Your favorite mono recordings

[vandermolen]

Part of a two volume set (I don't own the 2nd volume) on HMV Concert Classics licensed from Westminster.

 

Three Partitas on a single LP is pushing the envelope. Possibly mono helps in this regard also the music not being over-dynamic. I am far from being an authority although enjoy the Partitas very much. Joerg Demus to my ears is perfection, less hectic then Glenn Gould who I usually listen.
I do not recall buying this LP but made a note of the cost £2. A bargain!

HMV Concert Classics introduced me to some great music:

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Part of a two volume set (I don't own the 2nd volume) on HMV Concert Classics licensed from Westminster.

 

Three Partitas on a single LP is pushing the envelope. Possibly mono helps in this regard also the music not being over-dynamic. I am far from being an authority although enjoy the Partitas very much. Joerg Demus to my ears is perfection, less hectic then Glenn Gould who I usually listen.
I do not recall buying this LP but made a note of the cost £2. A bargain!

Nice album. His stereo Partitas sounds good as well, imo.

[geralmar]

I have been told that especially acoustic recordings from before 1928 (or whenever electrical recordings started) would sound best on an acoustical gramophone but I don't think I have ever heard such a thing.
Anyway, I thought the question referred mostly to "Hifi mono" from the late 1940s or so. And to the sound, not that one likes certain historical recordings immensely in spite of the sound.

The "Prima Voce" CD sublabel from Nimbus "specializes in the transfer of vocal records on 78 rpm discs dating from 1900. The method of transfer involves the use of thorn needles and a giant acoustic horn on a carefully restored gramophone.  No electronic processing is used: instead, the gramophone is placed in a living room environment and recorded ambisonically... ."

I have no expertise on how successful Nimbus's transfers are (reviews are mixed); but at least the label deserves credit for attempting a "real world" recreation. 

[71 dB]

The "Prima Voce" CD sublabel from Nimbus "specializes in the transfer of vocal records on 78 rpm discs dating from 1900. The method of transfer involves the use of thorn needles and a giant acoustic horn on a carefully restored gramophone.  No electronic processing is used: instead, the gramophone is placed in a living room environment and recorded ambisonically... ."

I have no expertise on how successful Nimbus's transfers are (reviews are mixed); but at least the label deserves credit for attempting a "real world" recreation. 

Wow. I'm checking out Eide Norena release on Spotify and it sounds really good (for its age)! The great thing about this method is how it adds pseudo-stereophony. Sounds good on both speakers and headphones. I have been testing adding pseudo-stereophony on mono recordings in Audacity (because listening to true mono on headphones makes the sound unnaturally "death" and pseudostereo can make the sound more natural and "alive"). Recording the mono sound in a room with stereo mics is a one way to achieve pseudostereo, but the additional reverberation shouldn't be too much. In the case of acoustic recordings the reverberation level is very low, so this is beneficial.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The "Prima Voce" CD sublabel from Nimbus "specializes in the transfer of vocal records on 78 rpm discs dating from 1900. The method of transfer involves the use of thorn needles and a giant acoustic horn on a carefully restored gramophone.  No electronic processing is used: instead, the gramophone is placed in a living room environment and recorded ambisonically... ."

I have no expertise on how successful Nimbus's transfers are (reviews are mixed); but at least the label deserves credit for attempting a "real world" recreation. 

I have a bunch of those which I purchased ages ago.  It's fun to hear those early operatic recordings.

As an aside, years ago I went to a big outdoor antique show.  One of the vendors there was selling old gramophones.  I was quite impressed at how good of a sound that one could get from them (He was playing various 78's on them.).  For a while I was contemplating on purchasing one.

PD

[Cato]

I might have offered these earlier, but since the topic is back:

Beethoven Symphony #7

and

Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Orchestra


Both on RCA records:

The Manfred Symphony was cut to fit onto the record.  Nevertheless, a slam-dunk performance!


