Munch/BSO: Milhaud La Creation du Monde / Suite Provencale - RCA SB-6511

$

50

redgarnett Store ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This wonderful and exceedingly LP from RCA Victor (SB-6511 / LDS-2625, English Decca pressing, grooved red/silver “Living Stereo” label – ED1, vintage original inner sleeve included*) features Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s unsurpassed Milhaud album, here in the German Soria edition. Taped in glorious sound by RCA's engineers in the fabled acoustics of Symphony Hall, Boston, “Le Beau Charles” and the BSO are on magnificent form – one of the truly great recordings from the “Golden Age of Stereo”. Indeed, the blusey Creation du Monde is a thing of wonder, an electric and sultry performance from first to last.

Included are the following works:

Milhaud: La Creation du Monde Op. 81 – rec. 13 March 1961.

Milhaud: Suite Provencale Op. 152b – rec. 21 November 1960.

Wrote the critic R.F. in his review for the November 1962 issue of The Gramophone:

“I doubt if anyone in Britain would claim to know as much as one half of Milhaud's enormous output (he is arguably the most prolific composer of all time), and most of us seldom meet his music at all. But it is usually enjoyable when you do, and the two works on this disc would surely appeal to almost all readers of this paper, being witty, fresh and abundantly good-humoured. They represent two of Milhaud's enthusiasms. He was born in Aix-en-Provence and lived there off and on until the war drove him to America, and the Suite Provenfale is based on tunes he met as a boy. In fact the work is a French equivalent of Vaughan Williams's English Folk-songs Suite, though harmonised and orchestrated with much more bounce and glitter. The eight little pieces were taken from the incidental music Milhaud wrote just before the war for two plays, and a great deal of his output has been for the theatre. La Creation du Monde is a short ballet written in 1923 for the Champs Elysees Theatre in Paris, and it is probably the most interesting result of the composer's enthusiasm for jazz. The curious orchestration is presumably one cause of its being played so seldom; it requires only four string players (the parts can be doubled, and are on this record) as against an immense quantity of percussion. Another reason is the difficulty. Not only are the trumpet parts technically hard but they demand a knowledge of the jazz style which few orchestral players possess—as also do the clarinet, saxophone, trombone and percussion parts. In consequence the work has been out of the catalogue for two or three years; it now returns, by chance, in two versions, of which the one here under review is the better.

“One might have expected a French orchestra to excel in this score (see page 236), but the Boston Symphony Orchestra clearly has much more experience of the jazz style, and they attack the music with just the right touch of confident effrontery. As well as the exhilarating bits, there are tender tunes in the Gershwin and Munch plays these with nicely judged expression. The whole performance is gloriously exuberant and surprisingly moving by turns, and I found it irresistible. One might cavil at short measure (La Creation du Monde takes only a quarter of an hour) but superb quality is a recompense.”

*Note: The inner sleeve included with this English pressing, which I personally have never encountered before, is a very heavy paper polylined sleeve featuring numerous advertisements of record and audio shops in London from that time.

Incidentally, the striking cover art reproduces Paul Cézanne’s “Le Cabanon de Jourdan (1906), held at the Kunstmuseum, Basel. There are superb liner notes (uncredited) on the reverse side of the jacket, printed in English only.

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the jacket is VERY GOOD. There is some laminate lift along the spine, as well as discoloration along the edges and mild ringwear to the rear panel. However, there are no seamsplits, owners’ markings, or other defects, and the album remains solid, bright, glossy, and highly attractive – overall, this rates as a very good collector's copy.

The condition of the LP itself is near-MINT. Although surfaces are not absolutely silent (and thus I have rated it NM vs. MINT), really this is a very fine copy and playback is truly superb. However, if you must have absolutely perfect surfaces, then please do not buy this LP. Overall, this rates as a very fine collector's copy.

PLEASE NOTE:
The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

PAYMENT:
Payment by PayPal is greatly preferred. Payment should be made within 5 days.

SHIPPING:
Shipping is free to anywhere in the world; this is true regardless of the number of LPs you buy, be it 1 or a 100. All LPs will be sent via standard airmail (7-10 days delivery). Note: There is no tracking number provided with standard airmail. Should you wish to have your item(s) sent via certified airmail (i.e., with a tracking number), please contact me.

FEEDBACK:
I will promptly leave feedback for all buyers. Please do not leave negative, or even neutral, feedback without first giving me an opportunity to resolve any dissatisfaction you might have with an item or transaction. I do understand that, on occasion, a buyer might believe the item description to be inaccurate or that a buyer may be disappointed in some other way regarding the sale. I promise I will do my very best to resolve any unhappiness you've experienced in your buying experience with me to your complete satisfaction. Thank you.

REFUNDS:
Returns are honored, and any buyer you makes a return will be refunded in full. Please contact me before making a return.

Please see my other classical LP and CD auctions, and feel free to write with any questions, I'll be glad to help.