[78-L] Acoustic BSO recordings

[Philip Carli]

Some studios used both contrabasses and tubas in orchestral recording, probably tubas for pitch directionality and contrabasses for colour and frequency support.  The 1912-13 U-S Everlasting orchestra cylinders did that, as both are listed in the roster made by U-S conductor Louis von der Mehden.  Also, in Armand Vecsey's Hungarian Orchestra Edison cylinders and Diamond Discs starting in 1912 you can distinctly hear a contrabass being used, replete with audible bow stroke. Many people abruptly dismiss tuba playing on acoustic orchestral recordings as, at best, a poor substitute for contrabasses, and at worst a risible practice,  but if you accept the convention and listen without prejudice, the tuba playing itself is often extraordinarily sensitive and appropriate to the ensemble, as well as technically virtuosic.  PC
________________________________________
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com [78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] on behalf of David Lennick [dlennick at sympatico.ca]
Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2013 11:19 AM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: Re: [78-L] Acoustic BSO recordings

I haven't listened to the BSO recordings in quite a while, but I was amazed
years ago to play the earliest Stokowski Victors with some experimental bass
boost (a Fisher amp I once owned had a "tape head" eq that did amazing things)
and lo and behold, there were bass instruments, not tubas.

dl

On 4/7/2013 10:58 AM, Philip Carli wrote:
> Also, Victor used a series of "igloos", or acoustic chambers with the BSO's instrumental groups, set up in the Auditorium studio (I think this was the first time it had been used for commercially issued disc), to supposedly focus sound towards a _few_ recording horns.  Two or three horns had been used for large-group recordings for a number of years by 1917, both here and in Europe; this was the most extensive experiment this way to that date. PC
> ________________________________________
> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com [78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] on behalf of Don Cox [doncox at enterprise.net]
> Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2013 1:33 AM
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Acoustic BSO recordings
>
>   On 06/04/2013, David Lennick wrote:
>
>> I'm trying not to imagine the sound of 12 French horns....
>>
>   The 1959 Mackerras recording of Handel's Fireworks music
> uses nine horns (as did the first performance).
>
> (And 26 oboes, 14 bassoons, 4 contra-bassoons, 2 serpents, 9 trumpets, 3
> pairs of tympani and 6 side drums.)
>
> Regards
> --
> Don Cox
> doncox at enterprise.net
>
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