LYRITA SRCS 32 BOULT CONDUCTS JOHN IRELAND
John Ireland: Symphonic Rhapsody Mai-Dun; Prelude, The Forgotten Rite; Legend for Piano & Orchestra; Overture "Satyricon"
Eric Parkin, piano
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult, conductor
Pressing: Nimbus
Stampers: N/A
Performance: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Price range: $20-25
Comments: This is my first blog on a recording from Lyrita Recorded Edition. Founded in the UK by Richard Itter in 1959, this record label was unique because it focused entirely on musical repertoire by UK composers. (The only exception to this was one album of Brazilian music recorded by Elizabeth Powell (RCS 22)). In doing so, the folks at Lyrita made a concerted effort to record a wide variety of 20th century English music in excellent sound quality. Many performances were premiere recordings. Many of the performances were conducted by the composers themselves. Many of Lyrita's stereo albums from the 1960s-70s have been named to the TAS list and offer demonstration quality sound. Super quiet surfaces. Huge dynamic range and top-notch clarity. If you are a fan of English music like I am, you will really appreciate these records. The nice thing also is that most of them are not expensive to purchase. There are a handful, however, that can fetch reasonably high prices (e.g. more than $100 for SRCS 109 Malcolm Arnold's English, Scottish, and Cornish Dances), and these are some of the TAS listed items. Most of them you can get for under $20.
I purchased this on Ebay about 6 months ago, because I happen to like the music of John Ireland (1879-1962). Lyrita released several recordings of Ireland's orchestral, chamber, and instrumental compositions. This one is another volume of his orchestral repertoire, conducted by none other than Sir Adrian Boult and featuring Eric Parkin on the Legend for Piano and Orchestra (Eric Parkin also recorded the entire solo piano repertoire of John Ireland for Lyrita). The pieces have a wide range of moods and colors and could be considered, if you will, a brand of English "Impressionism". It is said that Ireland was influenced by the music of Debussy and Ravel as well as the early works of Stravinsky and Bartok. I really enjoyed listening to the "Satyricon" Overture. Sound quality, as in most Lyrita recordings, is superb. If you are unable to find these on LP, no worries. Lyrita has reissued its entire catalog on CD, and I can attest to the high quality of the digital transfers.
For a time Lyrita commanded fairly high prices, but their star seems to have fallen. I've got 30 or 40 of these, but not this one. I need to revisit these (sitting in a pile on deck with some of my RCA doubles, and much of my London LPs, many, many piles). My recent improvements in noise floor might make these a bit nicer.
ReplyDeleteThere is not much intel on the various pressings all of which are very good. The album in question would have originally been mastered and pressed by Decca which is easy to detect by the typeset lettering. Around 1977 Decca refused to press any more for Lyrita. From what I can tell from the copies I have, I'd say they briefly had EMI press for them (these have hand written lettering) and then quickly got with the nimbus pressings (these have a nice nimbus pressing typeset stamp in the dead wax). Much later one they pressed again with EMI (Big Dog era) and may have been going to about 1988. This information is pretty solid, except for EMI pressings some LPs right after Decca left.
What copy does the blogger in chief have?
The sound of the Decca pressings is quite nice and has the best midrange. I'd like to get more of these and I've got a few recent acquisitions languishing.
The nimbus pressings are also great. Lose some midrange, but a very nice clean sound.
The EMI pressings may be the worst, but I won't swear to it as I need to relisten especially given my recent Big Dog successes. From what I've read (and there is precious little on the internet), I'd say the EMI pressings rate third. Can you believe that!
They do not show the recording engineers on these, but I have read many times that the great Decca Engineer Kenneth Wilkinson did all of these. Lyrita's owner was very particular. I believe this to be true given the association with Decca on the pressings (wilkinson did many of the Reader's Digest LPs, some reissued by Chesky Records). He may have done all of them. Do the CDs provide the Engineer information?
It seems like it should be an amazing label. The Decca pressed material is a bit better than the typical later Deccas. The nimbus pressings are a nice alternative. And then, the EMI pressings should have been no slouch.
