Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

1100.0. "Victory At Sea on CD!" by STAR::BIGELOW (Bruce Bigelow, DECnet-VAX) Fri Feb 26 1988 19:52

	
    The orchestral suite of the score for Victory at Sea is now available
    on CD!  Those of us who remember this probably have fond childhood
    memories of the soundtrack to that 1952 TV series.  The score is
    by Richard Rodgers and the CD is from the same recordings as the
    3 volume LP series, and is on RCA as were the LPs.  The CD number
    is 6660-2-RC.  While some of this music is rather martial, much
    of it could well be from South Pacific.  In any case - it's all
    well done and much of it is very pretty.
    
    These recordings were made in 1957 and 1959, arranged and conducted
    by Robert Russell Bennett with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra.
    The first surprise I got is that this is ADD (!) which may be why
    it has taken so long to be released.  Of course, the single CD doesn't
    contain all of the music on the 3 LPs; I'll list the tracks that
    are on the CD below.  
    
    The booklet says: "The analog recording for this compact disc was made
    before noise-reduction methods such as Dolby were available.  In the
    digital remastering, some effort to minimize the inherent tape hiss was
    made; radical methods have not been used in order to preserve the
    full-frequency content of the original recordings.  Therefore, some
    noise may be experienced in reproduction on wide-range equipment."
    Of course my heart sank when I saw this.  I would call any CD player
    "wide-range equipment".  But to my surprise, they really did an
    excellent job!  Yes, there is tape hiss.  Yes, there are a few places
    where it sounds like the oxide on the master was less than optimal.
    But for 1957 masters, this CD sounds nothing short of fantastic.
    In an unbiased listening, I'd have to give the performance an A
    and the sound quality B or B-, but with an A+ for effort.
    
    I'm very, very pleased, and would highly recommend this CD to anyone
    with a nostalgic memory for this music in their background.
    
    The tracks that made it onto the CD are:
    
    The Song of the High Seas
    The Pacific Boils Over
    Fire on the Waters
    Guadalcanal March
    Peleliu
    Theme of the Fast Carriers
    Hard Work and Horseplay
    Mare Nostrum
    Beneath the Southern Cross
    Mediterranean Mosaic
    Allies on the March
    D-Day
    The Sound of Victory
    Victory at Sea
    

    According to Telarc's latest bulletin, they will be releasing Victory
    at Sea in the next several months.  Of course, it's by Kunzel and
    the Cincinnati (whatever he chooses this time).  This will be
    interesting to compare to the original.  Maybe he will do the numbers
    that were left off of the RCA CD release.  At least one could hope.
    
    Telarc ran a contest where people submitted suggestions for what
    they would like to see Telarc release.  They claim that Victory
    at Sea was the most requested item, so they decided that they'd
    better do it.
    
    B

    Re. .1
    
    Just found out about it today (I must get the newsletter late...)
    and, judging from Kunzel's track record, this ought to be a sonic
    broadside.  I can hardly wait!
    
    					--Eric--
    
    P.S. I was one of those who entered Telarc's contest, by the way
    -- and "Victory At Sea" was my selection, as well!