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Classical Vinyl Album

Artist: Benjamin Britten Title: Songs & Proverbs Of William Blake - The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne Format: Vinyl Album Label:   Decca Country: UK Date: May 1969 Catalogue: SXL 6391 Collection:   I Own It     I Want It  Community:  1 Owns Price Guide: Valuation Page » Search eBay #AD  » Search Amazon #AD This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.

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Performers
Composer	Benjamin Britten
Conductor	Benjamin Britten
Soloist	Benjamin Britten, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Pears

Track	Artist	Title	Composer	Rating
Side 1: Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74
01	Benjamin Britten	Proverb I. The Prde Of The Peacock... London	William Blake, Benjamin Britten	Rate
02	Benjamin Britten	Proverb II. Prisons Are Built... The Chimney Sweeper	William Blake, Benjamin Britten	Rate
03	Benjamin Britten	Proverb III. The Bird A Nest... A Poison Tree	William Blake, Benjamin Britten	Rate
04	Benjamin Britten	Proverb IV. Think In The Morning... The Tyger	William Blake, Benjamin Britten	Rate
05	Benjamin Britten	Proverb V. The Tygers Of Wrath... The Fly	William Blake, Benjamin Britten	Rate
06	Benjamin Britten	Proverb VI. The Hours Of Folly... Ah, Sun Flower	William Blake, Benjamin Britten	Rate
07	Benjamin Britten	Proverb VII. To See A World... Every Night And Every Morn	William Blake, Benjamin Britten	Rate
Side 2: The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne
08	Benjamin Britten	Band 1. Oh, My Blacke Soule!	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
09	Benjamin Britten	Band 2. Batter My Heart	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
10	Benjamin Britten	Band 3. Oh Might Those Sighes And Teares	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
11	Benjamin Britten	Band 4. Oh, To Vex Me	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
12	Benjamin Britten	Band 5. What If This Present	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
13	Benjamin Britten	Band 6. Since She Whom I Loved	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
14	Benjamin Britten	Band 7. At The Round Earth's Imagined Corners	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
15	Benjamin Britten	Band 8. Thou Hast Made Me	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate
16	Benjamin Britten	Band 9. Death, Be Not Proud	John Donne, Benjamin Britten	Rate

Notes

Stereo SXL Catalogue number Series, "Wide Band" unboxed Decca Label.

Laminated front cover sleeve, with insert.



Side One: Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake:

Baritone: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Piano: Benjamin Britten


Side Two: The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne:

Tenor: Peter Pears
Piano: Benjamin Britten

Sleeve Printed by Clout & Baker Ltd.

Later Versions not pressed in UK, and on thinner vinyl with "Boxed" Decca labels

Images



Comments and Reviews

Magic Marmalade 31st Jan 2015		Listened to this today... Have to say the vinyl audio quality is as truly exceptional as these Deccas are cracked up to be. Difficult to tell about the range because this has only one Piano and one singer per side, and the piano is added by Benjamin Britten as a kind of colouring... no extensive solos or anything. The singer's the thing with this disc. It is as the track listings suggest: a selection of Blake and Donne's poems "sung" fulsomely by baritone and tenor, so no opportunity to hear how a full orchestra going at it would sound, power wise. However, the sparseness of the arrangement does tell a lot about these pressings, and the recording equipment and techniques of the time; The very best vinyl, absolutely precision pressed (The spindle hole fits super snug on the spindle), and absolutely no vinyl noise... none. It sounds like a CD. Completely silent! And it is this that highlights the incredible job of recording the artists that they did... This was pressed in 1969, and is contemporary with The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed album, also on Decca, and I've heard the SACD of that... but this sounds like they recorded it yesterday with modern technology. The almost whispered parts of the songs picked out in immaculate detail, as well as the lower end of Britten's piano playing, and the higher, and more powerful moments handled with ease. Low end without distortion, highs without brightness or shrillness, space, separation, and zero ambient hiss from the studio. I now can't wait to get out and find a "bigger" piece, with full orch giving it the beans on one of these Deccas. (Seems like when it came to the recording kit, and the plastic, The Rolling Stones not only couldn't get what they wanted... the tight gits at Decca didn't even give them what they needed to come close to this... you can only weep as you imagine what Let it Bleed would have sounded like with this kind of attention!)
Magic Marmalade 22nd Jan 2015		Bill Hicks is my Comedy Hero! ...Need more like him in the world today... and Lenny Bruce. True though... most of us look at classical music the same way we look at algebra or calculus (I'm still working on my 5 times table musically speaking). Just a note on the images for classical music: I have learned one thing about the whole classical vinyl thing in the last couple of days... and that it's all about the label for classical fans: Deccas must be wide band early stereos, Deutsche Grammophons must be german pressed big tulip rims, and HMVs must have the early cream(White) labels with gold lettering (Or in some instances the red with black semi-circular dog logo for them to begin to get excited... so wonder what people think of the idea of putting the side 1 label as the lead image for entries on classical vinyl? So if they look at the Decca label page they can pick out the desired labels immediately?
nboldock 22nd Jan 2015		"makes me feel like a dog looking at a door knob" - LOL Reminded me of something Bill Hicks said... "he looked like a dog that's just been shown a card trick".
Magic Marmalade 22nd Jan 2015		Hello PhilMH! II'm entirely happy for anyone to alter absoluelty any aspect of anything I've entered on site, if it improves the accuracy and quaity of the entry. It was just making me kinda sad that Classical world has been creeping along llike it has, so, Classical dunce that I am, and on behalf of all Classical dunces, I thought I'd take the "Fools rush in approach" and just throw something at the wall as a contribution. I think most people have two things in common when it comes to classical music... One: most people I suspect have at least one classical item around the house (even if by accident, or for a single piece of music that caught their attention at some time). And Two: They are afraid of it! I find it a daunting prospect myself... makes me feel like a dog looking at a door knob! ...Maybe that's why they don't want to put anything up here, for fear of making a mistake (As I am). But if we all just assume the attitude of the quarryman when it comes to sculpting an entry, just blasting out a lump of rock, we can let others be the stonemasons and sculptors... I'm hoping I'll finally learn something about the whole classical thing from here. (The soloist listing by the way is as you say, I tried to enter it with those names, but it wouldn't let me, and it was either choose one, or opt for the most conspicuous name on the bill, so I went with that). Where are all the classical experts anyway? I'd have thought one or two would have turned up by now to help us out! (And help educate me)
PhilMH 21st Jan 2015		Hi MM, I've added the release month, taken from Decca's 1974 catalogue which has an index of catalogue numbers at the back. I'm not a classical expert, and I'm not trying to dismantle your listing, but I wonder about Britten being entered as soloist when there are two vocal soloists here; perhaps the entry layout needs to be re-jigged to cater for multiple soloists?
Magic Marmalade 20th Jan 2015		Well, there you go... Just waiting now for a classical expert to come and critically dismantle my listing! Will put the cover and insert scans up a little later.

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