Som noen vet så er jeg ivrig interessert i historiske innspillinger; og dette temaet hører kanskje forsåvidt naturlig under min tråd "Klassisk; historisk idag!". Velger allikevel å lage en egen liten artikkel om denne plateserien fra DGG, som jeg synes byr på noe av det flotteste som er tilgjengelig på CD idag.
De er svært godt omtalt i pressen selvsagt;
...Universals dazzling Original Masters series, bargain priced, well documented, attractively packaged
Opera News, January 2004
this marvellous Original Masters series ...These DG boxes are among the most desirable and intelligently planned re-releases on the market
Rob Cowan, Gramophone, April 2004
"At a time when the classical record industry is regularly castigated for greed, short-sightedness and superficiality, the Original Masters project ... testifies to cultural commitment of the highest order."
Laurence Vittes, Classic Record Collector, Spring 2003
"...precisely the sort of project that the major companies should be embarking on: mining their archives, pooling their resources and taking the time to plan things properly. ... a collection that shouldn't be missed on any count."
Rob Cowan, Gramophone, 3/2003
"...five boxes at bargain price which are a must for the discriminating collector (*****)."
David Mellor, The Mail on Sunday, February 9, 2003
"neatly packaged box sets of historical recordings in excellent transfers direct from the original tapes"
Anthony Burton, BBC Music Magazine, March 2003
Misoppfatningen om at et godt hifisystem og historiske innspillinger er motsigelser er en høyst misforstått en; og blir gjort grundig til skamme med slike serier som dette. Jeg har skrytt i nær ekstatiske ordelag om Schneiderhan-boksen i historisk-tråden; nå som jeg er nær å ha anskaffet hele serien selv, så er det vel relativt trygt å mene noe om den, og trygt å anbefale den uten å risikere at andre kommer før meg til mølla
Fra DGG Original Masters sin hjemmeside;
In a historical series like Original Masters, our great advantage is our access - unlike many labels who issue historical recordings - to the original mastertapes of the recordings released. In other words, DGG can use original source material, not shellacs or LPs, as the basis of the transfers to disc. This makes for an enormous gain in the quality of the sound that can be offered on Original Masters CD releases. Even in the case of live radio recordings (as in the Furtwängler set), here too we had access to radio tapes. What's more, with the acquisition of the Westminster and American Decca catalogues (as well as the availability, subject to approval, of material from the Decca and Philips catalogues), DGG can offer a wider range and a more comprehensive selection of recordings by a given artist.
The first step in the transfer process itself is, of course, the copying of the tapes on to a computer editing system, where all subsequent steps are carried out. The age of the tapes (most were around fifty years old) can create any number of problems. Editing-splices can become loose or can stick to other adjacent outer layers of the tape itself; the tape may also tear because the original material has become fragile with the passing of years. At times it is only possible to copy individual sections of a work, and these have to be joined together at a later stage using the editing system.
All further adaptation and restoration work, right up to the preparation of the new master for production, takes place within the editing system. Analogue editing errors are, wherever possible, corrected, background noise (tape hiss) reduced to an acceptable level, and, only where necessary, the character of the sound improved using filters. When more than one tape is used for the compilation of a single CD, different sound levels and sound images are equalized. Essentially, a minimum of intervention takes place, so that one should speak of a mastering rather than a remastering process.
In the case of the recordings from the Westminster catalogue (the Janácek Quartet's Mendelssohn and Beethoven), the sources used were the original tapes that were employed at the recording sessions themselves and later edited. This may seem obvious, but isn't: with later Westminster LP releases mostly copies of original recordings were used. The tapes were copied using a Studer 820, perhaps the best analogue tape recorder available today for normal production. Since the tape-speed at the recording was not always constant, pitch had to be checked continuously and regulated when copying if necessary.
The digital conversion and processing took place at 96 kHz 24 bit. With the help of special Audio Cube software we were able to solve many technical problems that occurred on the original recordings (frequent loud humming noises, electrostatic disturbances and tape drop-outs; where necessary, tape noise was reduced slightly, but in most cases this was not essential). We tried to reconstruct the equalization as well as possible because of the excellent sound quality of these historical recordings.
With special thanks to Richard Beutel and Andrew Wedman of Emil Berliner Studios
Platene er å få tak i fra de store leverandørene av klassisk musikk; cduniverse, mdt, amazon og berkshire; sjekk berkshire (www2.broinc.com) først da de har enkelte av disse til avsindig lave priser.
Alle bildene av coverene her er tilfeldige bilder; hele serien finner man på hjemmesiden;
http://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/webseries/?ID=originalmasters
For ordens skyld må jeg tilføye at de to andre store Universal-assosierte gamle selskapene, Philips og Decca (UK) også har egne "Original Masters"-kataloger; men siden jeg har vært opptatt med DGG så har jeg ennå ikke rukket meg dit..
