Electric Recording Company Reissues Rare Henriette Fauré Debussy Record

A cynic might say that The Electric Recording Company chooses records to reissue by scouring Ebay, Popsike, Discogs and other used record sales monitoring sites and finds the most expensive, collectible records to reissue. This one, originally issued in 1961 on the French Ducretet-Thomson label is a solo piano recording of Debussy's "Estampes" and "Préludes Livre 1" played by the rather obscure French pianist Henriette Fauré.

How obscure is Ms. Fauré? Do a web search and virtually nothing comes up. You'll find that her greatest claim to fame is that she studied with Maurice Ravel and was one of the first artists to extol the virtues his music and play them in public.

She also studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Louis Diémer, one of the leading exponents and most accomplished pianists of the French school at the turn of the 20th century. You won't find a biography or discography online though, so I can't tell you anything about her other than that because of her association with Ravel, her interpretations of his music are considered by some to be definitive and the few records she made, particularly those of Ravel's music, are sought after and in short supply.

This one, however is of her playing Debussy. Still original copies of this record too are pricey. In 2006 a copy went for $1077, in 2010 one went for $1592 and in 2014 one went for $1539.99. Clearly piano aficionados or Fauré cultists clamor for these records.

In other words, ERC's price of £300 (around $500) for a brand new copy, cut from the original master tape using its completely restored all-tube vintage Lyrec/Ortofon cutting system and packaged in a jacket difficult to distinguish from an original and limited to 300 copies, begins to sound reasonable compared to the cost of a less than perfect used original.

The question is are the collectors buying because of rarity or because of an exceptional performance and possibly great sound? To state the obvious, I am not a classical music expert or a connoisseur of either solo piano performers or their recordings. I did find a reviewer who described her playing of Ravel at least as "metronomic" (she claimed Ravel insisted she stay on tempo). As a player the reviewer wrote "while Faure is no Martha Argerich or Ivo Pogorelich (there are a fair number of wrong notes here and there), it is fascinating to hear her play this (Ravel's) music." At least I know who is Pogorelich!

What I think I do know something about is good recorded sound and the sound of the stereo record is absolutely stunning—about as non-mechanical, non—recorded piano sounding a piano recording as I've heard. The profusion of tonal colors overwhelms. Dynamics, both micro and macro are impressive for any era but particularly fora recording of this vintage.

The piano image hovers eerily rock-solid in three-dimensional space in as non-mechanical a state as I've ever heard a piano recording. The image has great solidity and believability floating above a dead black backdrop produced by a superbly quiet, perfectly centered pressing.

As for Ms. Fauré's performance of the short "Estampes", I found it mesmerizing and hypnotic. French musical impressionism is much like its visual counterpart—more textural and and colorful than physically solid. If you're familiar with Debussy's "La Mer" you'll have an idea of what to expect. The piece is broken down into three parts: the first is evocative of Chinese or Japanese music, the second hints of Spanish influences and the third is supposed to suggest a thunderstorm in a French garden.

"Préludes, LIvre I" includes the first 12 of 24 preludes written between December 1909 and February 1910. The tempi are slow and deliberative, the moods set delicate and introspective.

A delicate recording like this, produced with a mid-hall perspective and meant to be heard at relatively low volume to be convincing demands a quiet pressing with silent backgrounds. The Record Industry pressing provides that.

However, dynamics are extremely wide, going from "p" (piano)-soft to "f" (forte)-loud. It will take you by surprise so don't start at a higher than realistic level—that is if you are willing to sped $500 to own a copy. You can search YouTube and find performances of the music to find out if you like it. I guaranty you'll love the sound of this reissue and if you like to listen to solo piano music recordings (I do), this is one that you'll play all the way through every time.

COMMENTS
Ortofan's picture

compared with that of the various piano recordings on the Audiofon label or, much more recently, the Valentina Lisitsa plays Liszt LP from Decca?

Michael Fremer's picture
I have but one Audiofon piano LP performed by Earl Wild and engineered by Peter McGrath, who started the label. He's still recording classical music and also is National Sales Manager of Wilson Audio Specialties. It is a superb recording but the vinyl is not as quiet as I wish it was. Have not heard the Liszt LP from Decca. Tell us about it!
Ortofan's picture

McGrath's engineering but also because of Julian Kreeger's skill at selecting the performers. Those LPs were issued back in the '80s on the cusp of the introduction of CDs - any idea who might have done the pressings?

