La
Mer (1903-05) - Boston SO
Conductor: Serge Koussevitzky (from HMV DB3923-3925, recorded 1939)
Images I & III (1906-12)
- San Francisco SO
Conductor: Pierre Monteux (from HMV DB6182-6183, recorded 1942, double-starred
in The Record Guide, 1952)
Printemps - Symphonic Suite
(1887) - Royal Phil. Orch.
Conductor: Sir Thomas Beecham (from HMV DB6549-6550, recorded 1946, double-starred
in The Record Guide, 1952)
Nocturnes
(1893-99) - L'Orchestre de la Société
des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris
Conductor: Jean Fournet
(from Philips A 00.160L, recorded 1952, winner Grand
Prix de l'Académie de Disque, 1953)
Download ID: 137712/432804
Total
duration: 77'37"
Play
sample movement:
This
collection is something of a departure for us - for the first time we've
brought together a selection of recordings made by different orchestras
and conductors over a 13-year period. We've also put remasterings from
shellac and vinyl side-by-side, and the whole thing has been an artistic
collaboration between Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, working on the 78rpm
recordings, and Peter Harrison at disk2disc, who remastered the
vinyl Nocturnes recording.
As
you can see from the track listing notes above, three of these recordings
was given top ratings by contemporary reviewers. Likewise, our recording
of La Mer was also considered the definitive edition of its day.
Musically the collection spans almost the full breadth of Debussy's orchestral
musical development, from the youthful Printemps through to the
mature splendour of the Images. This latter recording also compliments
our issue of Ibèria, the long second Image in three
movements, issued as PASC008.
All
in all this adds up to an extended musical treat - truly an International
Extravaganza!
REVIEW
OF DEBUSSY: An Orchestral Extravaganza
I've
known for more than a half century that Debussy was a great
composer. This release reminded me why he was a great 20th
century composer, a forerunner of Bartok and Stravinsky. Debussy
had a deep, almost mystical relationship with nature - the
sea, the sky, the water, the snow, the rocks, the land. He
was comfortable with the primitive. Most of all, he viewed
everything and himself with an objective eye, without sentimentality.
Oddly enough, the three significant performances in this seeming
lollipop of a release further this view of Debussy.
La
Mer (Boston Symphony, Koussevitzky) (1938).
One of the greatest of all performances of this supreme masterpiece.
Unexpectedly tough, masculine and austere. There is no lovely
mist; this is not a tropical ocean. The oceanic movement begins
and does not stop until three-quarters into the first movement
after the cello divisi theme when there is a pause with a
bit of melodic tenderness and then the constant oceanic motion
resumes. There is no lingering over details in the second
movement, but there is a lightening of texture and (as Eric
Satie said) there are some nice parts around "quarter
to eleven". But there is the constant awareness of the
unceasing movement of the sea, the fact that the sea is always
the same and never the same. The end of the second movement
comes more quickly that I had expected. The third movement
begins with overhanging gray menace which leads to a storm
which finally clears up and yields the first real calm and
warmth in the performance: the magnificent high string harmonics
over the yearning theme in the woodwinds representing humanity
at last. But the storm returns more ferocious than ever and
ends this greatest of French tone poems. Koussevitzky belongs
with Toscanini and Boulez in taking a tough, objective view
of La Mer.
Images
#1 (Gigues Triste) and #3 (Rondes de Printemps) (San Francisco
Symphony Orchestra, Monteux) (1942).
I don't know if it's Monteux's conducting or it's hearing
the two images divorced from their more famous #2 (Iberia),
but I was simply bowled over. I never knew they were such
wonderful works! The oboe in the Gigue Triste sounded so plangent,
so antic that I could believe I was in 13th century England.
The words I wrote down for Image #3 were joyous, primitive,
irrepressible, pileup of energy and joy. I have never heard
Monteux so unbuttoned before. Score a bullseye!
Printemps
(Royal Philharmonic, Beecham). (1946)
I don't care for this early, derivative Debussy work, mostly
warmed over Massenet. I don't even like fresh Massenet. Sir
Thomas is always at his most inspired playing second and third-rate
music, so he does well here.
Images
(Paris Conservatory Orchestra, Fournet) (1952).
While not quite on the level of Koussevitzky or Monteux, this
is a very good performance by Jean Fournet. Again, Nuages
and Fetes are rather clear-eyed and a bit austere, quite devoid
of mist. I could have done with a bit more excitement in Fetes
at the climax of the march. Sirenes, however, is extremely
good. Those ladies are very voluptuous and close and tying
one down to the mast might not have been sufficient.
My
stock of adjectives to praise the sound on Pristine Audio
releases is exhausted. May I only say that if Serge Koussevitzky
could briefly appear to hear his La Mer on my speakers, both
he and I might drop a tear or two.
Download
our Full Discography Printable text listings of all Pristine Audio historic releases
Restoration
by Peter Harrison & Andrew Rose:
ADVERTISEMENT
Pristine Classical - bringing you DRM-free historic classical FLAC and MP3 download music since 2005
FAQ
FLAC downloads use lossless compression - when replayed or transferred to disc they are bit- identical to original recordings.
16 BIT files are at full CD resolution, identical to our CD masters.
24 BIT files are at higher, studio master resolution, identical to our finished master files.
Please ensure you can play our 24 bit FLAC files before purchase - try our test files here.
Not all media players support FLAC yet, so you may need to convert to WAV or AIFF before playback. See our FLAC help guide
FLAC downloads come as a series of tracks in a ZIP archive file.
Our MP3 files are encoded at very high variable bitrates using the LAME encoder or at a constant rate of 320kbps.
Each recording is presented as a single, long MP3 which can be split using the CUE sheet at the bottom of the page, adding track titles and other information.
CD writing programs such as Nero and Burrrn can write these files directly to CD with all track information added using MP3+CUE - see our tutorial
Alternatively a cue splitter program can automatically cut and name the MP3 into individual MP3 tracks
There are also media players which use the MP3+CUE system, allowing gapless playback of all long MP3 files - essential for opera and many other classical works
Save money when you buy several downloads together by using the following discount codes in the shopping cart:
Buy 5 or more - save 10%: Code: 85187052
Buy 10 or more - save 20%: Code: 12W07104
How To Use: Once you've made your selections, copy the correct code into the space marked Discount or Coupon Code in your shopping cart, then click the Update Cart button to apply the discount before heading to the checkout.
N.B. These discounts apply to all our FLAC and MP3 downloads only. Discounts do not apply to CD purchases
Our CDs are made to order on highest quality Taiyo Yuden Watershield CD-R discs, recorded directly from our master files
CDs are shipped worldwide by Air Mail from France. The price here includes all shipping costs - there are no hidden extras
Standard and Premium CDs hold the same quality of audio - the Standard CD comes in a slip case with no covers, the Premium comes in a jewel case with printed covers
Each music page has PDF covers for printing out at home
They can be found by clicking on cover artwork or scrolling to the bottom of the page
Always deselect any resizing options in the print dialogue of Adobe Reader before printing to ensure correct cover sizes
All payments are processed by PayPal, one of the world's biggest and most reliable global online payment services
You can pay by credit card directly with PayPal acting merely as a secure card payment processing facility
You can use a PayPal account for quicker, easier and totally secure payments
We do not recommend using the e-check option for download purchases as there is always a delay of 3-4 working days between purchase and receipt of goods while the check clears
Payments are charged in Euros and will be converted from other currencies at the current PayPal exchange rate
