In that last regard, Éric Tappy does very well for Armin Jordan's Érato/RCA recording, also a fine one overall - alas, the Orchestra of the Opera of Monte Carlo, aside from its principal strings (notably the concertmaster's solos, the best of the 3 recordings in question here), isn't quite up to the standards of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande - let alone those of the Berliner or Wiener Philharmoniker (the last for Abbado - there, it's Maria Ewing that makes for trouble it seems...)!!
"La fontaine des aveugles" = "Blind-men's fountain" OR "Fountain of the blind". Personally I favour the latter as being both better English as well as closer to the original French.
Thanks so very much for posting this videoclip, and hopefully Decca/London won't force you to take it down - these corporations and others have already driven much valuable material off of the 'Net...
PieterdeRooijHolland: I entirely agree re.both recordings - what we need is a genuine tenor as Pelléas.
This is just gorgeous! Ah, those Decca/London sound engineers were technical wizards back in the 1960s; their efforts have never been surpassed. The performance here is my all-time favorite of this enchanting opera; the principals and the conductor are superb. I also like the individual contributions of others on other sets, but for me this one wins as a total experience.
I can dream evry note of P&M, have listened to many of the opera's recordings. In the past I've often labelled Debussy's 'P&M' 'the greatest achievement in western classical music'. Such a (somewhat ridiculous) 'claim' tells at least how veery dear-special-magical P&M is to me. Two recordings stand out for me, the Karajan-BerlPhO-Von Stade-Stilwell-Van Dam recording and the recording here with Ansermet-L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande-Spoorenberg-London-Maurane. Just listen...this is pure magic!
In that last regard, Éric Tappy does very well for Armin Jordan's Érato/RCA recording, also a fine one overall - alas, the Orchestra of the Opera of Monte Carlo, aside from its principal strings (notably the concertmaster's solos, the best of the 3 recordings in question here), isn't quite up to the standards of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande - let alone those of the Berliner or Wiener Philharmoniker (the last for Abbado - there, it's Maria Ewing that makes for trouble it seems...)!!
LJBSasha 1 year ago
"La fontaine des aveugles" = "Blind-men's fountain" OR "Fountain of the blind". Personally I favour the latter as being both better English as well as closer to the original French.
Thanks so very much for posting this videoclip, and hopefully Decca/London won't force you to take it down - these corporations and others have already driven much valuable material off of the 'Net...
PieterdeRooijHolland: I entirely agree re.both recordings - what we need is a genuine tenor as Pelléas.
LJBSasha 1 year ago
This is just gorgeous! Ah, those Decca/London sound engineers were technical wizards back in the 1960s; their efforts have never been surpassed. The performance here is my all-time favorite of this enchanting opera; the principals and the conductor are superb. I also like the individual contributions of others on other sets, but for me this one wins as a total experience.
billyguns2 1 year ago
I can dream evry note of P&M, have listened to many of the opera's recordings. In the past I've often labelled Debussy's 'P&M' 'the greatest achievement in western classical music'. Such a (somewhat ridiculous) 'claim' tells at least how veery dear-special-magical P&M is to me. Two recordings stand out for me, the Karajan-BerlPhO-Von Stade-Stilwell-Van Dam recording and the recording here with Ansermet-L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande-Spoorenberg-London-Maurane. Just listen...this is pure magic!
PieterdeRooijHolland 2 years ago 2
@PieterdeRooijHolland I feel exactly the same way about Pelleas. It has over the years become a big part of who I am.
wesleyan97 3 months ago