VOX SVBX 5100: Faure Complete Chamber Music
Gabriel Faure Chamber Music (Complete)
String Quartet Op. 121 in E minor
Piano Quartets Op. 15 in C minor, Op. 45 in G minor
Piano Quintets Op. 89 in D minor, Op. 115 in C minor
Trio for Violin, Cello & Piano, Op. 120 in D minor
Jacqueline Eymar, piano
Gunter Kehr, violin
Bernhard Braunholz, cello
Erich Sichermann, viola
Werner Neuhaus, 2nd violin
Loewenguth Quartet
Pressing: US, purple label
Date first published: ? (1960s)
Stampers: N/A
Performance: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Price range: $27 on popsike
Comments: I had read a number of rumors on the internet that this 1960s Vox boxed set of the complete chamber music of Gabriel Faure was something special. Performances and sound quality were reportedly excellent. Word on the street is that these recordings were engineered by the legendary pair of Aubort and Nickrenz, though I haven't been able to confirm this with any printed information inside the 3 LP set. So, I decided to see for myself if this was all just hype and managed to land a NM copy from Irvington Music (located in Oregon).
My verdict: the rumors are somewhat true, though I wouldn't necessarily give this set legendary status. There is some very fine and expressive playing on these records, comparable to the some of the best modern performances out there (i.e. Domus, Trio Wanderer, etc), and the sound is pretty good, leaning perhaps slightly towards the warm side. The record surfaces are quiet, allowing more musical detail to be heard. As far as chamber music recordings go, I have to admit that I have heard better and personally prefer the clarity and naturalness of Philips recordings of the 1970s (i.e. Quartetto Italiano, Beaux Arts Trio), but as far as complete sets of Faure chamber works, this may be the analog recording to get, and it shouldn't cost you an arm and leg.
For some reason, I was lead to believe that this boxed set was a rarity, but, on the contrary, I've seen several copies surface on Ebay, so one just has to keep an eye out for it.
I think I have a copy of this. I'll give it another listen and comment.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm pretty sure you do have a copy of this. You once showed it to me. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts after listening to it on your system.
DeleteLikely I started the rumor over at audio asylum ? : ) In any case, what makes it special IMHO is the playing of Eymar on the piano. Beautiful combination of suppleness and clarity. I've since picked up the big analog French EMI box with the Parrenin Quartet (&co) and it's an excellent supplement, though the Loewenguth quartet on Vox captures Faure's half-lit beauties better. The Faure chamber music on Erato is to be avoided, big names notwithstanding. Dry dry dry.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm not sure if it was you, John, but if it was, thanks for inspiring this post! I'd agree with you on Eymar's piano playing, which is very nice indeed. I'd like to listen to the French EMI box set ... I think I first heard these works on CD from that set when I was in high school, but it'd be great to revisit them on vinyl. Thanks for the heads up about Erato!
DeleteNo problem, and so happy to have stumbled upon your blog!
DeleteWell, as it happens I have this box too. I find it very good, good performances and very nice sound too, though not exactly mind-blowing. Interestingly, side 6, with the Quartet, bears the initials of Rudy van Gelder on the dead wax. I can not say that it sounds better than the other 5 sides of the set, which were mastered by Irvin Diehl. Friends of the music of Faure who are looking for audiophile treasures should check the website of andrecharlin.com where the recordings of Germaine Thyssens-Valentin are still available on vinyl. https://www.andrecharlin.com/en/vinyles
ReplyDeleteAqlam Tasks me to listen to an LP that I don't even own, the voxbox Faure. RVG Means a tube pressing and perhaps that's why it goes for more money If you have that with the large stereo symbols on the label, but Frankly as a group I don't think they are the quietest.
DeleteThat link to those LP's is blowing my mind. Discogs shows Michaud Creation As an LP from the mid 1960s and interestingly also issued on early nonesuch with a tube pressing pressing. Are these old LP's being resold or are they of a newer make and I wonder how they were made.
The LPs on the site are new. I dont know how they were made, but I will check the one reissue I have and try to compare it to the original LPs I have from the same label. The owner was a very interesting person. Entrepeneur, inventor, record producer, music afficionado and sound engineer Andre Charlin was ingenious in everything he did-except making money. https://svalander.se/charlin/wellcome.htm
ReplyDeleteI checked the stampers on my Charlin Faure reissue (CL 12) and compared it to the original Milhaud Creation du Monde from the 60s. It appears that the reissues are made with stampers deriving from the original masters from the 60s! They both bear markings that look identical to French Columbia/Pathe Marconi records from the same era. Apparently French EMI was in charge of mastering and pressing and the masters ended somehow in the hands of the reissuing firm, whoever they might be.
ReplyDeleteWell reusing old stampers isn't necessarily something you brag about especially if original pressings are readily available for less money. Still he really needs some marketing around these pressings And if he had that perhaps some distributors would pick it up. It would be interesting to see some others reuse stampers and there might be some that aren't too worn if they could be found like for the Beethoven Kogan. Imagine that on the latest virgin vinyl or the Advanced acoustic sounds vinyl.
DeleteTotally agree about the marketing, but it was never the strong suit of the French-that and, well actually paying people for the work they do. The original company, Disques A.Charlin went under many years ago and was never exactly a top seller, so the mothers have probably not seen much use. Besides, the print runs for the reissues are very small, mine is numbered as Nr104 of 110printed copies. My guess is they print a small batch and expect to sell on ebay thanks to the name of Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, whose records are impossibly rare and sell for obscene amounts:Check on discogs her recording of the Faure Nocturnes, just make sure you are sitting before you click on selling history. I think the only reason her original recordings of the chamber music of Faure sell for only 2-digit sums on ebay and have not gone through the roof is the existence of these modest reissues.
DeleteAnd that is a nice introduction to the answer to your next point: If someone had original stampers of Columbia or Decca and used them with modern day virgin vinyl, my guess is it would crash the market for second hand records and put the reissue labels out of business.