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Presto News - 10th May 2010Nimbus |
 I’d like to tell you a little bit about the record label Nimbus this week as their history is far more interesting than most and we’ve also just started a ‘Buy 1 get 1 free’ offer on the whole label. Nimbus was founded in 1972 and is based in a beautiful country house near Monmouth on the English/Welsh border. I went down to visit them last year and find out more about their set-up and history. From their earliest recordings (such as Vlado Perlemuter’s Ravel and Bernard Roberts’ complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas) I’ve enjoyed the 'Nimbus sound' as it always seems very realistic. This is achieved partly by the skills of the recording engineers, but also by a recording technique called Ambisonics. The name sounds like jargon, but is actually very simple as it involves putting all the microphones in the same place, but pointing them in different directions. The ones pointing at the stage for example will pick up a lot of detail, while the ones pointing backwards pick up more of the acoustic (which of course varies according to location). The different channels that these microphones record are then mixed into a standard stereo version to achieve a good balance of clarity and ambiance, but always sounding realistic. The other side to Nimbus’ history is their LP and CD manufacturing business, the revenue of which was often used to fund the recording activity. In 1984 Nimbus became the first company to master and press CDs in the UK and became part of the Mirror Group in 1987. The huge increase in funds meant that they could embark on some notable orchestral projects, such as The Hanover Band in Beethoven and Adam Fischer's complete Haydn Symphony cycle with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra.  The horn used for Prima Voce re-issues They’ve made over new 500 recordings, virtually all of which are still available, but the other major part of their catalogue worthy of exploration is their historical early vocal recordings series called ‘Prima Voce’ which they began in 1988. This concentrates on recordings made in the first part of the 20th century where the soloist would have stood in front of a horn, and his or her voice travelled down a tube on to a diaphragm and through a lever arrangement into a needle cutting hot wax. To transfer these original recordings onto CD most companies use electronic or computer-aided solutions as it enables them to clean them up and eliminate a lot of the background noise. Nimbus’ solution is to simply reverse the recording sequence, so they find mint condition 78s, play them on a turntable and attach a very large horn (which is vital in order to hear the lower frequencies). They then record the results in the same way as they do any of their other recordings with their single location cluster of microphones in a concert hall. The results, while not the cleanest, sound remarkably life-like, and with the benefit of the concert hall acoustic give a more realistic impression of how the singer would have sounded had you been able to hear them live in a theatre. In 2002 Nimbus launched a short run CD and DVD manufacturing and printing operation. Developed initially in order to be able to keep their own back catalogue available, it is now used by a number of labels, and is a wonderful way of keeping older slowing selling titles available when otherwise they may well end up deleted. Nimbus’ constant search and exploration of new ideas and developments combined with their imaginative approach to problem solving is almost unique in the classical music world. In addition to the short-run example, another recent experiment is a couple of 8-disc sets of MP3 files, one containing the complete Haydn Symphonies (under Fischer) and the other containing the complete Bach Organ Works (with Kevin Bowyer). They won’t work on a standard CD player, but for people who want to listen to music on their computers or (dare I say it) transfer it to their iPods, these sets represent astonishing value in terms of amount of music for your money. In short a label well worthy of exploration, with lots of great recordings and interesting repertoire hidden within. Browse Nimbus Buy 1 get 1 free Special Offer:
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases10th May 2010 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Leoncavallo: I MediciPlácido Domingo, Carlos Álvarez, Daniela Dessì, Eric Owens & Vitalij Kowaljow, Florence Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Alberto VeronesiDomingo the Indefatigable continues to amaze opera lovers by adding another tenor lead to his shelf of heroes – in this case, Giuliano de’ Medici in Leoncavallo’s rarity I Medici. Recorded in the Medici city, Florence, I Medici – atmospheric, sinister, and exciting – is the one and only complete recording of this work on the market. |
 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection'Natalie Dessay (soprano) & Alice Coote (mezzo soprano), Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra & Orféon Donostarria, Paavo JärviClarity of vision and tonal splendour characterise this live performance of Mahler’s epic ‘Resurrection’ Symphony under Paavo Järvi. The Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra is joined by the Orféon Donostarria and soloists Alice Coote and Natalie Dessay. |
 Old World – New World - Dvorak String QuartetsEmerson String QuartetThe Emerson String Quartet’s long cherished dream to record their favourite Dvorák string quartets is realized with their tender-hearted and infatuated readings of the Czech genius’s middle and late quartets. A bonanza of romantic melody, not a note on this 3-CD release has ever before been recorded by the Emersons. Dvorák’s youthful and infrequently performed song cycle on the subject of love, Cypresses, provides a compelling thematic trove for several of these enamouring quartets. |
 Sonidos Latinos - Guitar Music of Latin AmericaDavid Russell (guitar)This recital by renowned soloist David Russell presents the works of four Latin American masters of the guitar: Augustín Barrios Mangoré, Manuel María Ponce, Héctor Ayala, Armando Neves, and Jorge Morel. |
 Goodall - Pelican In The WildernessFollowing the success of Howard Goodall’s Enchanted Voices (the best selling specialist classical album of 2009, Gramophone Award winner, and nominated for the NS&I Album of the Year Classical BRIT Award 2010) and the Christmas album Enchanted Carols, the celebrated british composer returns with a new album called Pelican in the Wilderness, released through Classic FM Records. |
 Schumann - The MasterworksCD 1 – 5 Orchestral Works, Concertos: Gardiner (Symphonies), Ashkenazy (Piano Concerto), Szeryng (Violin Concerto), Harrell (Cello Concerto) Mutter (Violin Fantasy) CD 6 – 10: Choral Works, including Gardiner’s Paradies und die Peri, Scenes from Goethe’s Faust (Britten) and Manfred Incidental Music (Albrecht) CD 11 – 19: Lieder, with Mathias, Varady, Schreier, Fischer-Dieskau and Eschenbach CD 20 – 26: Chamber Works, with Hagen Quartet, Beaux Arts Trio, Argerich/Kremer, among others CD 27 – 35: Piano Works, with Pollini, Ashkenazy, Pogorelich, Eschenbach |
 Joanna MacGregor plays Messiaen & KrauzeJoanna MacGregor (piano)The three works included in this set were written between 1940 and 1945. Messiaen was in his thirties, a period when, looking back, he thought he was most gifted. He now had in place all the elements of his own highly distinctive musical language (his Technique de mon langage musical was published in 1944) based on seven scales, his “modes of limited transposition”. For him all sounds were colour. This, combined with his Catholic faith, which he never doubted, produced what he described as a “theological rainbow”, his ideal music being the aural equivalent of the dazzling blaze of colour created by sunlight streaming through a stained-glass window. |
 Britten - Conductor, Composer & PianistThese are historic 60s & 70s BBC films, long locked away in the BBC archive. They have been carefully restored by the BBC Restoration Unit, so are in the best possible visual and audio condition. They include several key and unique performances of Peter Pears, which were not filmed anywhere else (notably as Grimes, and also as Captain Vere in Billy Budd). The Owen Wingrave was the original version of this 'written for TV' opera, and so definitive in respecting the composer's wishes. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 8th May 2010 |
Building a Library - Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32 |
 First Choice(coupled with other works of Tchaikovsky)Orchestra e Coro Dell’ Accademia Di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano |
 Historic Recommendation(coupled with Mussorgsky, Glinka and Glazunov)Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Evgeny Mravinsky |
Disc of the Week |
 Susan Gritton sings Britten, Delius & FinziSusan Gritton (soprano) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner |
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