Georges Pretre - Saint-Saens Poulenc - Japan SACD Hybrid Limited Edition

Credits:

Georges Pretre

Description:

A project commemorating the 100th anniversary of Prêtre's birth. The "With Organ" with Duruflé is one of the best performances of this piece! The "Carnival of the Animals" and other pieces with various soloists are also included. The world's first SACD release of "With Organ"! Newly reissued from the original analog master tapes. The New World", recorded in 1970 with the Orchestre de Paris, is coupled with "The Creation of the World", recorded in 1961 when he conducted the Orchestre de la Conservatoire de Paris, the predecessor of the Orchestre de la Conservatoire de Paris. The "New World" is a brilliant performance that shines with its honest and clear expression, but also with its unique tempo and approach to phrasing. On the other hand, Milhaud's performance of "The New World" is one of the most representative recordings of this piece, as it brings out the essence of the piece with a French sensibility. This reissue is a must-hear, with its refined sound quality! The master was digitized at 192kHz/24bit from the original analog master tapes in the original country for this release, and mastered separately for the SACD and CD layers. New commentary included. This is a permanent preservation disc.There had been no stereo recording of the "With Organ" on the old EMI label by a major conductor in Japan since the 1955 monaural Cruytens recording with the Paris Conservatory Kan, also on EMI label. The appearance of the Prêtre disc in stereo during the lifetime of Cluytens is an interesting point in the history of recordings. It is a matter of speculation as to why he did not re-record in stereo (or why he could not re-record because of the Prêtre disc), but in this period when stereo recordings expanded many orchestral recordings, "with organ" was important for all labels, and RCA's "Organ" was a major work for them. In this period when stereo recordings of many orchestras were expanding, "with organ" was already well-known on RCA's Munsch disc and DECCA's Anselme disc. In this respect, the recording by Prêtre shows the high expectations of EMI. However, it is possible that EMI had planned to record Munsch after the establishment of the Orchestre de Paris. However, it could not be realized due to his sudden death, and we have to wait for the Martinon recording made in 1975. Martinon had already recorded "with organ" for ERARO in 1970.It is interesting to imagine that the acquisition of Martinon by EMI and the recording of the complete Saint-Saëns symphonies by EMI at short intervals may have had something to do with this situation. The performance itself is a masterpiece of the Paris Conservatory's Kan virtuosity, and the tone of the period is well reproduced here. The most notable feature is the use of Duruflé as organist. He was 62 years old at the time of the recording, and was a well-known composer and organist at the Saint-Etienne-du-Mont church, where he also recorded Poulenc's Organ Concerto and Bach's works. This recording was a definitive recording for EMI at the time. This reissue includes another album by Prêtre, "The Carnival of the Animals" and Poulenc's suite "Typical Animals" as coupling works. The Carnival of the Animals is performed at a very high level by musicians from the Conservatoire de Paris, including Ciccolini and Weissenberg. Enjoy this relaxed yet tasteful and aesthetically pleasing performance in the best sound quality. (1/2)

Georges Pretre Collection List