Comments on On An Overgrown Path: Label me obsessed

I was pleased to stumble on this entry. I thought...

2009-12-31T22:14:01.401Z

I was pleased to stumble on this entry. I thought a friend and I were the only two obsessives who liked to seek out clean, good-resolution images of the original LP artwork for classical LPs and use them (in place of the often quite hideous re-issue CD covers) on our iPods. Hurrah for the obsessives!

By the way, love the image of the JB Elgar/RVW String Music LP - is there any chance of a jpg of that to add to my collection please?!
incubus2006[ATsymbol]blueyonder.co.uk

I have the CD re-issue and agree that this is a ve...

2009-01-14T17:56:00.000Z

I have the CD re-issue and agree that this is a very special performance. But, sadly an original LP has so far eluded me.

This recording has often been promoted by Art Dudley and others in the American audio press as not only a brilliant recording and performance, but an ideal introduction to classical music for the uninitiated. Consequently originals have become even more collectible and difficult to find. It was released in the US as Ang. S 36101.

I'd settle for either but would dearly love to add the EMI to my collection. If anybody has a lead on a clean copy please get in touch. bwr000@gmail.com

Brian, yes it was. I have the LP in front of me. I...

2009-01-14T17:48:02.727Z

Brian, yes it was. I have the LP in front of me. It is ASD 521.

I did think about putting catalogue numbers in my posts as those ASDs have a certain nostalgic ring. But only, I fear, to the pre-MP3 generation.

Was the original catalogue number for this recordi...

2009-01-14T17:42:00.000Z

Was the original catalogue number for this recording EMI ASD 521?

Nice link here -http://vinyltoob.wordpress.com/200...

2009-01-09T20:31:16.327Z

Nice link here -

http://vinyltoob.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/vinyl-obsessives-1/

Many thanks to the readers above who have supplied...

2009-01-09T08:40:25.662Z

Many thanks to the readers above who have supplied information. In true collabarative Wiki fashion this has allowed me to correct and enhance my original text.

The spurious reference to the Monte Carlo recording venue has been removed. I have added a very valuable link to the Bernard Herrmann website which gives information about the Tallis recording in the Temple Church.

That Bernard Herrmann web page is a gem. I will return to it.

Thanks again to the readers who help make An Overgrown Path such a rich resource.

Do keep the comments coming.

The back cover of the CD edition in the EMI Great ...

2009-01-08T23:32:00.000Z

The back cover of the CD edition in the EMI Great Recordings of the Century series states that the Elgar works and the Greensleeves were recorded in the Kingsway Hall. And the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was recorded in Temple Church a week later.
Michael Kennedy writes in the liner notes that "the venue was suggested by the American composer and conductor Bernard Herrmann, a friend and admirer of Sir John since his years in New York". He also mentions that Ursula Vaughan Williams wrote that "the recording sessions started at midnight to avoid any traffic noises".

Email received:Surely the "Alacazar Hall, Monte Ca...

2009-01-08T22:50:59.939Z

Email received:

Surely the "Alacazar Hall, Monte Carlo", if it exists, was not the venue for the VW Greensleeves which was made along with the Tallis Fantasia in the church - late night not to avoid services but to gain the service of some otherwise busy London string players? There's an account of these sessions by Ursula Vaughan Williams which I've failed to trace immediately but will hunt out. (And maybe something in Evelyn Barbirolli's book too?)

Congratulations on the ever-fascinating site (although I think you should re-listen to the Barenboim New Year's Concert - fine music-making and not his fault that the moronic commentary is, as you say, promoting all his endeavours and not focussing on the music).

Best regards,Mike Ashman

Thanks for that Mike. I too was puzzled by that reference to the Alcazar Hall, Monte Carlo. But it did exist as a recording venue, and Barbirolli did guest conduct the Monte Carlo orchestra so he knew the hall.

I too remember a written reference to the VW session, but also could not locate it. Is it in Michael Kennedy's biography of Barbirolli? Let me know if you can clear the mystery up.

You may well be right about the reason for the late night sessions. But, as the same players were in the Elgar sessions in the Kingsway Hall, I thought, possibly wrongly, there was a reason for the timing connected with the Temple Church.

G-sus, thanks for that. You did start me thinking ...

2009-01-08T22:39:31.079Z

G-sus, thanks for that. You did start me thinking about when did I last hear any of those string works in a concert hall in Britain?

The answer is actually quite a long time ago. Not because these composers are neglected, indeed the symphonies of both Elgar and Vaughan Williams are staple concert fare in British concert halls.

They are rarely heard here because these particular works are difficult to fit into a concert programme, particularly in the 21st century when the emphasis is on 'significant' and weighty music.

The familiarity and popularity of these wonderful string pieces is due to their availability on disc rather than in the concert hall, even in Britain.

Thank godness that recordings like this exist and ...

2009-01-08T22:06:00.000Z

Thank godness that recordings like this exist and are still easily available, because I can say (to my regret) that English music is almost absent from concert halls here in Spain. Not even English conductors include it in their programmes when they guest-conduct some of our local orchestras.
The exception, of course, is Adrian Leaper, principal conductor of the Spanish Radio Television Symphony Orchestra. He conducted a few years ago the only piece of this 'Glorious John' recording that I have ever seen performed live, Vaughan William's Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.
Interestingly, Maestro Leaper also conducts music by Spanish composers more frequently than most Spanish conductors.

David, I think it is available from the Barbirolli...

2009-01-08T17:00:33.432Z

David, I think it is available from the Barbirolli Society -

http://www.barbirolli.co.uk/cd-list.html

The cover is here -

http://www.ambergreen-classical.co.uk/barbirollibeethoven-eroicaasd-2348-90-p.asp

Email recieved:Glorious JohnOne incredible, and of...

2009-01-08T16:56:06.624Z

Email recieved:

Glorious John

One incredible, and often overlooked, EMI recording of Sir John Barbirolli is his Beethoven's Third Symphony. I grew up with the ANGEL release of that recording, replete with the martial cover. I do believe it has finally be re-issued on CD.

Cheers David Cavlovic