done a patch-job, or toyed with the remastering in some
way?
mdhjwh
I know nothing about that recording although I wouldn't mind having a
listen .
Have you listened to any other mono recordings for this "slight stereo
effect".
It could be the case that your speakers aren't totally matched in
frequency response
and are emphasising particular instruments or notes in one channel more
than another.
Just a stab in the dark.
Jerry
Can't comment on the new Berlioz box, but a 5:17 fragment
from the 1954 Damnation in REAL STEREO is included the Living
Stereo CD "A Tribute to John Pfeiffer" 09026-68524-2.
The story that I've heard is that the entire session was
taped in Stereo, but a complete stereo copy no longer exists.
A patch-work issue (stereo fragments with mono
for the remainder) was once rumored.
Brent Miller
in 1953. There is definitely simulated stereo going on. It wouldn't
surprise me if they haven't done the same thing to other items.
"Spam Scone" <Spam...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1109387425....@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Brendan R. Wehrung
Is this the one where an executive took the master home and his wife
ruined it?
Brendan
--
Richar...@aol.com
The story I read in an interview with Pfeiffer was that it was recorded
in stereo. The first issue was on mono and stereo discs. RCA were so
pleased with the recording that the March was used on a stereo
demonstration disc. Unfortunately the compliation master tape used the
original session tape and it was subsequently lost. As were backups. So
a full stereo tape of Faust can't be reassembled.
Richar...@aol.com
> The story I read in an interview with Pfeiffer was that it was
recorded
> in stereo. The first issue was on mono and stereo discs. RCA were so
> pleased with the recording that the March was used on a stereo
> demonstration disc. Unfortunately the compliation master tape used
the
> original session tape and it was subsequently lost. As were backups.
So
> a full stereo tape of Faust can't be reassembled.
Correction: it was part of the Ride to the Abyss. Here's the link to
Pfeiffer's interview
Spam Scone
mdhjwh wrote:
> Spam Scone wrote:
> > I just got the 'new' (yes I know most of it isn't new) Munch
Berlioz
> > box. The Damnation of Faust was recorded in 1954, and is allegedly
a
> > monophonic recording. Yet at times when listening to it I swear I
> hear
> > a slight stereo effect. I know parts of the recording were done in
> > stereo; has RCA done a patch-job, or toyed with the remastering in
> some
> > way?
>
> I know nothing about that recording although I wouldn't mind having a
> listen .
You should. It's a damn good performance.
> Have you listened to any other mono recordings for this "slight
stereo
> effect".
> It could be the case that your speakers aren't totally matched in
> frequency response
> and are emphasising particular instruments or notes in one channel
more
> than another.
I was listening on headphones.
William Sommerwerck
Many years ago I bought the Crosswords (nee, Supraphon) LP of the "Archduke." I
always wondered why the stereo wasn't very good. Then one day I looked closely
at the album -- I'd bought the mono version by mistake.
Even if your speakers are perfectly balanced, you can still imagine you're
hearing stereo when you're not.
The 1956 recording of "Candide" is stereo, but there are bands and passages that
sound decidedly mono-ish.
Handel8
stereo on LP or otherwise. I have never seen a stereo copy in the US.
There was a stereo version on French RCA LP set, but I would bet money
that this was pseudo stereo and not the real thing. I believe that
only part of the work was recorded in stereo as an experiment. I'm
sure a lot more is available in stereo than just that 5 minute excerpt
on that BMG/RCA cd. It would be neat if they would issue the whole
thing with as much stereo as they have mixed and spliced in with the
mono. Ward Marston did that on an LP of early Stokowski/Philadelphia
Orchestra material from Bell Labs. He put together a complete Wagner
orchestral piece with the studio/mono recording with the with the
stereo clips. It was done flawlessly. It actually started in stereo
went to mono and then back again !
Alan Prichard
Jerry
Another example where BMG is missing the boat! I had also heard
of a French LP Stereo issue (in the 70s?) but had never seen a
copy and could never confirm whether it was 100% real.
If there is any significant amount of this classic in real STEREO,
then a Stereo/Mono compilation would probably sell. If I were
at BMG (which I'm obviously not), I would ask how many CD copies
of this performance had already sold in its various incarnations
(Gold Seal; the first Munch/Berlioz box, and the latest Munch/Berlioz
box) to see if there is a market. (My bet is that there is).
Also, the Munch/Berlioz Requiem on SACD represents its fourth
CD appearance. Just put my order in at Borders! Strong
sales of that title should convince the skeptics at BMG that
a compilation 1954 Damnation would sell.
But, perhaps not all is lost. When the 8-disc Berlioz box
came out, I wrote to BMG pointing out that they could easily
have included the first (78-rpm; 1949) recording of the
Beatrice and Benedict. That finally did appear in an
RCA Red Seal Century compilation set and now, I understand,
in the 10-cd box.
Final word (stereo or mono aside), this has got to be one
of the great classics of recorded sound and I should
probably be grateful that it's not fallen into the
out-of-print limbo.
Peter Greenstein
"Handel8" <ala...@nycap.rr.com> wrote in message
news:1109424910.3...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>I do not believe that the complete Munch Damnation was ever issued in
> stereo on LP or otherwise. I have never seen a stereo copy in the US.
> There was a stereo version on French RCA LP set, but I would bet money
I bought it and it was electronically enhanced, not true stereo.
--
peter greenstein
http://wakefieldjazz.com/
Mitchell Kaufman
Assuming it's the same as the original 8-CD box, it's mono. However, a
stereo excerpt was issued on the RCA Living Stereo Pfeiffer tribute CD,
and it was absolutely spectacular. The complete stereo tapes have been
lost, however.
MK
ansermetniac
Wasn't an excerpt from the only master on the tape Mrs.Sarnoff lost,
along with the end of the march from Toscanini's stereo pathetique?
Abbedd
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