{"product_id":"sargent-conducts-holst-stereo-19571961-pasc756","title":"SARGENT conducts Holst (stereo, 1957\/1961) - PASC756","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eHOLST\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eThe Planets Suite\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBeni Mora\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eThe Perfect Fool\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eStereo studio recordings, 1957 \u0026amp; 1961\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 75:03\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eBBC Symphony Orchestra \u0026amp; Women's Chorus\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Sir Malcolm Sargent\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC756.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\nWhen Sir Malcolm Sargent entered Kingsway Hall in August 1957 to record \u003cem\u003e\nThe Planets\u003c\/em\u003e with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the world of recorded\nsound was on the cusp of a revolution. Stereo, still in its infancy, was\nabout to transform the listener’s experience — and few works were better\nsuited to demonstrate its power than Holst’s cosmic suite. Sargent, ever the\nshowman yet always a craftsman, seized the opportunity with characteristic\nassurance. The result, coupled here with the exotic \u003cem\u003eBeni Mora\u003c\/em\u003e from\nthe same sessions, remains one of the most thrilling sonic experiences of\nits time: majestic in scope, refined in detail, and recorded with a\nsplendour that made reviewers’ jaws drop.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nTrevor Harvey’s Gramophone notice for the mono issue, published in September\n1958, was already glowing. Comparing Sargent’s new HMV recording to his\nearlier Decca version and to Boult’s, he found the distinctions too fine to\ncall. “Swings and roundabouts it is,” he wrote — “two magnificent readings,\nin fact.” Yet Harvey was bowled over by the engineering: “This is a superb\nperformance, extremely well recorded … the new HMV has richness into the\nbargain, as well as a capability of climax that is magnificent. The surface\nis perfect … and such things as the double-basses in \u003cem\u003eSaturn\u003c\/em\u003e are\nmarvellously good.” For all his admiration, he lamented that EMI had chosen\nto duplicate Sargent’s Decca effort rather than broaden the Holst catalogue\n— but his admiration for the performance itself was unqualified.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThen came the stereo release a few months later, and Harvey was even more\neffusive. “It is the most vivid bit of stereo recording I have yet heard,”\nhe declared in January 1959. The Planets, he noted, was precisely the kind\nof large-scale score in which stereo “really comes into its own.” He\ndescribed with near-scientific delight how the strings stretched from left\nto right, the harps gleamed from the left-hand side, and the bells in\n\u003cem\u003e\nSaturn\n\u003c\/em\u003e\nrang out with pinpoint precision. What impressed him most, though, was not\nthe gimmickry of spatial separation, but the realism — the way stereo\napproximated, as he put it, “what Holst had in mind.” It was an astonishing\nachievement for 1957 technology, and a perfect marriage of musical authority\nand technical innovation.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nSargent’s interpretation, meanwhile, had mellowed slightly since his 1954 Decca\nreading. The sweep and vitality remained, but there was now a greater sense\nof architectural control — a stately grandeur in \u003cem\u003eMars\u003c\/em\u003e, a poised\nlyricism in \u003cem\u003eVenus\u003c\/em\u003e, and an unhurried serenity in \u003cem\u003eNeptune\u003c\/em\u003e,\nwith the BBC Women’s Chorus fading magically into silence. The orchestra,\nwith whom Sargent had a long and occasionally tempestuous relationship,\nplayed with brilliance and commitment. As Robert Layton later observed in\n\u003cem\u003eGramophone\u003c\/em\u003e (January 1972), the BBC players brought “ample vigour\nand spirit” to a performance that had “withstood the test of time extremely\nwell.” He praised the poetry of \u003cem\u003eVenus\u003c\/em\u003e, the mercurial sparkle of\n\u003cem\u003eMercury\u003c\/em\u003e, and concluded that Sargent’s stereo Planets remained\n“highly competitive” even against newer Boult and Haitink versions.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eBeni Mora\u003c\/em\u003e, recorded during the same Kingsway sessions, shows\nanother side of Holst’s imagination — the fascination with the East that\npermeated so much early 20th-century English music. Based on impressions\nHolst gathered during a visit to Algeria, it unfolds as a vivid\ntone-painting of rhythmic dance and languorous melody. Sargent relishes its\nsensuality, shaping the hypnotic final movement — built around an endlessly\nrepeating flute figure — with an ear for its trance-like modernity. It is\nmusic that feels both exotic and strangely minimalist, decades ahead of its\ntime.