Enjoy
Mvh Vidar P
De er svært godt omtalt i pressen selvsagt;
...Universals dazzling Original Masters series, bargain priced, well documented, attractively packaged
Opera News, January 2004
this marvellous Original Masters series ...These DG boxes are among the most desirable and intelligently planned re-releases on the market
Rob Cowan, Gramophone, April 2004
"At a time when the classical record industry is regularly castigated for greed, short-sightedness and superficiality, the Original Masters project ... testifies to cultural commitment of the highest order."
Laurence Vittes, Classic Record Collector, Spring 2003
"...precisely the sort of project that the major companies should be embarking on: mining their archives, pooling their resources and taking the time to plan things properly. ... a collection that shouldn't be missed on any count."
Rob Cowan, Gramophone, 3/2003
"...five boxes at bargain price which are a must for the discriminating collector (*****)."
David Mellor, The Mail on Sunday, February 9, 2003
"neatly packaged box sets of historical recordings in excellent transfers direct from the original tapes"
Anthony Burton, BBC Music Magazine, March 2003
Misoppfatningen om at et godt hifisystem og historiske innspillinger er motsigelser er en høyst misforstått en; og blir gjort grundig til skamme med slike serier som dette. Jeg har skrytt i nær ekstatiske ordelag om Schneiderhan-boksen i historisk-tråden; nå som jeg er nær å ha anskaffet hele serien selv, så er det vel relativt trygt å mene noe om den, og trygt å anbefale den uten å risikere at andre kommer før meg til mølla
Fra DGG Original Masters sin hjemmeside;
In a historical series like Original Masters, our great advantage is our access - unlike many labels who issue historical recordings - to the original mastertapes of the recordings released. In other words, DGG can use original source material, not shellacs or LPs, as the basis of the transfers to disc. This makes for an enormous gain in the quality of the sound that can be offered on Original Masters CD releases. Even in the case of live radio recordings (as in the Furtwängler set), here too we had access to radio tapes. What's more, with the acquisition of the Westminster and American Decca catalogues (as well as the availability, subject to approval, of material from the Decca and Philips catalogues), DGG can offer a wider range and a more comprehensive selection of recordings by a given artist.
The first step in the transfer process itself is, of course, the copying of the tapes on to a computer editing system, where all subsequent steps are carried out. The age of the tapes (most were around fifty years old) can create any number of problems. Editing-splices can become loose or can stick to other adjacent outer layers of the tape itself; the tape may also tear because the original material has become fragile with the passing of years. At times it is only possible to copy individual sections of a work, and these have to be joined together at a later stage using the editing system.
All further adaptation and restoration work, right up to the preparation of the new master for production, takes place within the editing system. Analogue editing errors are, wherever possible, corrected, background noise (tape hiss) reduced to an acceptable level, and, only where necessary, the character of the sound improved using filters. When more than one tape is used for the compilation of a single CD, different sound levels and sound images are equalized. Essentially, a minimum of intervention takes place, so that one should speak of a mastering rather than a remastering process.
In the case of the recordings from the Westminster catalogue (the Janácek Quartet's Mendelssohn and Beethoven), the sources used were the original tapes that were employed at the recording sessions themselves and later edited. This may seem obvious, but isn't: with later Westminster LP releases mostly copies of original recordings were used. The tapes were copied using a Studer 820, perhaps the best analogue tape recorder available today for normal production. Since the tape-speed at the recording was not always constant, pitch had to be checked continuously and regulated when copying if necessary.
The digital conversion and processing took place at 96 kHz 24 bit. With the help of special Audio Cube software we were able to solve many technical problems that occurred on the original recordings (frequent loud humming noises, electrostatic disturbances and tape drop-outs; where necessary, tape noise was reduced slightly, but in most cases this was not essential). We tried to reconstruct the equalization as well as possible because of the excellent sound quality of these historical recordings.
With special thanks to Richard Beutel and Andrew Wedman of Emil Berliner Studios
Platene er å få tak i fra de store leverandørene av klassisk musikk; cduniverse, mdt, amazon og berkshire; sjekk berkshire (www2.broinc.com) først da de har enkelte av disse til avsindig lave priser.
Alle bildene av coverene her er tilfeldige bilder; hele serien finner man på hjemmesiden;
http://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/webseries/?ID=originalmasters
For ordens skyld må jeg tilføye at de to andre store Universal-assosierte gamle selskapene, Philips og Decca (UK) også har egne "Original Masters"-kataloger; men siden jeg har vært opptatt med DGG så har jeg ennå ikke rukket meg dit..
Enjoy
Mvh Vidar P
