Re: Sony GG Bach Boxed Set

["John P. Hill" <jphill@frank.mtsu.edu>]

Greetings to the collective!

Sorry about the Arrowroot screw-up!

There are some interesting and valid points raised with regard to the
new Sony box set.

I'm *not* affiliated with Sony, but part of the problem of releasing
the full box set *after* the individual discs were made available
probably relates to the fact that there is a considerable body of work
here to reissue.  Not only do all of the original recordings have to be
remastered (which may involve various types of "remixing"), but new
artwork, liner notes must be developed and laid out, then duplicated and
distributed, all of which takes *time*.

I suppose Sony could have waited and released the full box set,
but that would have prevented us from enjoying the individual discs
in the interim.  IMHO the SBM discs offer quite a sonic improvement
in most cases over the original vinyl pressings and I've derived a great
deal of listening enjoyment over the past few years as a result.  I've
also found that the prices on the SMB discs can vary quite drastically.
I recently purchased the double set of English Suites at a Media Play
here in Nashville for about $17. US.  Mind you, this copy had been there
for awhile and I've noticed that they have not replaced any of the other
SBM GG discs I've purchased from that store.

The inclusion of new artwork (photos) in the SBM discs is actually
kind of nice, I think, although it would be great if all the photos had
a direct correlation to the time of the original sessions (the covers
often do).  The liner notes are another issue altogether.  Although some
of the new ones provide uniques insights and are quite well-written,
THE ORIGINAL LINER NOTES REALLY SHOULD BE THERE TOO!  As most list
members know, GG himself wrote most (the majority?) of these orignal notes
and while some (Marienleben, etc.) can be found in print other places
many of them can not (at present).

I recall a really nice set of notes on the origial double vinyl set of the
Partitas (pink cover?) where GG is discussing tactile and phrasing issues
related to Bach in his well-loved "interview" format.  I don't think that
one has appeared in print elsewhere.  I've thought many times that a
great coffee table book could be made from the original album covers and
liner notes with other Hunstein photos from the time of each album's
original sessions.  These could be augmented with short anecdotes from
friends/colleaugues who figured prominently in GG's life at that time
or who might have been involved in some way with the actual recordings.
Any takers, Sony?  Care to forward a "finder's fee" for the concept?


John Hill
Dept. of Recording Industry
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN



On Wed, 8 Jan 1997 KImmoor@aol.com wrote:

> rgray@odyssee.net (Robert Gray) writes:
> > ads from Sony for a 24-CD boxed set [that truly resembles a 
> >box] of all GG's Bach recordings (plus what they call a "bonus
> >CD" with the Italienisches Konzert and Kunst der Fuge).
> 
>    Figures! Those capitalist pigdogs at Sony would go ahead and release a box
> of Bach after I have spent precious time and money slowly amassing the cds...
> I feel a brief rant coming on...
>    I hate to agree with the Gould bashing folk from Rec.Music.Classical, but
> it does sort of seem that Sony is out to gouge the public through Gould,
> especially if they are claiming to be including in this box a cd that will
> not be available outside the set. I mean, I think that most people have both
> the Italian Con. and the Art of Fugue on other labels (including old CBS,)
> but for those collectors out there who like the GG Edition, or who prefer the
> SBM sound, it is a financial drain. I find the marketing tactics weird, too:
> I have browsed many local shops and big-name stores, and (though it might be
> because the class. collections of most stores suck [pardon my slang]) without
> exception the only GG Edition cds available to me here in the southeast US
> have been the individual cds. It was not until I was able to actually leaf
> through a distribution catalog that I found the cds were available in
> tremendous sets (Vols 1- 5) which would have saved me a ton of money had I
> bought those rather than buying everything one by one. And while I'm on the
> subject, has it been discussed why Sony included none of the original art or
> liner notes with the GG Edition? I like the high quality essays that have
> been included, but it would be nice to have a feel for what the original
> release was like, too. I find the absence annoying. 
>    Ok, I think I am done ranting now. I hate the free market sometimes. >:-(
>  Sigh, I don't think I'll be buying this box, but does anyone know how much
> it is going to cost? And meanwhile, is anyone with access willing to run a
> small 'underground Gouldroad' of GG's unauthorized releases? After all this
> controversy, I'd love to hear the Brahms concerto as it happened that night.
>