Album Reviews

It's difficult to believe that British born cellist Jacqueline Du Pré was but 20 years old on August 19th, 1965 when she delivered this recorded performance in famed Kingsway Hall with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.

The original E.M.I. His Masters Voice pressing (ASD 655) doesn't fetch the huge amounts some ERC reissues manage (around $100-$125), but that's in part due to the record's great popularity. Until then, Elgar's contemplative piece written in the aftermath of World War I (and sounding every bit as tragic) languished.

Elgar's "Sea Pictures", a song cycle for contralto and orchestra is considered his best song writing effort, performed here by Janet Baker. I mean it's no "A Salty Dog", but still....

The Cello Concerto is the main attraction and it makes for a delightfully depressing, tragic and thought provoking listening experience. Play Gillian Welch's recently reviewed Soul Journey as the evening's opening disc and you're sure to walk away pretty much in tears or at least with your coarsest feelings softened.

I have 3 versions: an original "fold over" cover (first lacquer, first mother, stamper #12/second lacquer, first mother, stamper #11. Why the second lacquer on side 2? If the first lacquer is a blown cut or gets destroyed in plating, the next to be mastered though the first lacquer, gets the #2.

ERC's all-tube mastering using a restored Lyrec/Ortofon cutting system and the plating and pressing done at Record Industry have produced a version that's timcrally and texturally similar to the original but clearly more transparent and vivid. By 1965 all of the early stereo imaging issues found on some early two channels releases (including "hole in the middle" and severe "left/right") had been solved—at least labels like EMI and DECCA had done so. The center fill is solid, and the cello's image palpable and three-dimensional.

ERC has done its best to reproduce the original fold-over jacket, cover art and annotation, including having the words set in type and printed in the original manner but the original "His Masters Voice" Nipper logo was unavailable so the salmon colored label says "Parlophone". And though you may want to hold Jacqueline Du Pré's hand, Multiple Sclerosis ended her career eight years after she recorded this epic performance and she passed away from the disease fourteen years later at age 42, which only intensifies the sadness in the grooves.

The Electric Recording Company will press but 300 copies of this record, with a cost of approximately $349. Yes it's costly, even more so than an original if you can find one but this is a record you'll play for the rest of your life and with care pass down to the next generation of music lover looking for great sound and something to jerk tears from his or her eyes. There's also little doubt these ERCs will attain legendary status and appreciate in value, though only a fool buys vinyl records as an investment in anything other than listening and owning pleasure.