Karl Bohm’s name carries with it immense respect among musicians and connoisseurs in our most sophisticated markets, particularly for opera where his “gods” were Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss. Deutsche Grammophon proudly brings together for the first time his complete vocal recordings for the label – including the star-studded 1968 ‘Le nozze di Figaro’; the legendary ‘Zauberflöte’ from 1964 with Fritz Wunderlich and Roberta Peters; Bohm’s two recordings of the ‘Missa solemnis’, two Rosenkavaliers, three recordings of Ariadne auf Naxos, Wagner’s Hollander & Tristan … and one disc of new-to-CD recordings. Beautiful packaging and presentation.
Here for the first time are the integral Sylvie Vartan RCA albums, from between 1962 and 1986, in Deluxe Vinyl Replica. You could find 41 CD with 716 tracks (including 171 Bonus Tracks & 32 unreleased tracks). Deluxe Vinyl Replicas by Culture Factory constitute high quality reissued compact-discs which reproduce all the components of the original LPs and are their exact replicas in compact-disc size (5.3 x 5.3 inches), with authentic single or gatefold cardboard jackets and paper sleeves. In addition to the above, each compact-disc Deluxe Vinyl Replica includes a black finish CD complete with the original label to give it the look and feel of the original record album.
Here for the first time are the integral Sylvie Vartan RCA albums, from between 1962 and 1986, in Deluxe Vinyl Replica. You could find 41 CD with 716 tracks (including 171 Bonus Tracks & 32 unreleased tracks). Deluxe Vinyl Replicas by Culture Factory constitute high quality reissued compact-discs which reproduce all the components of the original LPs and are their exact replicas in compact-disc size (5.3 x 5.3 inches), with authentic single or gatefold cardboard jackets and paper sleeves. In addition to the above, each compact-disc Deluxe Vinyl Replica includes a black finish CD complete with the original label to give it the look and feel of the original record album.
Both the music and this actual product are masterpieces. John Dowland's collected works here - covering 12 compact discs - exhibit the depth and power of this composer, a composer who many now regard as suffering from clinical depression. I doubt that the issue of the diagnosis of Dowland's depression can ever be settled, however, it is certainly obvious from his music, so completely on display here, that he was a man with very dark depths and corners in his mind. Dowland's various manifestations and "takes" on his own tune, "Flow my tears"/"Lachrimae" are here. This tune has haunted me ever since I first heard it when I was a child. It seems to sum up Dowland's feelings - at least Dowland seems to have thought so.
To paraphrase Tolstoy, all happy memories feel more or less the same; but the unhappy times are experienced differently by each one of us. We’ve all had some really tough weeks, which sometimes turned into months, and (with a bit of bad luck) into years… I like to think that “off” years help us grow and prepare for the beautiful things that will undoubtedly come our way (I am an optimist at heart), but living through dark times is a complicated process.