Re: Gould's CBC recordings

[Tim Conway <timcon@comswest.net.au>]

Hello Ingvar and the list,

I'm afraid I disagree with Ingvar. To me, the whole purpose of CDs and 
LPs and other recording media is to give the listener the illusion that 
he or she is in the room or hall where the recording took place. Anything 
that destroys that illusion is to be avoided. 

Historical recordings are a pain. People seem to go wild over recordings 
from 1900-1910 of Caruso and Galli-Curci and Melba when they all sound as 
though they are being strangled. I had the same problem with John 
McCormack until I found an excellent CD with some truly beautiful and 
modern-sounding tracks recorded in the 1930s. One track sounds as though 
it was recorded last year. Suddenly I knew why people raved about him.

Piano recordings do not suffer from the strangulation effect but the 
degree of distortion can often be enough to drive me away. If it doesn't 
sound like a piano it might just as well be a box of whistles, as GG said 
(I think).

I have a number of Pearl CDs. They are, as Ingvar says, very well done, 
and I wouldn't be without them because they are the best that is 
available; but I would far rather have better reproduction, even if it 
wan't historically correct.


Tim
<timcon@comswest.net.au>
Broome, Western Australia