Comparison Recordings
Sir Colin Davis, Ronald Dowd,
LSO and Chorus. (remastered at 96kHz) [ADD] Philips 464 689-2
Eliahu Inbal, Keith Lewis, Frankfurt RSO, ORF & NDR Choirs,
Brilliant Classics 99999 [also at one time available on the
Denon label]
James Levine, Luciano Pavarotti,
BPO, Senff Chorus DG 429 724-2
Robert Spano, Frank Lopardo,
Atlanta SO and Chorus Telarc SACD 60627
When
I reviewed the Inbal recording, I gave it very high marks. This
was largely because of the excellent recorded sound. I ranked
the finely performed Munch rather low, again, because of poor
recorded sound on that CD issue. But with this new DSD
SACD re-mastering things have changed dramatically. Does the
last now become first? Read on.
First
it must be said that all of these recordings are really good.
Any one would please you, would please Berlioz, would fully
present the music. What follows is my opinion on ranking, and
some may disagree.
First,
if you love this music you must have the Colin Davis LSO recording
on Philips. This recording attains a plateau of consistent beauty
and emotional intensity not likely ever to be equalled, let
alone surpassed. I think you will want the 96kHz re-mastering,
although there is a little something of a trade-off: for increased
clarity, and reduced hiss and distortion, the artefacts of digital
restoration are barely audible to an ear such as mine which
is trained to listen for them, although of course most people
would never notice. But there are some who might prefer the
earlier CD issue, hiss and distortion and all. Hiss creates
an auditory illusion: when the ear hears a sound, if the upper
partials are not present, but there is hiss present, the brain
will pick out of the random frequencies of the hiss the missing
upper partials and think it hears a full range sound. Thus hiss
can create a spurious reality. Some even feel that hiss represents
air movement and consequently speak of hissy recordings as having
“air” (audio engineers use the term “air” usually in another
context). There is no argument that the old fashioned analogue
“noise clamp” hiss removal (a good example of this was the Decca
LP issue of the sound-track from the Beecham film of “Tales
of Hoffmann”) was disturbing. In sum, if you already have the
earlier issue of the Davis recording, you may want to keep it,
even if you buy the re-issue. You may want to listen to them
both now and then.
Purely
in terms of performance, with the Davis as a clear number one,
the Munch/Boston is a very close second. In the Sanctus,
Munch and Simoneau certainly are the equal of Davis and Dowd;
and some will think exceed them. The careful sculpting of the
emotional line is beautiful to behold throughout, but neither
the chorus nor the listener are in danger of being frightened.
It should not be a surprise that the London and Boston orchestras
are so capable here; both orchestras worked closely with Pierre
Monteux who learned his Berlioz in Paris from people who had
worked with Berlioz. Both Davis and Munch had by the time of
these recordings earned reputations as Berlioz specialists by
performing and recording his complete oeuvre.
Number
three is the Levine/Pavarotti/BPO version, in every way superb,
with Inbal coming next and Spano last. All of these versions
feature very good sound, but if realistic sound is your primary
concern, then —
Purely
in terms of sound, if you have a surround sound SACD player
— and if sound is your criterion you surely will have — the
Spano recording is clearly number one. There is no substitute
for real high resolution surround sound with the offstage trumpets
in the back of the hall and the realistic recreation of full
concert hall acoustics in your listening space. Digital recording
is especially kind to the soprano voice of large choruses bringing
us a realism never before achieved. Munch comes a close second,
with the clear delineation of the choral lines beautiful to
behold, but there is no mistaking the audible congestion in
the choral sopranos from the 1959 analogue electronics. You
will want to use your surround sound encoder to provide derived
rear channel information. But be warned; there is little on
the first half of the Munch disk under 85 Hz; I found a 15 dB
bass boost most helpful. In the Sanctus, the deep bass
seems to come back, a good thing because of the quiet bass drum
notes. Also, in the very quiet parts of the Munch recording
one can hear traffic noises from outside the hall. Number three
in sound is the Inbal, and a close number four is the Levine/Pavarotti/BPO
disk.
My
recommendation for those who want a balance of sound and performance
on regular CD is, after the Davis/LSO recording, Munch and Levine.
They are about equal in first position, with Spano and Inbal
also about equal in the second spot.
As
with most of the other Living Stereo SACD re-issues, if your
religion prohibits you from ever owning an SACD player, you
will still obtain noticeably better sound from the CD tracks
on these re-mastered Hybrid SACD disks than you would hear from
the previous CD-only issue. If you have the earlier Munch CD-only
issue you may find it worth your while to replace it.
Paul
Shoemaker
[39.13
+ 45.31]