Also highly recommended, again from RCA:

Brahms Symphony #4

Tchaikovsky Symphony #5  Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra


The Brahms is scattered over 4 different YouTube screens:

[Cato]

Also highly recommended, again from RCA:

Brahms Symphony #4



The Brahms is scattered over 4 different YouTube screens:

Here is a better source - with better quality - for the Koussevitzky/Boston Symphony Orchestra performance of the Brahms work:

https://archive.org/details/BrahmsSymphonyNo.4-koussevitzky/01.I.AllegroNonTroppo.mp3

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Thanks for the posts ladies and gents.  Btw, the discussion regarding the advantages of monaural recordings is below.


https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,30881.msg1371678.html#msg1371678

[Irons]

Klemperer's Brandenburg two LP set was originally released in both mono and stereo. However, the producer Walter Legge famously disliked stereo and resisted the format on his (British) Columbia label. By 1961 he had no choice as market forces dictated a stereo issue alongside mono but his heart was not in it. The practice at the time was for two recording teams, one mono, one stereo. For Legge mono recordings always took precedence. Columbia 33CX are amongst the finest mono recordings available.



Klemperer's Brandenburg Concertos are not 'big band' or lush like for instance Karajan. In fact not that far from current performing practice. Typically slow but amazing clarity and any preconceived criticism is soon dispelled. Slightly disappointed with No.6 but enjoyed No.1 & 2 enormously.
Some of the best musicians of their generation feature -
Hugh Bean. Violin.
Cech James. Bassoon.
Alan Civil, Andrew Woodburn. Horns.
Adolf Scherbaum. Trumpet.
George Malcolm. Harpsichord Continuo.
Sidney Sutcliffe, Stanley Smith, Peter Newbury. Oboes.

[prémont]

Klemperer's Brandenburg Concertos are not 'big band' or lush like for instance Karajan. In fact not that far from current performing practice. Typically slow but amazing clarity and any preconceived criticism is soon dispelled. Slightly disappointed with No.6 but enjoyed No.1 & 2 enormously.
Some of the best musicians of their generation feature -
Hugh Bean. Violin.
Cech James. Bassoon.
Alan Civil, Andrew Woodburn. Horns.
Adolf Scherbaum. Trumpet.
George Malcolm. Harpsichord Continuo.
Sidney Sutcliffe, Stanley Smith, Peter Newbury. Oboes.

Yes, far more modern than their reputation.

With one exception: You know, Malcolm was told just to realize the continuo with simple chords. In another recording led by Malcolm himself one can hear how he wanted the continuo to be realized.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Klemperer's Brandenburg two LP set was originally released in both mono and stereo. However, the producer Walter Legge famously disliked stereo and resisted the format on his (British) Columbia label. By 1961 he had no choice as market forces dictated a stereo issue alongside mono but his heart was not in it. The practice at the time was for two recording teams, one mono, one stereo. For Legge mono recordings always took precedence. Columbia 33CX are amongst the finest mono recordings available.



Klemperer's Brandenburg Concertos are not 'big band' or lush like for instance Karajan. In fact not that far from current performing practice. Typically slow but amazing clarity and any preconceived criticism is soon dispelled. Slightly disappointed with No.6 but enjoyed No.1 & 2 enormously.
Some of the best musicians of their generation feature -
Hugh Bean. Violin.
Cech James. Bassoon.
Alan Civil, Andrew Woodburn. Horns.
Adolf Scherbaum. Trumpet.
George Malcolm. Harpsichord Continuo.
Sidney Sutcliffe, Stanley Smith, Peter Newbury. Oboes.

I didn't know that about Legge and mono recordings.  Quite interesting!  Thank you for sharing that info. 

PD

[Irons]

Yes, far more modern than their reputation.

With one exception: You know, Malcolm was told just to realize the continuo with simple chords. In another recording led by Malcolm himself one can hear how he wanted the continuo to be realized.

