AUDIOPHILE REFERNCE RR 48 ARNOLD Overtures BEST TAS NM

$

355

MALCOLM ARNOLD

Overtures

The London Philharmonic Orchestra

David Nolan, Leader

TAS List Record Original By Reference Recordings

Stunning Copy Of A Legendary Recording

A Must Have For All Classic Music Lovers

Side A :

1.      A Sussex Overture (12:11)

2.      Beckus the Dandipratt (10:45)

Side B & Side C :

1.      The Smoke (11:56)

2.      The Fair Field (9:17)

Side D :

1. Commonwealth

    Christmas Overture (18:55)

Arnold Was born in 1921 and came to music through Sir Thomas Beecham’s early Delius Society recordings and through the trumpet playing of Louis Armstrong. Arnold took up the trumpet himself and became one of the most admired players of his generation. In 1943, at the age of 21, he joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as principal trumpet and stayed with them on and off for about seven years before giving up playing to become a full-time composer.

He was a legendary performer. Stanley Woods, co-principal trumpet of the present-day LPO, told me it was hearing Arnold’s playing in Ernest Ansermet’s 1946 LPO recording of Stravinsky’s Firebird which inspired him to become a trumpet player himself. During his time to performer Arnold often played under Beecham whom he worshipped as a conductor and whose genius for creating a feeling of absorbed tranquility he has surely inherited. In fact when Arnold in due course took up conducting on a regular basis he earned almost as many plaudits for that as for the compositions he poured out year after year in an apparently ceaseless flow of inspiration (there are hardly any’ duds’). Famous instrumentalists like trumpeter Philip Jones and violinist Kenneth Sillito talk of performances of Berlioz (Symphonie fantastique) and Mozart (Symphony No. 29) respectively they gave under Arnold’s direction which, they claim, rank among the finest they ever experienced: which, coming from seasoned orchestral veterans, is no idle compliment.

Although weakened in recent years by a heart attack and other ailments, Arnold is still charismatic as a conductor. He is good to watch: clear beat, the arms describing wide semaphoric gestures, all the music’s important points tellingly underlined. In former years he was renowned for the kind of vitality born of hyperactivity. You can see it in action in some BBC footage from the late 1960s when he’s rehearsing some of Thomas Merritt’s music in Truro Cathedral, and on another occasion when he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a studio performance of his own Cornish Dances. He has always been, in my estimation, an unsurpassed conductor of his own music. I asked him once how he’d managed to achieve the spellbinding stillness at the end of the Fifth Symphony’s slow movement when he recorded it with the CBSO in 1972 -- for me one of the great moments in his recorded legacy. He shrugged his shoulders. “You know the musicians,” was all he said. Like Beecham, Arnold listens intently and encourages players to play their own way, to express their own personalities. So it was during the sessions for the making of this album. In the Smoke, in Beckus and in the Commonwealth Christmas Overture tempos in some of  the misterioso sections so seem slow as to bring the music almost to a standstill. Yet the result is, paradoxically, not loss but gain. A certain static quality, when for periods at a stretch nothing very much seems to be happening, has always been one of the most enigmatic and original features of Arnold’s music. And these passages, when charged with meaning and tension as they are here, change their character completely. They are magic. So are the extremes of dynamic he obtains: pianissimo is a whisper, fortissimo ear-splitting. (He complained once in an interview about what he regards as the present-day habit to “coast along at a comfortable mezzo-forte, nothing more, nothing less.”) “I don’t know how he does it,” said David Nolan (who led the LPO for these sessions) with engaging candour, “but do it he certainly does!” Arnold nowadays does the minimum of routine rehearsal and says hardly anything. He prefers to record complete ‘takes’ of works with a minimum of editorial ‘patching’; that way, the composer/conductor determines the overall shape and feel of the performance rather than the producer/editor. But in fact it’s not what he does or says that counts in this context, but who and what he is: one of the great musicians of the age.

MUSIC NOTE : ---------------------

Of Reference Recordings Of Note, There Are Certainly Many .

But, Truth Be Told, There Are A Few, A Dastardly Few, That Are Getting Extremely Hard To Find . And I Mean Wicked Hard .  Among Them Are DAFOS, EBONY CONCERTO, And This Set .

