Posts tagged as "the-national-philharmonic-orchestra"

Grieg: Holberg Suite; Elegiac Melodies; Nordic Melodies; Ceremonial March

April 29, 2016

In 1976, Willi Boskovsky, unusually perhaps, made a lovely Grieg recording for Decca. About a third of it was briefly issued in the 1980s on Decca’s ‘Headline’ series but now, for the first time, we offer the whole record with the bonus of Stanley Black’s recording of the four ‘Lyric Pieces’ (on CD for the […]

Verdi: Ballet Music; Leoni: The Prayer and the Sword

April 20, 2016

What the French expected from opera changed in 1831 with the success of Meyerbeer’s ‘Robert le Diable’. Lengthy works with abundant scenic spectacle became practically obligatory and at least one ballet had to be included, in order to give the gentlemen of the influential Jockey Club an opportunity to see their favourites from the ‘corps […]

Gay: The Beggar’s Opera

April 20, 2016

In 1981, Richard Bonynge, together with an illustrious cast of singers (Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa, et. al.) and actors (Angela Lansbury, Warren Mitchell, Michael Hordern, et. al.) went into Kingsway Hall for a recording of a new edition (by Richard Bonynge and Douglas Gamley) of John Gay’s ‘The Beggar’s Opera’. Written in 1728, it […]

Bernard Herrmann – Film Classics

April 20, 2016

The Bernard Herrmann / Phase 4 connection was one of the most significant in the artistic and audio history of Decca. Collected here and are significant recordings of his film music he recorded for the company from films which remain classics of all time. This 2CD set is a timely reminder of the devastatingly effective […]

Cinema Spectacular

April 20, 2016

Bernard Herrmann made some significant recordings for Decca in the late-1960s/early-1970s.  Many of these used the company’s then new audio technology, Phase 4, which brought the music into brilliant light. This collection brings together a selection of British Film Music as well as music by Herrmann himself for a series of Alfred Hitchcock films, including […]

Romantic Overtures: Vol. 1

March 22, 2016

During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Decca recorded a number of albums of overtures with some of its key conductors. Many of these were singled out by the press for their terrific sound quality (the fabled ‘Decca Sound’) and for their often adventurous programming. Some of them also included entr’actes and intermezzi. Prized as collectors’ […]