My SACD of this recording came late in Saturday's mail. I listened to it this morning and this afternoon, listened to my copy of Abravanel/Utah Symphony Vanguard LP Classic Records reissue, as re-enginerred by Bernie Grundman of Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles, for comparison purposes.
With 53 years difference between the two recordings, the Abravanel certainly does not sound all that bad compared to the Reference Recordings issue. While the experience gained in the intervening years by the Utah Symphony in general as an ensemble playing the work, and sound engineers in general trying to give justice in recording the work has benefited both parties, I certainly wouldn't throw out the Abravanel recording by any means. This was the first recording of the work in stereo, and sound engineers really faced a challenge in making the work succeed in that medium, with limited success. According to the album notes, sixteen microphones were used to record Abravanel's performance in the Tabernacle. To my ears, the soloists sound too "up front" on the stage (meaning, too close to the microphones), and various smaller and quieter choral sections in Part II were recorded a bit too close, probably to help increase clarity in an issued recording. Also, the opening of the Chorus Mysticus is too loud.
Performance-wise, the Thierry one is very good, with the orchestra, choruses, and soloists giving a really heart-felt effort. Part I doesn't quite have the vibrant presence and acoustic of the Mormon Tabernacle as does Part II, to my ears. Perhaps both parts were different recordings from different days, which possibly accounts for the difference. The notes for the recording state that six microphones were used for the recording. With the use of digital recording, dynamics were no longer an issue with quieter choral sections. The opening of the Chorus Mysticus sounded as it should in Theirry's account. The soloists were still a bit "up front", though certainly not as much so as in Abravanel's recording.
This brings me to the often-discussed issue of where and how to perform/record the work. Considering where the work was first performed, it was in Munich in the confines of a large exhibition hall, now unfortunately converted to a transportation museum, which was really disheartening to see when I was there a few years ago. To my mind, a "large exhibition hall" takes on the meaning of venues like Albert Hall in London (thinking of Horenstein's performance there in 1959), plus the Mormon Tabernacle, with its extreme reverberation signature (considering the two recordings at hand). Thankfully, we have the BBC's recording of Horenstein's legendary performance, which was recorded with a two-microphone crossed pair (Blumlein), that resulted in great overall balance with all of the performers. The use of sixteen microphones for Abravanel's recording contributed somewhat to what some might consider a sonic morass in trying to properly record the work. The use of six microphones for Thierry's recording was a significant improvement, but still not perfect.
So, what large venues we have left in the world for performances of M8 similar to how Mahler experienced it himself are Albert Hall and the Mormon Tabernacle. Recording-wise, the Horenstein one at Albert Hall, in my mind, is a great success. What if the same microphone principle that was used for Horenstein had been used to record the Thierry performance in the Tabernacle?
Wade
Topic: just an opinion: new Fischer/Utah/M.T.C./R.R. Mahler 8 is a sensational knockout (Read 8338 times)