Interesting. It is something that under Klemperer's baton you can actually hear harpsichord continuo.

With all Klemperer recordings balance favours winds over strings. For the Brandenburg Concertos this works out very well.

[Irons]

I didn't know that about Legge and mono recordings.  Quite interesting!  Thank you for sharing that info. 

PD

An interesting discussion on the subject here   https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=5485.0

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

An interesting discussion on the subject here   https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=5485.0

Interesting discussion. Thank you for the post.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Talking about Walter Legge, recently I listened to this 1957 stereo recording produced by him. While the performance is excellent, I think the sound quality is average, if not poor. I imagine his assistant may have worked on this stereo recording. I like the stereo sound of Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo. Probably are they the first companies who successfully explored the merits of stereo sound? As for popular music, I think the Beatles' Revolver and Sgt Peppers began the sophisticated stereo sound.

[Irons]

Talking about Walter Legge, recently I listened to this 1957 stereo recording produced by him. While the performance is excellent, I think the sound quality is average, if not poor. I imagine his assistant may have worked on this stereo recording. I like the stereo sound of Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo. Probably are they the first companies who successfully explored the merits of stereo sound? As for popular music, I think the Beatles' Revolver and Sgt Peppers began the sophisticated stereo sound.

Warner Classics are far from the first to fall into the trap in assuming that stereo always superior to mono. For marketing purposes it probably is as most of the buying public think the same way.



The Hindemith recordings are a case in point. Volume 1 recorded November 1956 when Legge was in full control before purely technical and commercial developments in the classical industry began to dictate the way forward. Legge queried the wisdom of stereo separating out strands which he and his engineers had taken such pains to integrate into the mono sound picture. Stereo was not only an afterthought for him but he actively discouraged it. A stubborn man.

At the same time across the Atlantic two brilliant sound engineers, Lewis Layton at RCA and Bob Fine at Mercury embraced the stereo format, realizing the protentional. Between them they made some of the finest recordings which stand up to this day.       

[prémont]

I don't think the choice between mono and stereo is that simple. For polyphonic music (particularly renaissance- and baroque music) stereo may be preferable because it enables one to separate the individual voices better.

Stereo may also be preferable for organ music because it conveys a better picture of the acoustics of the venue. This matters because organs are closely connected acoustically to the room they are built for.

For piano solo and music with the main emphasis upon harmonies (classical and romantic music) mono may maybe be better to create an integrated soundpicture of the music. 

[Cato]

I don't think the choice between mono and stereo is that simple. For polyphonic music (particularly renaissance- and baroque music) stereo may be preferable because it enables one to separate the individual voices better.

Stereo may also be preferable for organ music because it conveys a better picture of the acoustics of the venue. This matters because organs are closely connected acoustically to the room they are built for.

For piano solo and music with the main emphasis upon harmonies (classical and romantic music) mono may maybe be better to create an integrated soundpicture of the music. 

I think of antiphonal works (Gabrieli of course), for which (I have read) musicians were placed in various spots throughout a cathedral.

Stereo (Surround Sound?) would seem fine for such works.

[prémont]

I think of antiphonal works (Gabrieli of course), for which (I have read) musicians were placed in various spots throughout a cathedral.

Stereo (Surround Sound?) would seem fine for such works.

Yes that's an obvious example. But it holds true for much more Early music. In JS Bach's concerto for two violins BWV 1043 e.g. it may be difficult to tell the two soloists from each other if one can't do it by means of their location in the sound stage.

[Irons]

Yes that's an obvious example. But it holds true for much more Early music. In JS Bach's concerto for two violins BWV 1043 e.g. it may be difficult to tell the two soloists from each other if one can't do it by means of their location in the sound stage.

This is true. Thinking that this very morning reading "Listening Now" thread issues of Concerto for Two Pianos. On the other hand I prefer string quartet recordings in mono as they sound more natural.