Why are they so cheap given this pedigree? They recorded only British artists. Sonically, they never quite make greatness. I've got two copies of the Cornish Dances. Nice LP, but not fantastic. It and two others make Salvatore's Supreme Recordings Basic list (below divinity and demi-god status). TAS like them a lot. Perhaps with the right system they can be better.
I'll report back when I listen to them soon. I'd like to hear how my noise floor improvements do with these LPs.
I believe my pressing is a Nimbus (saw it in the deadwax). Thanks for the info about these pressings! I wasn't aware of the differences but have been educated by your post.
DeleteI listened to one LP. Bax Sym. 6. I had a Decca pressing and the handwritten EMI pressing. The Decca did not float my boat and had kind of a dry, undynamic presentation. Some think the Decca best and these were my thoughts as they had some midrange. Then I played the EMI. Previously I would have rated these third best as they can sound bright. Sonically, there is no doubt this is a Big Dog type pressing. It is the brightest of the three pressings, but here it trounced the Decca. Very interesting highs, better noise floor (blacker background), better bass, and better dynamics. It still has that reticent midrange flavor. An enjoyable LP. I had not loved my other EMI pressings. I believe I've got at least one double with both EMI and Nimbus, so I'll report on that when I give a listen. EMI might be best, but Nimbus will have much of the same sonic attributes without the brighter highs and reticent midrange. I don't think the Lyrita sound is amenable with the typical tube system which might not be able to bask in the low noise floor.
DeleteThe improved noise floor really helps the EMI pressings. With SRCS 124, George Lloyd, Symphony 5 the nimbus pressing was competent on the fourth movement, but brass was just tolerable, and it left me cold. Quickly switched the the later EMI pressing and the horns and brass were much improved. I do not love this LP, but the sound was listenable.
DeleteNext up was SRCS 81, Cyril Scott Piano Concerto. Here the original Decca pressings was quite nice, with good chimes and piano. This is one of the Decca's that got me going on those pressings. My current take is that the later Decca pressings would have been done with the high tech Neumann cutter head that could cut perfectly to 20k. This later Neumann probably showed up around late 1974. Nice sound with the strength in the midrange. The later EMI pressing of this LP is also excellent. One misses the nice midrange and cohesion between piano and chimes, but in place you get a better noise floor, a touch more bass, and beautiful extended highs. The top of the chimes and piano is better. I am listening now as I write and I would say for me the improved noise floor carries the day keeping my attention better. Harps and piano have real beauty. The highs are so nice, crisp, and clear. It is a dog fight on this one, so knowing your system is big. If your are not sporting solid noise floor performance I would get the Decca. When I do the final integrated circuit upgrades on my crossover, I'll listen again and report back.
My advice now is to go for the EMI pressings and later Decca pressings. The earlier Decca pressings on the earlier Lyrita's (the Bax 6) and back may not be the top choice. I'd go for the EMI pressings. If you can determine that an early release is a later Decca pressing that would be very competitive and possibly better on some systems. Nimubs is a good middle of the road choice and often may be the only choice (both of my Arnold Cornish Dances are Nimbus, the top Lyrita I believe).
Well I went through my Lyrita stack and about 80% our nimbus. I pulled out my EMI pressings. After studying I can say this for the later pressings. Up through SRCS 129 Lyrita was still doing Nimbus. This was through 1984. I presume that the EMI pressings were largely done from 1985 and on. For followers of the TAS Super Disc list this means that the records on the list were not EMI pressings. This deduction assumes that Lyrita was not pressing with EMI and Nimbus at the same time.
DeleteOn to some brief snapshots of the sound:
1. SRCS 43 Moeran, Cello concerto (1970) - one hears the late EMI signature trying to do its thing. Unfortunately, most of this piece is predominantly the cello which has a slightly lean sound. I'd like to hear a late Decca pressing of this if one was done. This record would really be something. I can't recommend the early Decca pressings based on the Bax 6 (SRCS 35).
2. SRCS 75 Finzi, Intimation of Immortality (1975)- string centered sound again. Get the Decca. Its guaranteed to be the good late pressing.
3. SRCS 108 Alwyn, Harp Concerto (1979) -- a real stunner. The EMI sound is brilliant here. I recommend this LP, though the harp does not have a lot of body which is more to do with the sound of the artist's instrument. Soaring, beautiful highs. The lyric in Lyrita. Get the EMI. No Decca available by this point.
