Jean Sevilla

Decca/London introduced Phase 4 Stereo in 1961. For classical music, the Phase 4 approach was based on miking every orchestra section individually, along with mics for selected instruments – up to a maximum of 20 channels, which were then mixed via a recording console. This resulted in a dynamic, in your face sound with relatively little hall ambience. The quality of the sound mostly depended on how skillfully the recording engineer balanced each channel – and the results were not always consistent. Thus, the Phase 4 sound was the antithesis of the minimally miked, “simplicity is wisdom” approach of the RCA’s early Living Stereo and Mercury’s Living Presence recordings, along with Telarc’s early digital recordings.

EMI's 50 Best Romantic Classics is loosely organized by regions, with the first disc devoted to French music, the second to Scandinavian and Eastern European classics, and the third to music from Italy and Spain. This arrangement is quite practical for beginners, who may appreciate the music's recognizable national styles before grasping more historical or theoretical aspects. Yet some understanding is needed of the term romantic, for not all of the music included in this collection fits within the Romantic era (roughly, the 19th century, with some overlapping of the early years of the 20th).

Various Artists - 101 Guitar (2016) {6CD Box Set Decca 478 3655 rel 2012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.70 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 998 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 69 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012, 2016 Decca Music | 478 3655
Classical / Guitar

Chopin said there is nothing more beautiful than the sound of a guitar, save perhaps two, and this wonderful collection includes perennial favorites for one, two and even four guitars. Two CDs include favorites for solo guitar and guitar duet; another two feature concertos with orchestra, including Rodrigos Concierto de Aranjuez; the fifth disc is devoted to the music of Bach; and finally a disc of popular music arranged for the guitar. With a running time of over 7 hours of music this box set provides excellent value for money. Features some of the greatest guitarists in the Decca catalogue, including Pepe Romero, Eduardo Fernández, Alexandre Lagoya, and "The Royal Family of the Guitar", Los Romeros Celedonio, and his sons, Angel, Celín & Pepe.

Decca’s first FFRR concerto recording available for the first time: Eileen Joyce / Tchaikovsky 2nd Piano Concerto – never released on 78rpm and long thought lost, the test pressings were recently found at the International Piano Archives in Maryland.

Today we take high fidelity sound quality for granted, but how did it start? When was the moment when compressed and scratchy sound gave way to natural, realistic sound that captured the whole picture of a performance? Decca Sound ‘Mono Years’ seeks to answer that question and shows how, 70 years ago, amidst war-time privations, a small team at Decca made technological breakthroughs that brought hi-fi to the world. This latest cube explores Decca’s earliest high-fidelity history, and restores some restores critically acclaimed albums from ensembles such as the Trio di Trieste, Quintetto Chigiano and Griller Quartet which have not been available since their original LP release more than sixty years ago. An equally impressive array of soloists includes pianists Clifford Curzon, Julius Katchen, Friedrich Gulda and Moura Lypmany and violinists Ruggiero Ricci and Alfredo Campoli. Several generations of cellists are represented with recordings by Pierre Fournier, Maurice Gendron and Zara Nelsova.