RE: Callas Barbiere Shrill?

Posted by desertorganist (A) on February 7, 2016 at 20:59:21

In Reply to: Callas Barbiere Shrill? posted by George S. Roland on February 1, 2016 at 14:51:30:

I don't know that particular recording. My experience with Angel recordings, however, is that they're all over the map. The old Angel monos that say "Made in England" on the label are, apparently, the same as the equivalent English Columbia pressings, and often sound good to excellent. After Angel became a division of Capitol Records, though, things changed, generally for the worse. At this time, too, Angel Records became the U.S. EMI classical label, with product coming not just from English Columbia but from HMV as well, plus the other European EMI labels. One never knew quite what was going to come out of the speakers when one put a new Angel record on the turntable. Sometimes the sound was quite good: open, clear, spacious, with good bass extension, clean treble, and uncongested loud passages. At other times, the sound would be bass-shy, with shrill, congested treble and loud passages that sounded sometimes more than a bit overloaded.

There were good reasons for companies that specialized in importing EMI records from Europe; the surfaces would be clean and quiet (Angel's vinyl could be noisy), and the overall sound would be richer, clearer, and less congested in loud passages. The imports were often kinder to operatic voices as well.

Angel's full-price issues generally improved from about 1970 onward; I wonder if the parent company in England cracked down on their unruly U.S. subsidiary. That, of course, is no help with a Callas recording from 1957, which would have been release in 1958 or 1959, when all Angel production had been shifted to Capitol Records.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Callas Barbiere Shrill? - George S. Roland 14:51:30 02/01/16 (1)

RE: Callas Barbiere Shrill? - desertorganist 20:59:21 02/07/16 (0)

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RE: Callas Barbiere Shrill? - desertorganist 20:59:21 02/07/16 (0)

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