4. SRCS 112 Finzi, Cello Concerto (Yo Yo Ma) (1979) -- tragically disappointing sound. A nimbus might help, but you are warned. A very dry, undynamic sound to everything.
5. SRCS 114 Maconchy, Violin Concertante (1982) -- nice record with strong string bass. The soloist and accompianment seem to be in the upper registers much of the time and the EMI pressing acquits itself well. Not as strongly recommended as the Harp Concerto for sound, but the performance seems to be a fine one.
6. SRCS 128 Holst, Lure, Morning Year(1982) -- the highs are angelic and beguiling. This record works extremely well and might be the best of the bunch. This is Lyrita sound. Bask in it.
I've read that Lyrita had a set mastering engineer with Decca especially during the later Decca pressings. These later pressings should have a typeset number ending in '1A'. My two earlier Decca pressings do not have this letter and I've never seen it on earlier London or Decca (any Decca/London for that matter). The 1A pressings should be the state of the art 2nd generation lithium cooled Neummann cutter head Decca was using at the time. Snap these up if you can get them as they will be good. A minority of the earlier material was probably redone on EMI, so there is no point holding out for a non-existant pressing.
Its not on the LPs, but the CDs have the recording information. Take note that it looks like all of the Decca engineers were involved, not just Mr. Wilkinson:
DeleteCyril Scott - Piano Concerto Nos. 1
John Ogdon, piano
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Bernard Herrmann, conductor
Recorded at Walthamstow, 2 April 1974, Producer: James Walker, Engineer: Stanley Goodall
George Lloyd - Symphony No. 5
Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Edward Downes, conductor
CD 2: Recorded at Kingsway Hall, 25 - 27 April 1979, Producer: Andrew Cornall, Engineer: John Dunkerley
Elizabeth Maconchy - Symphony for Double String Orchestra ** • Serenata Concertante
Manoug Parikian, violin
London Symphony Orchestra
Vernon Handley, conductor
Tracks 2 - 5: Recorded at Watford, 5 September 1978, Producer: Tom Mowrey, Engineer: John Dunkerley
Tracks 6 - 9: Recorded at Kingsway Hall, 3 August 1978, Producer: Andrew Cornall, Engineer: James Lock
E J Moeran - Cello Concerto
Peers Coetmore, cello
London Philharmonic Orchestra, leader Rodney Friend
Sir Adrian Boult, conductor
Tracks 1 - 3: Recorded at Walthamstow, February 1969
William Alwyn - Concerto Grosso No.2 in G for String Orchestra • Autumn Legend for Cor Anglais and String Orchestra • "Lyra Angelica" Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra
Osian Ellis, harp
Geoffrey Browne, cor anglais
London Philharmonic Orchestra
William Alwyn, conductor
Recorded at Walthamstow, 10 & 11 January 1977, Producer: James Walker, Engineer: John Dunkerley
60 minute LP!
Gerald Finzi - Intimations of Immortality
Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra (Finzi)
Vernon Handley, conductor
Tracks 5 - 17: Recorded at Guildford Cathedral, 20 - 22 November 1973, Producer: Michael Woolcock, Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson
Gerald Finzi - Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Op.40
Yo-Yo Ma, cello, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vernon Handley, conductor
Tracks 4 - 6: Recorded at Watford, 4 July 1977, Producer: James Walker, Engineer: Stanley Goodall
Gustav Holst - The Lure - Ballet Music* • Dances from The Morning of the Year* - The Mystic Trumpeter
London Symphony Orchestra*
David Atherton, conductor
Tracks 7, 8 : Recorded at Walthamstow, 29 & 30 May 1980, Producer: Andrew Cornall, Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson
Arnold Bax - * Symphony No. 6
* New Philharmonia Orchestra
Norman Del Mar, conductor
Tracks 1 - 3: No recording information available
John Ireland - The Forgotten Rite • Mai-Dun , etc.
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult, conductor
No recording information available for this CD
You can get this information by googling for the CD number and then altering the following line with the desired number:
http://www.lyrita.co.uk/cgi-bin/lyrita_build.pl?filename=SRCD2258.txt
I saw some discussion of Lyrita pressings on another site that might be of interest. It includes a reprint of a letter sent to TAS. Some of these guys have all the LPs:
Deletehttp://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=vinyl&m=1055295
Excellent. Thank you for the references! I finished scanning the RCA Bible today and will try to post some snippets or more.
