NOVEMBER 2004 OCTOBER 2004 SEPTEMBER 2004 AUGUST 2004 JULY 2004 JUNE 2004 MAY 2004 APRIL 2004 MARCH 2004 FEBRUARY 2004
NOVEMBER 2004 GEMS 0212 OFFENBACH THE TALES OF HOFFMANN Following the great success of The Red Shoes, it was Sir Thomas Beecham, ever an enthusiast for Hoffmann, who approached the mighty duo of Powell and Pressburger with the idea of a film of this most popular of light operas. This recording was used for the film, famous for its balletic pairing of Moira Shearer and Robert Helpmann [who appear on the cover of the booklet]. Cast and conductor provide a freshness and magic to the score perhaps unequalled since: Monica Sinclair, Robert Rounseville, Bruce Dargavel, Owen Brannigan, Margherita Grandi, Murray Dickie, with the RPO and Sadler's Wells Chorus, cond. Sir Thomas Beecham. This then ground-breaking optical recording of 1949 has been given wonderful new life to become again a standard of the catalogue. A 2 CD set. GEM 0222 JOAN SUTHERLAND and JON VICKERS Who could possibly resist a CD of two of the greatest operatic stars of the 20th century, in roles they never recorded commercially, at the very peak of their powers in 1957 and 1958, and then in repertoire from a disc so rare as to be all but unobtainable? MOZART: The Magic Flute, Overture and Who treads the path of toil, w. John Lanigan & Michael Langdon. WAGNER: The Mastersingers of Nuremburg Act III, Prelude, Fools, everywhere fools (Wahnmonolog), w. James Pease Prize Song, w. James Pease Quintet, w. James Pease, Noreen Berry & John Lanigan DONIZETTI: Emilia di Liverpool Cavatina and Rondo Finale SPOHR: Zemira and Aphor Rose softly blooming ROSSINI: La Fioraia Fiorentina ROH, Covent Garden Orchestra and Chorus, cond. Rafael Kubelik and (Donizetti, Spohr, Rossini), Joan Sutherland, soprano and Richard Bonynge, piano. Great thanks are due in particular to the artists and to Lord Harewood for making this important release possible
OCTOBER 2004 GEMS 0220 FACETS OF BENJAMIN BRITTEN - as soloist, director, chamber player, accompanist and arranger. MOZART: Concerto in F major, K.459, Benjamin Britten, piano, with the English Opera Group Chamber Orchestra, dir. Benjamin Britten Piano Quartet in E flat major, K.493, with the Amadeus Quartet and Benjamin Britten, piano Nine Folk Songs, arr. Benjamin Britten, with Peter Pears, tenor and Benjamin Britten, piano There are few to compare with Britten, in the twentieth century, as a musician in the widest possible sense. His empathy with Mozart is already legendary, as pianist and accompanist he has been lauded for many decades and as composer there is little more to be said. These particular live recordings are no less than revelatory and deeply satisfying - and we are more than grateful to the Earl of Harewood for being able to make them available for issue. They are amazing treasures. PAST CD 7859 PARIS - THE CAFÉ CHANSON In all art forms, the Liberation of Paris in 1944 produced an explosion of creativity and talent. Repression was over and new writings, new ballets, new music, new theatre, cinema were able to blossom. The chansons of the new cabaret-theatres which sprang up still say a lot to us today and the image of the young Juliette Gréco went around the world in films and on LP sleeves in the late 1940s and '50s. These so-typical songs have been rescued from rare radio transcription discs and offer a special opportunity to hear some recordings never before made available: artists are Juliette Gréco, Francis Lemarque, Colette Mars, Paul Peri, Mick Micheyl, Jacques Douai and Castel et Casti. The 23 tracks include Autumn Leaves, Avec les anges, Le Jour, Les fleurs et l'amour, La fortune, Guitar Hawaiiene, Je n'aime pas la fête, Le baiser volé …
SEPTEMBER 2004 GEM 0192 'ACTORS PLAYING THEIR PARTS' The number of actors 'playing their parts' in the earlier and middle parts of the 20th century is really pretty small. Some recordings are very rare; some are masterpieces of the art, others perhaps show the difference between genius and less than that. All the recordings on this CD have much interest, some because of the actors and the parts they play - and the comparison between the treatments given to the same speeches by three indisputably great actors cannot but be fascinating - others because of their rarity or their illustration of the theatrical styles and pleasures of their time. And one recording at least is a desert island classic. In Shakespeare, Sybil Thorndyke and Lewis Casson, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Holloway, John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, Pamela Brown; in Oscar Wilde, Edith Evans and John Gielgud; in Somerset Maugham, Constance Collier and Ronald Squire. Other artists include Ivor Novello, Edna Best, Fay Compton, Gordon Harker, George Baker, Dinah Sheridan, Jean Forbes-Robertson and Charles Laughton. A new release in Pearl's Plays & Poets series. GEM 0218 TENORS OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA - VOLUME II To complete this set comes the second volume: the genesis of this collection goes back to the energies of the late Keith Hardwick, whose skills and experience were rewarded by the acceptance of a Gramophone Award on Pearl's behalf for the first four volumes of the original collection. A fifth volume was added later, making 15 CDs in all. From this collection, and with the addition of other rarities which have surfaced since, and sometimes using better copies of originals than were available to the original producer, this digest of some of the notable tenors of the period has been edited. Among them were some of the very greatest voices of their kind, of the century. It is generally accepted that to connoisseurs of the tenor voice early Russian vocal records are amongst the rarest and most desirable, with prices to match. Many of those presented on this CD (and its companion Volume I, published in August, GEM 0217) would cost hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. They are desirable not least because they give us a fascinating glimpse into the long-vanished world of the Imperial Russian Opera, at a time of opulence and famed artistry. The great names to be found in this second volume are: Andrej Labinsky, Gavril Morskoj, David Juzhin, Alexander Davydov, Alexander Bogdanovich and a number of the somewhat later recordings of both Sobinov and Smirnov.
