More of the music of Jules Massenet (1842—1912)
More Classical and Orchestral Recordings
- This shockingly well recorded orchestral recording on vintage British EMI import vinyl boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last
- So much bigger and livelier than most other copies we played, with an extended top, rosiny texture to the strings, and lower strings that are rich and vibrant in the best tradition of vintage Deccas and RCAs
- A Demo Disc of real power with huge size and scope – it’s smooth and natural, which means you can really turn it up if you want that front row center seat
- This copy was one of the few that really extended on both ends of the frequency spectrum
- Let’s give credit where credit is due – Stuart Eltham is an immensely talented recording engineer and this is unquestionably some of his finest work
- This orchestral spectacular should be part of any serious classical collection –others that belong in that category can be found here
- For those interested in our reviews for the many others pressings of Le Cid we’ve auditioned, please click here.
This is a record that clearly belongs on a Super Disc list; if Harry hadn’t already put it there we certainly would have. (We would love to compile a Super Disc list of our own, but unless you have just the right copy of whatever title you find on the list, you may not have anything like Super Disc sound quality, so why a list at all? It creates more problems for audiophiles than it solves.)
Both sides of this TAS List disc contain audiophile Must Own Demonstration pieces, full of Tubey Magic, powerful dynamics, real depth, lifelike ambience, and uncannily accurate instrumental timbres, especially from the woodwinds. Add explosive dynamics and deep bass and you have yourself a genuine audiophile recording.
The sound is so rich you will not believe you are listening to an EMI. If more EMI records sounded like this we would be putting them on the site left and right. Unfortunately, in our experience the majority are thin, shrill and vague. Not so here!
This vintage UK import pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound.
If you exclusively play modern repressings of vintage recordings, I can say without fear of contradiction that you have never heard this kind of sound on vinyl. Old records have it — not often, and certainly not always — but maybe one out of a hundred new records do, and those are some pretty long odds.
What The Best Sides Of Le Cid – Ballet Music / Scènes Pittoresques Have To Offer Is Not Hard To Hear
- The biggest, most immediate staging in the largest acoustic space
- The most Tubey Magic, without which you have almost nothing. CDs give you clean and clear. Only the best vintage vinyl pressings offer the kind of Tubey Magic that was on the tapes in 1971
- Tight, note-like, rich, full-bodied bass, with the correct amount of weight down low
- Natural tonality in the midrange — with all the instruments having the correct timbre
- Transparency and resolution, critical to hearing into the three-dimensional studio space
No doubt there’s more but we hope that should do for now. Playing the record is the only way to hear all of the qualities we discuss above, and playing the best pressings against a pile of other copies under rigorously controlled conditions is the only way to find a pressing that sounds as good as this one does.
Copies with rich lower mids and nice extension up top did the best in our shootout, assuming they weren’t veiled or smeary of course. So many things can go wrong on a record! We know, we’ve heard them all.
Top end extension is critical to the sound of the best copies. Lots of old records (and new ones) have no real top end; consequently, the studio or stage will be missing much of its natural air and space, and instruments will lack their full complement of harmonic information.
Tube smear is common to most vintage pressings. The copies that tend to do the best in a shootout will have the least (or none), yet are full-bodied, tubey and rich.
Other Pressings
The original Blueback pressing (CS 6058) of the Martinon performance we played was a complete disaster: shrill, with no top or bottom to speak of. Admittedly, we only had the one copy, so take it for what it’s worth. If you feel like taking a chance on one, make sure you can return it if it sounds as bad as the one we are describing.
However, the Stereo Treasury pressing of the above performance can be quite good.
What We’re Listening For On Le Cid – Ballet Music / Scènes Pittoresques
- Energy for starters. What could be more important than the life of the music?
- The Big Sound comes next — wall to wall, lots of depth, huge space, three-dimensionality, all that sort of thing.
- Then transient information — fast, clear, sharp attacks, not the smear and thickness so common to these LPs.
- Powerful bass — which ties in with good transient information, also the issue of frequency extension further down.
- Next: transparency — the quality that allows you to hear deep into the soundfield, showing you the space and air around all the instruments.
- Extend the top and bottom and voila, you have The Real Thing — an honest to goodness Hot Stamper.
Side One
“Le Cid” Ballet Music
Castillane
Andalouse
Aragonaise
Aubade
Catalane
Madriene
Navarraise
Side Two
Scenes Pittoresques
Marche
Air De Ballet
Angelus
Fete Boheme
The Last Sleep Of The Virgin From “La Vierge”
Le Cid
The ballet suite from the second act of Massenet’s opera Le Cid is one of his best known and most highly regarded works for orchestra. The opera, set in twelfth century Spain, is a sweeping saga focusing on the exploits of Don Rodrigue (Le Cid) as he battles the Moors and fights for the woman he loves. In much the same way that Bizet suggested the sounds of Spain in his opera Carmen, Massenet uses colorful orchestration and striking dance rhythms to evoke the region’s unique flavor. The composer’s inventive use of percussion instruments is particularly striking, and no doubt reflects that fact that, earlier in his career, Massenet was a percussionist himself. The seven picturesque movements are: Castilane, Andalouse, Aragonaise, Aubade, Catalane, Madrilene, and Navarraise – Robert Barefield
Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet (1842—1912) was one of the more prolific of French operatic composers, but many of his works have been forgotten or, at best, remembered only for certain excerpts. Le Cid comes into this category, for performances of the complete opera are rare, although the ballet from it still retains its hold on the affections of the public. Justly so, for the music is tuneful, vivid and exotic, almost more Spanish than that of the Spaniards themselves — or so one is persuaded on hearing it. – From the liner notes.