JOHN TAVENER - The Whale APPLE BEATLES NM SAPCOR 1st APPLE issue

	£		55
	$		72

JOHN TAVENER

The Whale

                                                                          UK 1ST PRESS APPLE 

                                                                                      SAPCOR 15  

                                                                    Machined matrices : A-1U  B-1U 

OFFERED FOR SALE ONE OF THE RAREST UK APPLE RELEASES TO OBTAIN.

RELEASED SEPTEMBER 1970 "THE WHALE" WAS TAVENER'S FIRST UK APPLE RELEASE.

JOHN TAVENER HAD BECOME RENOWNED AS A GREAT MODERN DAY CLASSICAL COMPOSER AND WAS INTRODUCED TO APPLE BY RINGO, YET DESPITE THIS THE ALBUM WAS ONE OF APPLE'S POOREST SELLERS.

ORIGINAL 1ST ISSUE COPIES OF THIS ALBUM HAVE BECOME VERY VERY ELUSIVE AND ARE VERY MUCH IN HIGH DEMAND AMONGST BEATLES AND APPLE COLLECTORS ALIKE. 

HAVING RECEIVED NO MORE THAN A LIMITED NUMBER, POSSIBLY JUST ONE,  OF VERY CAREFUL PLAYS THIS EXAMPLE OFFERS STUNNING VINYL AND LABELS.  

APPLE SAPCOR 15

A-1U   B-1U

FEATURING NEAR MINT, UNMARKED APPLE LABELS TO BOTH SIDES. THE LABELS ARE ABSOLUTELY LIKE NEW AND UNBLEMISHED IN ANY WAY. WHEN CLOSELY INSPECTED UNDER A BRIGHT LIGHT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DETECT JUST ONE OR TWO VERY TINY SPINDLE MARKS TO SIDE TWO ONLY, BOTH SIDES ARE SPOTLESS, VIVID AND VIBRANT WITH PERFECT LETTERING AND BRIGHT COLOURS.

THE GLOSSY VINYL IS STUNNING. THIS VINYL IS  UNMARKED. DISPLAYING A MINT APPEARENCE IN NORMAL DAYLIGHT THE VINYL LIES PERFECTLY FLAT WITH NO WARPING. 

AUDIO IS FLAWLESS WITH ABSOLUTELY NO DISTORTION PRESENT.

THE ORIGINAL WHITE  INNER IS PRESENT AND IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. IT HAS THE ODD LIGHT CREASE BUT DISPLAYS NO DISCOLOURATION TO THE EDGES, THE SLEEVE IS  INTACT WITH NO WRITING.

THE ORIGINAL NON-LAMINATED GATEFOLD SLEEVE IS  EXCELLENT.THE EDGES ARE NEAR PERFECT WITHOUT ANY DISCERNABLE STORAGE WEAR.  THE FRONT IS STILL BRIGHT WHITE . THERE IS SOME MILD DISCOLOURATION TOWARDS THE SPINE EDGE. THE OPENING EDGE IS DEADSTRAIGHT. THE INNER IS SUPERB WITH VIRTUALLY NO HANDLING MARKS AND IS VERY VERY CLEAN. THE REAR SHOWS MINIMAL SIGNS OF WEAR WITH A HINT OF RINGWEAR EVIDENT. THE SPINE  IS 100% READABLE.

THIS IS A RARE AND UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO AQUIRE ONE OF THE RAREST UK APPLE RELEASES.

The Whale is a "dramatic cantata" written by the English composer John Tavener in 1966. The work is loosely based on the biblical allegory of Jonah and the Whale, although Tavener admitted that "The 'fantasy' grew and perhaps at times nearly 'swallowed' the biblical text: so the swallowing of Jonah became almost 'literal' in the biblical sense."[1]

The libretto includes the words of an encyclopaedia entry describing certain facts about the whale, and this is contrasted with themes within the music which attempt to portray the reality of the whale itself, whose existence is greater than the sum of all the facts about it.

The Whale has eight sections: I. Documentary, II. Melodrama and Pantomime, III. Invocation. IV. The Storm, V. The Swallowing, VI. The Prayer. VII. In the Belly, and VIII. The Vomiting.

It was premiered at a Proms concert on 1 August 1969, with the London Sinfonietta under David Atherton with soloists Anna Reynolds, Raimund Herincx, Alvar Lidell and the composer playing pipe and hammond organs. In July 1970, The Whale was recorded in Islington, London with the same musicians. It was released as an album by The Beatles' Apple Records label later that year.

Nowadays impossible to find. This one is in wonderful condition as you would not often find. Extremely scarce in any case this has to be the very best one in existence and as such is a major investment piece of art.

Vinyl: NM. Simply the best quality pristine vinyl I have come across this year. This will not come up again in this fantastic condition!!!

                   Gatefold Sleeve: EX++.  An exemplary sleeve that will be hard to improve upon. This does not even have the obligatory yellowing. This album has been kept away from any lightsource and looks as it was first issued. This is an exceptionally well preserved example of a tremendously rare album. All edges are straight and unworn!! The opening is crisp and the spine is 100% legible. A very hard album to find in any condition really but this definitely qualifies as a fantastic upgrade!!

Labels: NM.  Stunning labels. Totally pristine!!!

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

Important :International postage will be registered and insured if over GBP 40.00. This will incur an extra signed for fee. Postage to ITALY will be Signed for in any case!! Please do not pay before I have sent out the invoice. The album will be fully insured. Please wait for my invoice in this case. Postage will be according to Royal Mail rates. Postage is NOT a money spinning exercise for me.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.