AUGUST 2004 GEMS 0217 TENORS OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA - VOLUME I The genesis of this collection goes back to the energies of the late Keith Hardwick, whose skills and experience were rewarded by the acceptance of a Gramophone Award on Pearl's behalf for the first four volumes of the original collection. A fifth volume was added later, making 15 CDs in all. From this collection, and with the addition of other rarities which have surfaced since, and sometimes using better copies of originals than were available to the original producer, this digest of some of the notable tenors of the period has been edited. Among them were some of the very greatest voices of their kind, of the century. It is generally accepted that to connoisseurs of the tenor voice early Russian vocal records are amongst the rarest and most desirable, with prices to match. Many of those presented on this CD (and its companion Volume II, to be published in September) would cost hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. They are desirable not least because they give us a fascinating glimpse into the long-vanished world of the Imperial Russian Opera, at a time of opulence and famed artistry. The great names to be found in this first volume are: Ivan Ershov, Nicolaj Figner, Leonid Sobinov, Vasili Damaev and Dmitri Smirnov. Of particular interest perhaps, are the extra four recordings of Smirnov's wonderful first recordings. Even if one or two of these names may not immediately be well known, be prepared to be surprised and delighted by the pleasures they present.
JULY 2004 GEMS 0216 BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS and CANTATAS These classic and triumphantly successful Brandenburg performances created a mighty stir when first published in 1950, for their revelatory recording quality and for 'the super-abundant vitality, firmness and intelligence' of Münchinger and his Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. They well deserve their reinstated place in the catalogue and have to be counted among the milestones of recording history. Suzanne Danco, the admired Belgian soprano, was under contract to Decca when these Cantata recordings were made in 1953 and her sure intonation and purity of tone are well shown in the sacred Cantata no. 51 ('Jauchzet Gott in allen landen') and in the secular no. 202 ('Weichet nur, betrübe Schatten'), a wedding Cantata.
JUNE 2004 GEM 0211 HAMLET SIR JOHN GIELGUD Sir John Gielgud made this role his own and had by 1951 become the stage Hamlet of the century. This production he both adapted and directed, his clarity, stillness and economy of style still amazing to audiences after 25 years and brilliantly delivering Hamlet the Prince as well as the poet and dreamer. It is one of Gielgud's greatest and most lyrical performances. This NBC production has a magnificent cast, including Pamela Brown, Dorothy McGuire, Barry Kroeger, John Merivale, Peter Bull and Esmé Percy. Booklet notes are by Sheridan Morley. The latest release in the 'Plays and Poets' series. GEM 0215 THE UNPUBLISHED TREASURY The word 'unpublished', for the connoisseur and record collector, carries magic messages: the pulse races, the adrenalin flows. What riches might there be here, which few people will ever have heard? The rarity of the particular items in this collection and the sheer quality of the artists in these performances surely does justify the title of 'Treasury'. Luck has played a major part in the survival of the metal masters of these recordings and thus that today they may be heard in sound far better than would originally have been possible. There are 20 tracks in this nearly 77 minute release: the artists are Caruso, with Frances Alda and Geraldine Farrar, Bori, Galli-Curci, Chaliapin, Igor Gorin, Koshetz, Schipa, Gigli, with Dusolina Giannini, Ponselle, Pinza, Tibbett, with Richard Crooks, and Zanelli. All are new transfers by Roger Beardsley.
