{"product_id":"paray-conducts-french-music-1953-pasc240","title":"PARAY conducts French Music (1953) - PASC240","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"bodysmallarial\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eRAVEL \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eLa Valse\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ePavane\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ePelléas and Mélisande\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFRANCK \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ePsyche (excerpts)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eDUKAS \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eThe Sorcerer's Apprentice\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eROUSSEL \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eThe Spider's Feast\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eRecorded December 1953\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 74:04\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"bodysmallarial\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eThe Detroit Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Paul Paray\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFanfare Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eIn 1999, I took a trip to Detroit. While my\npurpose was to experience a game at Tiger Stadium before it was too\nlate, I also made a sort of pilgrimage to the recording venues used by\nthe Detroit Symphony Orchestra when it recorded for Mercury. If I could\nhave found it, I would have looked at the United Artists Theater, where\nAntal Doráti’s London recordings were made. Parking problems and the\nlikelihood that I couldn’t get in, anyway, discouraged me from doing\nanything more than a drive-by look, but I saw the Masonic Temple, the\nFord Auditorium, Cass Technical High School, and, finally, the DSO’s\npresent home, Orchestra Hall, built in 1918, abandoned in 1939 when the\norchestra lost its lease, and eventually saved by determined citizens\nafter the city condemned it. Wilma Cozart, who was involved in the\nproduction of Mercury’s Detroit recordings, told me that when Mercury\nmoved its activities there after the Ford Auditorium proved to be\nunsatisfactory, she could see the sky through a hole in the roof! Once\nthe building had been condemned, Mercury made Paul Paray’s final batch\nof recordings at the auditorium of Cass Technical High School. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eAlthough the annotations claim that some folks\ntouted the DSO as the world’s greatest “French” orchestra during Paul\nParay’s tenure, it didn’t sound particularly French to me—more like a\nvery good American orchestra, which it was and is. Paray, it is true,\nrecorded a lot of French music, but he also made perfectly good\nrecordings of music by, among others, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, and\nWagner. During one of the early sessions, a take was ruined by a\nmysterious tapping sound. Mercury’s team eventually discovered that the\nproblem was that the conductor was tapping his feet in time to the\nmusic. From then on, Paray wore slippers while recording! \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eWith one exception, all the pieces on this CD were recorded only monaurally; the one that was redone in stereo was \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eLa Valse. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eThis\nis the mono version. Paray’s energetic, vigorous approach to the music\nsuggests that he doesn’t see the piece as an allusion to the collapse of\ndecadent European civilization (which is a possible way of interpreting\nit) but a brilliantly orchestrated showpiece for a virtuoso orchestra\nand conductor (the way most conductors seem to interpret it). It\nobviously gave Mercury’s team an opportunity to show off its technique,\ntoo. Given technical competence, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eLa Valse\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e cannot fail in concert. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eIt’s pretty hard to ruin the melancholy but stately Fauré \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003ePavane,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\ntoo. Fauré wrote the piece for orchestra and chorus but specified that\nthe vocal parts could be eliminated, an option that I suspect most\nconductors exercise, as does Paray, who does not dawdle over it. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eParay’s performance of three of the orchestral sections of Franck’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003ePsyché \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eshows\na (to me) gentler side to the conductor, who struck me as more drawn to\nenergy and power in his performances. The orchestra’s strings sing here\nand Paray seems to have considerable affection for what must be\nFranck’s most sensuous music. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough\naffection to include the movement called “The Garden of Eros,” or\nperhaps it was believed that there wasn’t enough space on the LP. I\nmight point out, though, that Eduard van Beinum’s more-or-less\ncontemporaneous recording includes all four movements on one side of an\nLP; it’s also a lovely performance and has a richer sonority than\nParay’s. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eParay seems to relish \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eThe Sorcerer’s Apprentice\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\nbut more for its possibilities as an orchestral showpiece than its\nquirkiness, and on that level the performance is certainly a success.\nThe clear, powerful recording helps, too. Paray’s approach to the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003ePelléas and Mélisande\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e excerpts is refined and, mainly, unsentimental. The symphonic fragments from \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eThe Spider’s Feast\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\nare right up his alley (a pity he didn’t record the complete score),\ngiving the music an edge that it sometimes lacks in other performances. I\nwonder what he might have done with the symphonies. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESb\"\u003eJames Miller \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis article originally appeared in Issue 34:4 (Mar\/Apr 2011) of Fanfare Magazine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC240.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Paray is heard at his best in French music...\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cem class=\"bodymid\"\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSix excellent Mercury Living Presence recordings, newly remastered\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eAlthough these two recordings were made very close together in the month of December, 1953, one suspects that someone involved in the second sessions might have been suffering from a little too much post-Christmas cheer. Sonically there was little to question of the first album, consisting of the Ravel, first Fauré and Franck and recorded on the 7th December; XR remastering brought a few minor tweaks to the sound which helped make it a little more realistic than one often hears from Mercury recordings of this era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eHowever the second album here, the Dukas, second Fauré and Roussel, recorded between 26th and 28th December 1953 was an entirely different matter. Despite another excellent transfer of a near-mint LP original, the sound of the orchestra was quite bizarre, and it's hard to believe nobody noticed this at the time. Of course with modern computer tonal analysis, as carried out with all XR remasters, it's easy to see precisely what the problem is - a graph showing the average tonal spectrum of the entire album indicates a deep trough at just above 1kHz followed by a very unnatural lift centred around 3.4kHz. There were other oddities as well, but these two were the main culprits, and it suggests that someone in the recording or mastering chain someone did something very unusual with the tone controls.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eFortunately once the problems have been analysed it is a relatively straightforward issue to correct, and the second half of this release now sounds as it should have done 57 years earlier. It is astonishing to modern ears that The Gramophone's reviewer of the British release of this album made no mention of its sonic shortcomings! Suffice to day that both recordings, brought together for the first time on a single issue here, now sound marvellous indeed\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRAVEL\u003c\/strong\u003e La Valse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFAURE \u003c\/strong\u003ePavane\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFRANCK\u003c\/strong\u003e Psyche (Orchestral excerpts) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003eRecorded 7th December 1953\u003cbr\u003e Issued as Mercury LP MG 50029\u003cbr\u003e NB. These were Paray's only recordings of the Fauré and Franck works - the Ravel was re-recorded later in stereo \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDUKAS\u003c\/strong\u003e The Sorcerer's Apprentice\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFAURE \u003c\/strong\u003ePelléas and Mélisande (Incidental music) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eROUSSEL\u003c\/strong\u003e The Spider's Feast (Symphonic fragments)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003eRecorded 26th-28th December 1953\u003cbr\u003e Issued as Mercury LP MG 50035\u003cbr\u003e NB. These were Paray's only recordings of the Dukas, Fauré and Roussel works \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eThe Detroit Symphony Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003econducted by \u003cstrong\u003ePaul Paray\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eTransfers by Edward Johnson from his private collection\u003cbr\u003eXR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, August 2010\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of Paul Paray\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTotal duration: 74:04\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC240.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC240.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Mono 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010056470894,"sku":"jcw1789305681790","price":11.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010056503662,"sku":"lbp1789305681791","price":7.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Mono 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010056536430,"sku":"nri1789305681792","price":9.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Mono MP3","offer_id":55010056569198,"sku":"vus1789305681793","price":6.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0915\/3986\/5966\/files\/paray-conducts-french-music-1953---pasc240_1.jpg?v=1789305689","url":"https:\/\/www.harborviewgoods.shop\/products\/paray-conducts-french-music-1953-pasc240","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}