ERNEST ANSERMET - THE ROYAL BALLET GALA - ANALOGUE PRODUCTIONS 200G 5LP & BOOK
£
140
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185
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Description
Dear Friends, watchers, bidders and previous winners, I would like to say that I have saved the best until last except that I have many more high quality vinyl to list so I will just call this the very best of the best ...The Analogue Productions limited edition 5LP boxed set of The Royal Ballet Gala Performances conducted by Ernest Ansermet.
For any serious audiophile, record collector, or classical music scholar, this set is the one to own being the pinnacle of what can be achieved when serious musicians set about to record the very best of classical music at the home of English Classical Ballet and devoid of the an audience and any distraction to their art. It is said that the environment was so pristine that only the occasional rumble of a London Underground train could be heard very remotely on some tracks many feet below.
This set is rare. This set is expensive. This set is not for everyone. For those of you who are happy with second best, I encourage you to search out the 2LP 33rpm set of the same as I am sure you will catch a glimpse of what is magical about this performance. Just like a photograph of Twiggy, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, or Kendall Jenner (take your pick & decade) is a two-dimensional facsimile of these icons, only witnessing them all in real life can really open your eyes and make you gasp at their beauty. This, my friends, is what this 45rpm recording does to this particular recording.
I don't normally take the time to reflect and put such thoughts on the sale of my vinyl in to words, as it is pretty depressing to be breaking up my collection, never mind the divorce which has brought about the sales, but this is the one exception I will make. This was the pinnacle of my collection in whatever way you gauge things; musically, rarity, audiophile quality, and sheer beauty of the performances. A sad day for me. I have played a few sides but most remain unplayed. All are mint besides a little rubbing on the black cardboard sleeves.
Cut and paste from here on...
Ernest Ansermet The Royal Ballet Gala Performances 200g 45rpm 5LP
Limited Edition 200g 45rpm 5LP Box Set
Mastered by Bernie Grundman From Original Analog Tape
Plated & Pressed at Quality Record Pressings
Dead-quiet 45 RPM 5LP set reduces distortion, improves cartridge tracking
Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analogue tape
Packaged in a custom-designed slipcase with integrated 22-page lavishly illustrated book
Please note: Side 10 of this release is a repeat of side 1
In the hearts of thousands, No. 1 on the Top RCA list. While the bulk of Ernest Ansermet's recordings were made with L'Orchestre de la Susise Romande, there were a few with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra and the very occasional foray into recordings with London orchestras, one of these being with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1959.
Analogue Productions is proud and excited to be bringing back such a classic. Not just for the music, which is superb, but also for the detailed packaging, which in this case takes the form of a 22-page lavishly illustrated book that's integrated into the tip-on gatefold jacket for two of the LPs in this new 5LP 45 RPM box set edition.
A word about 45 RPM: The dead-quiet LPs, with the music spread over nine sides of vinyl (the 10th side repeats side 1), reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. But it's more than just the vinyl that makes this release so special.
If you're new to ballet, this pictorial history will introduce you to some of its most famous productions old favorites such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, for example but also less familiar tales such as Carnaval, Les Sylphides and Coppélia. You'll also make the acquaintance of famous ballerinas of the Royal company, such as Margot Fonteyn, Nadia Nerina and Beryl Grey, as well as choreographers such as Jules Perrot and male dancers Alexis Rassine and Michael Somes.
Musically you can't get better than the 200-gram dead-silent platters pressed by Quality Record Pressings, makers of the world's finest-sounding LPs. Of course the best vinyl reflects the best mastering, and that's accomplished here by Bernie Grundman working from the original analog tape. Stoughton Printing expertly handled the intricate gatefold tip-on package.
Audiophilia Online Magazine wrote: "This is the stuff of which dreams are made. The Royal Ballet Gala is one of the finest RCAs recorded in London's Kingsway Hall. The chunks of great ballet music are well served by orchestra, conductor and engineer. Performances are executed to a very high standard - the Royal Opera House Orchestra, both then and now, rank as one of the finest of opera orchestras.
"Conductor Ansermet keeps the pace moving, giving the listener the impression of a dance event rather than a dramatic concert hall reading. With the exception of some of the Tchaikovsky scenes, the music is light and remains so under Ansermet's gentle touch. Each ballet is given full attention by the players, something not always attained at Covent Garden during long ballet nights! The threat of eternity does have it's merits. The recorded sound is simply amazing! Lustrous is one word that comes to mind, accurate is another.
"Tonally, Messrs. Williamson and Wilkinson have used their considerable talents to capture the orchestra superbly. Woodwind and strings glow and resonate, transporting this listener to a time when simpler recording was better. Brass ring out thrillingly and percussion effects are very musical. Be it a bang, swish, rattle, crack or snap, each percussionist is situated perfectly within the beautiful Kingsway soundstage. Even the difficult-to-record sound of the celeste is captured in it's purely mechanical form. It's delicate sound is heard to great effect during the Nutcracker - originating stage left, the sound decays across the stage of Kingsway with sparkling beauty. Wonderful."
Features:
• Limited Edition
• 5LP Box Set
• 200g Vinyl
• 45rpm
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tape
• Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings
• Custom-designed slipcase with integrated 22-page lavishly illustrated book
• Side 10 - repeat of side 1
Musicians:
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Ernest Ansermet, conductor
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