DeleteGot to do the Cyril Scott PC comparison on another system. I still liked the highs of the EMI. The other two audiophiles liked the Decca. It is a piano concerto and the piano is better on the Decca. With the EMI I just sit their listening to the noise floor and beguiling highs, not the piano. I still like the EMI.
DeleteI am going to have to retract my comment on With SRCS 124, George Lloyd, Symphony 5. I have made some replacements of integrated circuits in my system and have lowered the noise floor. The nimbus pressings have benefited the most from this change as they are true noise floor champs. I now prefer the nimbus over the EMI on this LP. I will also do a further review on the site if a nimbus versus emi. More to come. I've listened to a few more nimbus pressings I have and they really have improved with the noise floor improvements in my system. At this point the nimbus are my favorite, but that opinion is still forming. I've got about another 30 Decca pressings with at least four that I can compare with the nimbus and I'll be sure to report on those in the next months.
DeleteFor most of the CD releases the following link will work to get recording engineer information.
Deletehttp://lyrita.co.uk/cgi-bin/lyrita_build.pl?filename=SRCD0336.txt
The link a few posts above only works for the multiple cd sets.
That was an early release. The Decca would have been interesting with a litte more body in the midrange. The nimbus might be better, especially if a dynamic piece. I'm going to listen to a few of these now to see if they like my improved noise floor.
ReplyDeleteQuestion ... how exactly do you improve your noise floor? What modification can/do you make to achieve that goal? I wouldn't know where to start, but I'm assuming that I don't even have the capability to do that right now.
DeleteSome guy on audiogon is selling a Benz Micro Glider SL missing a cantilever and stylus for $110. How much would it cost to refit that??? That is a $1200 cartridge.
DeleteThere is also a Benz Micro L04 Wood Body MC cartridge selling for $599. Have you heard this one?
DeleteHow about Benz Micro Wood L2 MC cartridge in mint condition for $600?
DeleteQuestion ... how exactly do you improve your noise floor? What modification can/do you make to achieve that goal? I wouldn't know where to start, but I'm assuming that I don't even have the capability to do that right now.
ReplyDeleteSignal to noise ratio. Your integrated amp is an extremely nice 100 db. The phono stage is 80 db which is not so good. Read up and/or rip open the lid and get the part numbers for the circuits. If your are lucky they will be in sockets and are very easily replaced. Of course nice ones might cost more than the phono stage, but there may be some cheap alternatives. If you've got sockets I'd look. I spent $40 delivered for six ICs for my crossover. The better (often newer) ones will have better noise specs. More involved than tube swapping, but much cheaper.
ReplyDelete"Try OPA604 or LME49710. You could read below threads for more information. All the mods I have done so far had improved the sound a lot. You will see how capable is this small wonder after doing these upgrades mentioned. Also make sure to use good regulated PSU with enough juice. Wall wart doesn't do any good for this unit."
ReplyDeletehttp://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=396309&page=2
http://www.wiredstate.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=23299
You've got sockets bud! I'd look through and cherry pick the best tweeks for the mula!
Haha! Thanks for the links. I know I should probably be bold and someday try to tweek my system, but I just haven't mustered up the courage to open up my components and play around with the electronics.
DeleteThat thing is cheap enough. It would be a great project to practice on. Be bold. I'd try the IC's first. Make sure you are packing a static charge and then pry up gently with little screw driver. The only catch is you have to put the replacement in the right way or you'll fry your replacement. No excuses, get moving.
DeleteMan, the pressure. I'm going to have to beef up on my basic physics and electronics before I go exploring. Learned much of it in college and then forgot it when I had to squeeze all this medical knowledge in during med school.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Burr-Brown-OPA2134-Opamp-for-High-end-audio-/130305765846
Deletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/LME49710-Single-HiFi-Audio-OpAmp-AUTHENTIC-LME49710NA-/160568740425
Five or six dollars apiece. Pop the hood and count how many you need. Not much harder than changing a light bulb. This is easy. These guys have already done it. No one had done my crossover.