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Tracklisting & More Information
I'd better start of with a few details of what exactly this is and why it's so special.
A gentleman called Pete Huchison found himself having spent over £40,000 in one year on classical music, including the original Pathé release of this exquisite 'Holy Grail' box set. He happened to be in charge of his own record label, that conveniently was distributed by EMI, parent company of Pathé.
Through his contacts there, Hutchison got permission to remake eighty celebrated recordings from the golden era 1950s and 60s and reissue them himself, via his new label the Electric Recording Company.
This is the re-issue of that rare French box set.
Not content with a simple re-press, he decided to go the whole hog and reproduce, as exactly as he could, that 1956 box set. In his own words, he wanted to have 'The best sounding records in the world'.
To that end, he went back to the original Pathé mono master tapes. To replay those tapes, he purchased and painstakingly restored an original EMI reel to reel recorder that was once used in Abbey Road. The mastering console, also ex-EMI, he had to find in Nigeria. To complete his time travels, he managed to acquire a valve powered tape machine and vinyl cutting lathe, which he spent three years restoring with the help of veteran sound engineers Sean Davies and Duncan Crimmins, guided by instruction manuals Davies had kept since the 1970s.
He also decided that the packaging would also be as near to the original release as possible. To that end he managed to track down a printer that still had a 1959 Heidelberg letterpress. The gold print was sourced from ancient stock, as was the silk cord for the bindings of the fifty page booklet.
The photographs within the booklet, rather than being copies of the original images, had to come from the original photographs, which meant tracking down the photographers, or their children, to request permission. Just the booklet accompanying this box set took an entire year to make.
So, what do you get for your money ?
The seven LP box set, authentic in every detail, with the only concession being made to the labels themselves as the 'Nipper' dog image was now owned by RCA in America & so could not be used for the Pathé labels.
The fifty page booklet is a near exact duplication of the original, taken from new custom typesets around the original archive photographs that were in the 1956 booklet.
The vinyl: An all valve mono cut from the original Pathé mono master tapes on authentic equipment and pressed onto heavyweight audiophile vinyl, then lovingly placed into replica inners and fitted into the replica box. Authentic in every detail.
This is not a re-press so much as a re-crafting. A labour of love that necessitated rebuilding the printing and pressing facilities of the late fifties in order to produce a modern high quality clone of the original, in perfect condition, with perfect sonics.
Limited to just three hundred copies, with copies released at the rate of a handful a month, this has a long waiting list of people waiting to hear this masterpiece recording in a way that it had not been heard for fifty five years. You can jump that queue.
A copy was offered as a competition prize by a UK Newspaper and this copy was sourced directly from the lucky winner. It is still SEALED in the original packaging, wrapped in sealed tissue paper and remains with the ERC stickered mailing outer that it was shipped in. This copy is as new, no chain, and a mere five hundred pounds less than the current recommended retail price.
A bargain, whichever way you look at it. An original, almost impossible to obtain, over five times this price. A copy of this set from anywhere else would be at least five hundred pounds more expensive. We only have one & when it's gone, it's gone.
The Performances [and original label catalogue numbers]:
DTX 191: Concerto for Harpsichord and Violin K.supp.56 - Sonata for Harpsichord and Violin, K.6, K.7, K.8 and K.9 - Jacques Dumont (Violin) - Robert Veyron-Lacroix (Harpsichord) - Fernand Oubradous (Conductor) - Kyrie, K.33 - J.Cellier (Soprano) - S.Michel (Contralto) - J.Giraudeau (Tenor) - M.Roux (Bass)
DTX 192: Symphonie Concertante, K.297 - Fernand Oubradous (Conductor) - P.Pierlot (Oboe) - J.Lancelot (Clarinet) - P.Delvescovo (Horn) and P.Hongne (Bassoon) - Grande Overture in B Flat Major K.supp.1 No 8 - Fernand Oubradous (Conductor)
DTX 193: Concerto for Harp and Flute in C Major, K.299 - Andante for Flute and Orchestra, K.315 - Lili Laskine (Harp) - François-Julien Brun (Flute) - Fernand Oubradous (Conductor)
DTX 194: Symphonie Parisienne, K.297 - Les Petits Riens - Fernand Oubradous (Conductor)
DTX 195: Popoli di Tessaglia, K. 316 - Annick Simon (Soprano) - Fernand Oubradous (Conductor) - String Quartet, K.supp.212 - Pascal Quartet - Ah! Vousdirai-je Maman - 12 Variations, K.265 - Samson François (Piano) - Sonata for Violin and Piano, K.306 - René Benedetti (Violin) - Vlado Perlemuter (Piano)
DTX 196: Sonata in A Minor, K.310 - Lazare-Levy (Piano) - La Belle Françoise - 12 Variations K.353 - Jean Doyen (Piano) - Lison Dormait - 9 Variations, K.395 - Prelude, K.395 - Jeanne-Marie Darré (Piano) - Sonata for Violin & Piano, K.304 - Roland Charmy (Violin) - Vlado Perlemuter (Piano)
DTX 197: Sonata in C Major, K.330 - Aline Van Barentzen (Piano) - Sonata in A Major K.331 - Marcel Ciampi (Piano) - Je Suis Lindor - 12 Variations, K.354 - Lucette Descaves (Piano) - Sonata in F Major, K.332 - Joseph Benvenutti (Piano)
VINYL LP BOX SET
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