Partially Funded By The Absolute Sound, This 2LPs Package Is A Stunner, First Note To Last . To Boot, It Has The Composer At Baton And Premieres Four Works Not Recorded Elsewhere, In THE SMOKE, A SUSSEX OVERTURE, THE FAIR FIELD, And COMMONWEALTH CHRISTMAS OVERTURE .

The Whole She-Bang Was Monitored Utilizing Spectral Electronics (Designed By Keith Johnson, By The Way) And Listened To Through Crosby Modified Quads And Snell Type Bs (The Big Ones) .

At Home, When This Arrives, Open It Up On Your Loudspeakers Until You Find The Proper "Size ."  This Is Watford Town Hall, Remember, So Adjust Accordingly, Adjusting Volume Up And Down During Dynamic Parts, Till The Sense Of Space Itself Comes Alive .  Then Go Back To The Beginning, With That Setting Found, And Strap-In . This Is Going To Move Some Air ……………… And You .

One Of The Most Acclaimed Sets Of MALCOLM ARNOLD .

A Truly Rare, Vinyl Treasure .

For other fine records, TAS picks and hard-to-finds, please view my http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZaudiophile_lp.myQQhtZ-1 here on Ebay !!          

LABEL     : Reference Recordings

NUMBER : RR 48

Description : TAS List Awesome Copy, A Prize In Classic And A Prize Of The Recording, This “MALCOLM ARNOLD” Is Spiritual And Very Attractive !!! This Pure Analogue Superb Sounding Very Fine Indeed, Just Get The Volume Right ………………………. ! 1992 Original Made In USA With Long Out Of Print .

RECORDS CONDITION : NM  (Double LPs)

COVER CONDITION      : NM    (Gatefold)

************************************************************************

Please Do Not Make A Payment Before You Receive The Invoice.

*** US BUYERS ***

Postage to USA is not  US $4 !!!

Please note that I am shipping from Malaysia, Not from United States. Ebay obliges me to quote shipping rates as if I were shipping from the U.S. So disregard the local USD 4.00 rate, which is not applicable. See my actual shipping rates below :

SHIPPING POSTAGE : ASIA: $12, EUROPE: $15, USA: $18

(Only Applicable For The Album In Single LP With Normal Cover. All International Buyer Shipping Via Airmail Registered. We Do Combine Shipping For Multiple Items)

OUR GRADING SYSTEM :

We visually grade our records very strictly only under 100 watts bulb strong light.

Remember that some records regardless of condition can have occasional tiny tics.

Sealed : Album is still sealed in original shrink wrap and has never been opened.

Mint (M) : Album has been opened and most like unplayed and as close to new as possible.

Near Mint (NM) : Record appears as Mint condition with perhaps one spindle mark and no marks on the vinyl. Vinyl has original gloss.

Near Mint Minus (NM -) : Record visually appears as Near Mint condition but play with maybe few occasionally soft ticks. Vinyl has original gloss.

Very Good Plus Plus (VG++) : May have few superficial light marks like sleeve marks, scuffs or hairline. Maybe few occasionally soft ticks. Important details always describe out under condition in my listing. Vinyl has original gloss.

Very Good Plus (VG+) : May have some light scratches marks, There is some soft ticks and might have some pops. Important details always describe out under condition in my listing. Still well looked after with glossy vinyl.

Poor or Fair condition items : I do not sell.

OVERSEAS SHIPPING :

We ship all overseas packages by Air Mail, uninsured. If you require, we will be happy to insure your package. We are not responsible for packages that may be lost, stolen or damaged unless you have them insured for their total value. We will also ship overseas by UPS or FedEx if you request it. We do not recommend surface mail which it takes months.

RETURN POLICY :

If item is not as described, we will refund money. Customer is responsible for shipping back to us. I mark my LP's so I'll know if there is a substitute. Damaged items won't qualify for credit. We will pay the shipping to ship back to you (only on domestic customers). For International customers, the customer is responsible for returning the item back to us.

This Is A REAL Image Of The ACTUAL Item You Are Bidding On !!!

THANKS FOR LOOKING !!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY !!!

GOOD LUCK !!!