AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head
Philips / Speakers Corner - 835 096 AY - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue
Limited Edition - Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering - Pressed at Pallas Germany
Speakers Corner 25 Years Pure Analogue This LP is an Entirely Analogue Production
Resphigi: Antiche Danze ed Arie per Liuto / Barber: Adagio for Strings / Bartók: Roumanian Folk Dances / Britten: Simple Symphony - I Musici
To compile a music sampler might seem simple, but the conceivers of this LP set themselves several hurdles to spice up their task. Among the infinite possibilities of an overall binding element, they chose to put together works by modern composers who reached back to past traditions. Because most pieces are arrangements for I Musici - a chamber ensemble that tends to favor baroque conventions - one might imagine that all works sound somewhat similar.
But less can also mean more, for Respighi's heavyweight sound in his arrangements of ancient dances is hardly missed thanks to the ensemble lending the work a light and airy warmth. Barber's Opus 11, originally conceived as a quartet, has gained in sound coloring and once again proves itself as a true essential among all Adagios. Bartok's artistically convoluted Folk Dances prove themselves to be real little gems in Arthur Willner's transcription.
The orchestra quite obviously delights in conjuring up the delicate melodies and tingling pizzicato, while the stamping peasant rhythms are played with gusto. Closest here to the original sound is Britten's Simple Symphony, composed for a school orchestra, in which Britten makes use of favorite tunes from his youth. The reason that this composition - shot through with pizzicato from beginning to end - has been arranged for an orchestra of plucked instruments cannot and will not remain a secret for anyone listening to this perfect interpretation.
Thisis an immensely enjoyable release. Here one has a style of playing that is virtually dead and the sheer professionalism and sound of I Musici commands attention.
This particular disc of twentieth-century pieces is rare, but not collectible (it never fetches more than £20 at auction). As with the Argerich the Speakers Corner transfer hasreal presence and power. There is excellent definition and the bass is extended and tight - ClassicalSource
Cello – Vincenzo Altobelli, Mario Centurione
Double Bass – Lucio Bucarella
Harpsichord – Maria Teresa Garatti
Viola – Alfonso Ghedin, Carmela Franco
Violin – Anna Maria Cotogni, Félix Ayo , Italo Colandrea, Luciano Vicari, Walter Gallozzi
Violin, Soloist – Roberto Michelucci
Musicians: I Musici String Orchestra
Side 1:
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Antliche Dance ed Arie per Liuto
Suite III
1. Italiana
2. Arie di Corte
3. Siciliana
4. Passacaglia
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
5. Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (from String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11)
Side 2:
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Roumanian Folk Dances
1. Stick Dance
2. Sash Dance
3. Stamping Dance
4. Hornpipe Dance
5. Roumanian Polka
6. Fast Dance
7. Fast Dance
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Simple Symphony Op. 4
1. 1st Movement: Boisterous Bourree
2. 2nd Movement: Playful Pizzicato
3. 3rd Movement: Sentimental Saraband
4. 4th Movement: Frolicsome Finale
Recorded June & July 1961 at Bachzaal, Amsterdam, by Henk Jansen.
25 Years pure Analogue
This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head 25 Years pure Analogue
Are your records completely analogue?
Yes! This we guarantee!
As a matter of principle, only analogue masters are used, and the necessary cutting delay is also analogue. All our cutting engineers use only Neumann cutting consoles, and these too are analogue. The only exception is where a recording has been made – either partly or entirely – using digital technology, but we do not have such items in our catalogue at the present time
Are your records cut from the original masters?
In our re-releases it is our aim to faithfully reproduce the original intentions of the musicians and recording engineers which, however, could not be realised at the time due to technical limitations. Faithfulness to the original is our top priority, not the interpretation of the original: there is no such thing as a “Speakers Corner Sound”. Naturally, the best results are obtained when the original master is used. Therefore we always try to locate these and use them for cutting. Should this not be possible, – because the original tape is defective or has disappeared, for example – we do accept a first-generation copy. But this remains an absolute exception for us.
Who cuts the records?
In order to obtain the most faithful reproduction of the original, we have the lacquers cut on the spot, by engineers who, on the whole, have been dealing with such tapes for many years. Some are even cut by the very same engineer who cut the original lacquers of the first release. Over the years the following engineers have been and still are working for us: Tony Hawkins, Willem Makkee, Kevin Gray, Maarten de Boer, Scott Hull, and Ray Staff, to name but a few.
At the beginning of the ‘90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the reissue policy was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC Compact Classics, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and others, including of course Speakers Corner, all maintained a mutual, unwritten code of ethics: we would manufacture records sourced only from analogue tapes.
Vinyl’s newfound popularity has led many other companies to jump on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source from which to master: CDs, LPs, digital files and even MP3s.
Even some who do use an analogue tape source employ a digital delay line, a misguided ’80s and ‘90s digital technology that replaces the analogue preview head originally used to “tell” the cutter head in advance what was about to happen musically, so it could adjust the groove “pitch” (the distance between the grooves) to make room for wide dynamic swings and large low frequency excursions. Over time analogue preview heads became more rare and thus expensive.
So while the low bit rate (less resolution than a 16 bit CD) digital delay line is less expensive and easier to use than an analogue “preview head”, its use, ironically, results in lacquers cut from the low bit rate digital signal instead of from the analogue source!
Speakers Corner wishes to make clear that it produces lacquers using only original master tapes and an entirely analogue cutting system. New metal stampers used to press records are produced from that lacquer. The only exceptions are when existing metal parts are superior to new ones that might be cut, which includes our release of “Elvis is Back”, which was cut by Stan Ricker or several titles from our Philips Classics series, where were cut in the 1990s using original master tapes by Willem Makkee at the Emil Berliner Studios. In those cases we used only the original “mother” to produce new stampers.
In addition, we admit to having one digital recording in our catalogue: Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky”, which was recorded digitally but mixed to analogue tape that we used to cut lacquers.
In closing, we want to insure our loyal customers that, with but a few exceptions as noted, our releases are “AAA”— analogue tape, an all analogue cutting system, and newly cut lacquers.
60 Years Pallas
Audiophile Vinyl - Made in Germany For over 60 years the family business in the third generation of the special personal service and quality "Made by Pallas" is known worldwide. Our custom PVC formulation produces consistently high pressing quality with the lowest surface noise in the industry. Our PVC complies with 2015 European environmental standards and does not contain toxic materials such as Lead, Cadmium or Toluene. Our vinyl is both audiophile and eco-grade!