MAY 2004 GEM 0205 BENNO AND SYLVIA RABINOF Rabinof was one of the last pupils of the legendary Leopold Auer, whose alumni had included Zimbalist, Elman and Heifetz among many other of the greatest players. Sadly, his recordings were few but his glossy tone and ability to play at astonishing velocity, while remaining clearly in love with the music, make this release of rare and unissued material, from the 1940s and '50s, particularly valuable. He is heard too with his wife Sylvia in Paganini and Handel, Szymanowski and Ravel; they formed one of the most highly regarded violin and piano duos of the century. GEM 0214 KEITH HARDWICK - IN MEMORIAM The influence of the late Keith Hardwick, multi-award-winning engineer in the field of historic record restoration, for EMI and later for Pearl [for whom he won two further Gramophone Awards], cannot be over-estimated. We who had the privilege and pleasure of working with him wish to offer this tribute - a newly restored [by Roger Beardsley, no less] selection of some very fine singing from his own collection of vinyl pressing. There are 19 tracks on this 78 minute disc: artists represented include Maria Nemeth, Toti Dal Monte, Peter Dawson, Nina Koshetz, Gigli and Pinza, Frida Leider, Supervia, Chaliapin, Lotte Schöne and Melchior. Original pressings were of the finest and the delights here are rare indeed for collectors and all connoisseurs of the finest of vocalists. The extensive notes are by Larry Lustig, editor of The Record Collector.
APRIL 2004 GEM 0210 MACBETH SIR ALEC GUINNESS This wonderful performance, in the Old Vic production, is one of truth and intimacy - Guinness was breaking new ground, theatrically - and is also one of the few examples to be heard of the fully mature actor, at the height of his powers and in a role he was to essay only once more in his magnificent career. The supporting cast too could scarcely be stronger, including as it does Pamela Brown, Rachel Gurney, Anthony Service, Philip Guard, Andrew Cruickshank, Robin Bailey and Geoffrey Wincott. Booklet notes are by Sheridan Morley. This is the latest issue in our 'Plays and Poets' series. The late Sir John Gielgud as Hamlet follows shortly … A 2 CD set. GEM 0213 PIERRETTE ALARIE Alarie's lyric soprano has perhaps been undervalued, except by cognoscenti. Her repertoire was immense, from Mozart to Verdi to Poulenc, and her beautiful silvery voice was likened by Elisabeth Schumann, whose pupil she was, to that of Lotte Schöne. There can scarcely be higher praise. With her husband Léopold Simoneau her career in France and North America has been long and magnificent, as befits a superb musician of such calibre. This release contains some of her most important and charming recordings - of Debussy and Ravel songs.
MARCH 2004 GEM 0209 HALINA CZERNY-STEFANSKA CHOPIN A First Prize winner in the 1949 Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1949, nevertheless this unique pianist remained relatively unknown outside her native Poland until the exposure of the spurious Lipatti Chopin 1st Concerto recording as in reality that of Halina Czerny-Stefanska. Her playing has been described as: 'pure poetry' when thought to be his. True, but as her true self, her Chopin is indeed of the greatest refinement, never strident, her dynamic range wide and resourceful, displaying inspired rubato and with the ability to unfurl phrases luminous, illuminating and of exceptional sophistication. This important release includes rare and unpublished items, for the first time on CD CD PREMIÈRE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 2004 GEM 0207 WILLIAM PRIMROSE THE EARLY RECORDINGS Here are gathered the early recordings, including those on violin, of one of the two greatest viola players of the previous generation. Some are rare or unpublished and it is a rewarding harvest: would Primrose have gone on to become one of the great violinists had he not changed instruments? Certainly one of his achievements was to change the way we hear and appreciate the beautiful sonorities of the viola and that has led to the present generation of virtuosi. Violin tracks include Bach Sonata no. 2 and Purcell's Golden Sonata. Viola tracks include works by Schubert, Paganini and Tchaikovsky. Other artists featured include Gerald Moore, Isolde Menges and Sidonie Goossens. GEM 0208 GERTRUDE LAWRENCE THE KING & I - Rodgers and Hammerstein LADY IN THE DARK - Weill/Gershwin NYMPH ERRANT - Cole Porter The King & I is with the original Broadway cast, featuring Yul Brynner in his star-making role. Without doubt Gertrude Lawrence was unique, a much-loved star whenever she appeared in the West End, on film or on Broadway - and never just as half of 'Noël and Gertie'. She epitomised glamour and sophistication, a freshness and modernity as she metamorphosed from flapper, to socialite to bouncy modern woman. On this CD are some of her most wonderful and classic realisations, musical romances of the lushest kind.