I don't have the Lisitsa/Liszt Decca LP, yet - only the CD.
You hinted at doing an LP versus CD comparison over a year ago and I'm still waiting to read about it.
http://www.analogplanet.com/content/classical-pianist-and-youtube-phenom...

wao62's picture

Is the sleeve construction similar to that of the Mono Masters with flip backs? Is the card stock thicker and the lamination glossier than that used on the Beatles reissues (as it would have been in 1961)?

Michael Fremer's picture
Since ERC pays fanatical attention to packaging details the stock is a thick, textured paper that I'm sure duplicated the original French release. The annotation is printed on the back jacket the old-fashioned way so you can feel the print indentation. The jackets on many ERCs are flip back but this one isn't so I am assuming neither was the original. The packaging is beautifully done and I assume authentic to the original.
wao62's picture

Wonder if ERC would consider reissuing the recordings of Walter Gieseking performing the piano music of Debussy, Ravel & Beethoven.
There would be a higher demand for those classic recordings which might bring the price point down. I would pay $35 or a bit more per disk (as Music Matters are priced)for a beautiful set. I love quality like this! It's a labor of love on the part of those who produce those reissues!

Andrew L's picture

Why would ERC want to reduce prices? Gieseking originals don't sell for premium prices. They aren't doing this for any altruistic reasons.

Jazzfan62's picture

Do you think the vintage tube gear makes the difference? I have all tube gear, no solid state. My system has many of the characteristics of your description of the recording. More than ever, music seems to hover in a vastly 3 dimensional picture. I will never stray from an all tube system now.

PeterPani's picture

I changed from solid state to tube, too. Especially changing from transistor to tube reel-to-reel machine changed the sound from my open reel tapes dramatically. I also prefer tubed MC-amplification of my Ortofon Jubilee. I get higher noise, but more musicality, depth, tonality. Of course the biggest enemy is the ground loop and hum. It needs a lot of trial and error to minimse it. Going back to the Beatles Mono Vinyl - I wonder, how the reissues would sound with a tubed mastering and cutting chain. Wouldn't the reissues have surpassed the originals...?

Martin's picture

I ended up choosing an EAR 324, Transistor phono over the EAR PB88 because I felt the transistors opened up the sound a little more going into a triode tube amplifier.

heman__'s picture

I think I hate the Electric Recording Company.

Sure, they apparently make excellent sounding issues.

But what a dick this guy is, who has experienced what it is like to search and pay through the roof for vinyl, and then has the opportunity to reissue records like these, but no, instead he reissues them as expensive and limited?

I really hope that somebody else at EMI notices the hype, and decides to trump him with Speakers Corner type reissues of the same music for a cost that most people can afford.

/rant

For anybody looking for a reference recording of this music (outside of the obvious ones), this recent recording by Alexei Lubimov is top drawer. Rich sounding period pianos, absolutely superb playing, and the sound quality is as good as you’ll ever get from digital.

http://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Preludes-Claude/dp/B007O40PTG

StonedBeatles1's picture

Funny, I've never heard of Ivo Pogorelich but I own a few recordings and have seen Martha Argerich perform live. She's the shit!, and, I believe has/had a pretty hip lifestyle.

$500 for a quality pressing? Not in this lifetime. Maybe after I hit the lottery.

Ortofan's picture

...she thought so highly of him that she resigned from the jury of the 1980 International Chopin Competition when he was eliminated after the third round.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ivo-pogorelich-mn0002200619

Out of curiosity, have you ever heard of the eventual winner of that 1980 International Chopin Competition - Dang Thai Son?

If you want to sample the style of Pogorelich, try this recording of works by Beethoven and Schumann: http://www.hbdirect.com/album_detail.php?pid=14130

stretch35's picture

I take it this is sold directly from the electric recording company? With the blue note reissues coming in at different price points ..... $19.99 to $49.99... and these reissues, sure seems like vinyl reissue market has something for everyone!

steve3049's picture

I just received my Le Mer & Ibert Ports of Call by Analogue Productions/Quality Record Pressings pre-order. Looks like it's remastered (not AAA) and although I'm not at all comparing it to the Electric Recording Company it's quite lovely and it's only $29.99.

steve3049's picture

The insert for the new release of La Mer by Analogue Productions says the remastering involves a lathe and does not mention a digital process, yet according to musicdirect it will be available Hybrid SACD. I'm confused.

Michael Fremer's picture
The analog master tape was used to cut lacquers and to produce a DSD master so there will be two versions: one AAA and one ADD
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