The
raison d’être of these high-res re-masters is to present vintage recordings in the best possible light. It’s a daunting task, given deteriorating master tapes, and the degrees of technical intervention can either be very subtle or frankly objectionable. I’ve heard many examples of both, and sadly the good ones are comparatively rare. HDTT tend to source the music from tapes, but they have also achieved remarkably good results with direct-from-LP transfers. Among the latter is Jean Martinon’s celebrated Decca recording of excerpts from
Giselle, which sounds newly minted in its HDTT incarnation; indeed, I was so impressed with the results of this transfer that I made the disc one of my Recordings of the Year 2013 (
review).
According to HDTT’s skimpy liner-notes their re-mastering of this
Bernstein/Copland collection - which I first heard on a cheap CBS cassette
- is sourced from Columbia four-track tapes. Thankfully the sonic limitations
of the cassette medium masked the roughness that’s all too evident
in subsequent CD reissues of these performances. However, what that
convenient but long-defunct carrier could not do was hide the sheer
exuberance of Lenny’s conducting or the New Yorkers’ often
febrile playing. I’ve yet to hear a version of
El Salón
México – and I include Copland’s own - that’s
as loose-limbed as this, or whose rhythms are so infectiously conveyed;
ditto Bernstein’s
Danzón Cubano, although there
are times when I prefer the much plainer weave of his LAPO
Appalachian
Spring (DG).
So, is this re-master a step up from those less-than-ideal CD transfers?
The ear-pricking start to
Appalachian Spring suggests it is,
although I’m soon reminded that even at this stage of his career
Bernstein indulged in a touch of expressive overload. That said this
remains a joyous, tender and wonderfully spontaneous reading of Copland’s
iconic score. I can’t remember a more tactile sound than this
– what ravishing woodwinds – and I was gripped by a genuine
sense of delight and discovery. This is classic Americana in a classic
performance, and I must commend HDTT’s Bob Witrak for revitalising
this recording in ways I scarcely thought possible. There’s little
of the shrillness one hears on the CDs – more of that fabled ‘analogue
warmth’, perhaps - and the climaxes sound surprisingly clean;
the bass is firm and weighty too.
What a promising start this is, proof that judicious re-mastering really
can achieve the impossible. Indeed, thanks to HDTT I’ve fallen
in love with this gentle, homely piece all over again. It’s not
perfect – tape quality is variable and Lenny’s famous groans
are easily heard – but the high-spirited, spine-tingling intro
to
El Salón México makes one forget such things.
Goodness, the incomparable fluidity of this account is just astounding,
and Copland’s sizzling orchestrations– not to mention that
formidable bass drum – are as intoxicating as ever. Bravos all
round.
The
Danzón Cubano sounds rather more immediate than the other items here – it was
recorded at Avery Fisher Hall – but the peacock colours and fine
detail are as telling as before. It’s difficult to believe this
recording is half-a-century old, especially when the wide dynamics of
the dance’s second, contrasting section are so well managed. True,
this isn’t modern ‘hi-fi spectacular’ - there are
strange subsonic rumbles at one point and HDTT’s liner-notes are
barely worthy of the name - yet such is the level of enjoyment here
that I couldn’t care less. Even more enticing is the individual
and frankly
interesting sound of the NYP, a far cry from the
smooth, homogenised beast we hear today.
Vintage recordings lovingly restored; pure gold.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