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nBy contrast, \u003cem\u003eThe Perfect Fool\u003c\/em\u003e, recorded four years later at Abbey\nRoad with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, inhabits a very different world.\nPremiered in 1923, this brief ballet-suite is Holst at his most mischievous\n— a sparkling parody of operatic convention and a riot of orchestral colour.\nThe suite’s three dances — of Spirits of Earth, Water, and Fire — gave Holst\na chance to unleash his gift for vivid scoring: trombone glissandi,\nglittering percussion, and bold, brass-driven climaxes. Sargent, ever alert\nto theatrical flair, draws playing of tremendous panache from the RPO, his\ntempi taut, his phrasing crisp, his humour perfectly judged.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nTaken together, these recordings form a miniature panorama of Holst’s world:\nthe visionary (\u003cem\u003eThe Planets\u003c\/em\u003e), the impressionist (\u003cem\u003eBeni Mora\u003c\/em\u003e),\nand the ironist (\u003cem\u003eThe Perfect Fool\u003c\/em\u003e). They also chart a moment of\ntransformation in the history of recording, when stereo ceased to be a\nnovelty and became an expressive tool in its own right. Sixty-eight years\nlater, Sargent’s \u003cem\u003ePlanets\u003c\/em\u003e still glows with what Layton called\n“spaciousness and depth” — qualities that time and technological change have\nnot dimmed. Heard anew in Pristine’s transfer, this remains one of the great\nHolst recordings: authoritative, expansive, and, in every sense,\nstar-studded.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_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\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSARGENT \u003c\/b\u003econducts Holst\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eHOLST \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eThe Planets Suite, Op. 32\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. 1. Mars, the Bringer of War  (6:58)\u003cbr\u003e2. 2. Venus, the Bringer of Peace  (9:11)\u003cbr\u003e3. 3. Mercury, the Winged Messenger  (3:31)\u003cbr\u003e4. 4. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity  (7:45)\u003cbr\u003e5. 5. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age  (9:36)\u003cbr\u003e6. 6. Uranus, the Magician  (6:02)\u003cbr\u003e7.  7. Neptune, the Mystic**  (7:18)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eHOLST \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBeni Mora, Op. 29, No. 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e8. 1. First Dance  (5:24)\u003cbr\u003e9. 2. Second Dance  (2:55)\u003cbr\u003e10. 3. Finale: 'In the Street of the Ouled Näils'  (6:03)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eHOLST \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eThe Perfect Fool, Op. 39*\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e11. 1. Dance of Spirits of Earth  (4:39)\u003cbr\u003e12. 2. Dance of Spirits of Water  (2:30)\u003cbr\u003e13. 3. Dance of Spirits of Fire  (3:11)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBBC Symphony Orchestra \u0026amp; **Women's Chorus\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e*Royal Philharmonic Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003econducted by \u003cb\u003eSir Malcolm Sargent\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eXR remastering by Andrew Rose\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of Sargent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Planets Suite\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003erecorded 12 August and 23 September 1957, Kingsway Hall, London\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBeni Mora\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003erecorded 28-29 August 1957, Kingsway Hall, London\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Perfect Fool\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003erecorded 3 January 1961, Abbey Road Studio 1, London\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal duration: 75:03\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\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\/PASC756.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC756.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010138489198,"sku":"gev1789306805304","price":14.85,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010138521966,"sku":"ykx1789306805305","price":8.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Stereo MP3","offer_id":55010138554734,"sku":"tcl1789306805306","price":6.89,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0915\/3986\/5966\/files\/sargent-conducts-holst-stereo-19571961---pasc756_1.jpg?v=1789306812","url":"https:\/\/www.harborviewgoods.shop\/products\/sargent-conducts-holst-stereo-19571961-pasc756","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}