Over a remarkably long and illustrious career, Camille Saint-Saëns thrilled audiences around the world as a pianist and organist, shaped the course of musical life in France, and enriched a multitude of genres with some 600 works, all bearing witness to the mastery of his craft. Setting his best-known compositions in their dazzlingly diverse context, this edition invites exploration and discovery. It spans more than a century of recording history, encompassing a host of great instrumentalists, singers, conductors and orchestras, many of them from France. Setting the pace, in performances from as early as 1904, is the composer himself.
TOTAL ECLIPSE was conceived in 1993, well into Great Dane's ambitious "Pink Floyd Project." Great Dane had wanted to put out a box set that would appeal to the fans who had been terribly dissapointed with "Shine On," Pink Floyd's official release. It's purpose was to attempt to bring to the fans a comprehensive overview of the band's career, substituting rare material and alternative tracks wherever possible. This is the reason why many of the early singles and B-sides were included. Much "Top Gear" material was also included because not only were the sound sources believed to be the better than on any previously released RoIO (RoIO = Record of Illegitimate/Indeterminate Origin), but also because it seemed that these tracks should also be represented in the band's history. TOTAL ECLIPSE was meant to be chronological (although a few tracks are out of order) and comprehensive; something that could be listened to from beginning to end.