Customer Reviews

Carl Orff: Carmina Burana (Cantiones Profanae) (SL)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A highly-charged performance with good to excellent soloists. There _is_, as another reviewer has noted, some audible hiss (which might be expected, given the age of the original analog master tape), though I did not find it as distracting, not even at high volume levels on a high-resolution audio system.

Having heard the Carmina live on several occasions, I find that this recording captures better than most that I've heard the somewhat astringent sonorities and inner voicing of Orff's scoring as well as the complex interplay between the various choirs. I detect no vocal "muddle," but rather well-delineated solos and ensemble work, even at the high-energy levels encountered, for example, in "Helena et Blanziflor" and "Tempus est secundum." Tuttis do not break up, and I detect none of the vocal "wandering" across the soundstage at high levels that I've heard on other recordings.

There's a slightly "bright" ambience to this recording, not inappropriate given the scoring. Rated at four stars only because of the noticeable--but not, in my view, distracting--hiss.

If you are buying this disc because it is recorded in SACD format, don't bother. Based upon the other SACDs I have I expected a top notch recording. It is not. I'm not sure if its a function of the recording process itself or something in the way it was transfered to SACD, but there is a very high level of hiss that is dramatic and distracting at high volume levels. Also, the vocals are somewhat muddled. I would say that a standard CD with a better recording would sound better.

There is a reviewer that is on here that goes around putting down people that have complained about the hiss on some recordings of SACD music. Some of wht he says is true, SACD has the ability to reproduce EVERY nuance of the original, including its warts. BUT there is a limit to what I can take. Maybe for its time this was a stupendous recording, but I have heard many regular CDs of Carmina that sound a lot better. I did A/B comparisons with some in my collection and this SACD was one of the worst. Bad muddled voices. Bad stereo soundstage. Not well mixed. The only redeming factor is there is good punch to the music. Good bass in the kettledrums for example. But the hiss, bad mixing, vocals that sound like they are a mile away, and muddled sound really do not show off what SACD can do. Why can't record labels do a modern recording with todays technology and make it sound they way it is supposed to sound... like you are THERE in the concert hall. I am sorry but hiss in a recording does not make me feel like I am in a concert hall. It makes me VERY conscious that I am listening to a RECORDING. This is unacceptable when I have other SACD discs that really do make me feel like I am in a concert hall. It is nice that these really old recordings can be archived almost perfectly now with SACD. But I cannot give this recording a good review because of the too numerous warts in the original recording made so long ago. Seems like labels would rather release this old stuff and make more money off of it by fooling people that it is SO good because it is SACD (when honestly with the amount of hiss etc. regular CD would have been enough)instead of rerecording it properly along with all the expense that entails. Come on record companies, we want QUALITY SACD recordings too along with the archival stuff.

I totally understand what people are saying about the hiss in the recording being ok due to recording methods, but I also do not expect to hear hiss on a SACD. Perhaps if I had know about the his I would have been prepared and not so dissappointed. I have this music on CD and SACD and I can tell you, if the hiss won't bother you the CD recording is not nearly as good as the SACD recording. Its kind of like compare a good tape recording to a CD Player back when CD players were new.

If you are looking for a good first SACD to buy with your new SACD player, get a different SACD, but if you don't mind the his and you love Carmina Burana this will still be the best recording with the greatest detail.

I am very critical when it comes to music and audio/video. I do not have a problem with the hiss. For me, it is like when you are at a live concert how you can hear the sounds of heating units, fans, air conditioning units, the person breathing next to you, etc. I have heard samples of the other two "Carmina Burana" Super Audio CDs. Because of the acoustics of the location they were recorded at, to me, they sound like they were recorded in a livingroom. The equipment used was definitely up to industry specifications, but they still sound like they were recorded in a livingroom. This recorded performance both artisticly and technically meets my expectations with one large exception and one small one. The small one is that the tenor switches into falsetto on the higher part of his solo. However, very few tenors can easily and naturally sustain that high of a tessatura for that length of time. (If you are a tenor, then try singing Schubert's "Ave Maria" in C-Major and/or "Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables" in A-Major, as performed on stage in the Broadway, touring, and London productions and you will understand. At twenty-five and a half, I am not totally successful at it. To those of any age who are, more power to you!) The rest of the ensemble, as well as the location this performance was recorded at are the best I have ever heard! So if I did not take away the last star because of the tenor, then why did I do so? This was my first Super Audio CD and I was highly anticipating the authenticity of both microphone-fed-like sound quality, and the multi-channel surround sound effect. I was in for a disappointing surprise when I loaded it up and played it. Beautiful, artistic, microphone-fed-like sound was only coming out of the front left and front right speakers, as well as the subtle bass frequencies from the subwoofer my system produces during two-channel playback. I understand that the original studio master recording was a two-channel stereo recording from the 1960s. However, as long as the original studio master recording survives, with today's Dolby Pro Logic II encoding and decoding technology, a great opportunity still exists for Sony to release this recorded performance in such a way that would literally duplicate the exact acoustics of the location this performance was recorded at. Also, the other two Super Audio CDs of this title were not advertised as multi-channel either, so I would assume it has to specifically state that it is multi-channel on the search results page(s) in order for it to be so. In conclusion, if titles on Super Audio CD are a major consideration and you are interested in Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana," then out of the three "Carmina Burana" Super Audio CDs currently available, this would be the ultimate choice.

Stay away from this disk, the solo performances and choirs are really dissapointing compared to a number of other options.

You should rather look for the CD (or SACD if it ever gets available) of the recording with Eugen Jochum as conductor, and Dietrich Fischer Diskeau (one of the best baritones in the world) as baritone. That recording can be found under the labels of Deutsche Grammophon, and also Polygram. It's supposed to be one of the best Carmina Burana's ever performed. I have read on the web that that performance was witnessed by Orff himself, and that he gave it its personal seal of approval so to speak. My personal opinion, however, with respect to the Jochum recording, is that the soprano doesn't excel at all singing the "Dulcisima", at least compared to the soprano in the recording I'm about to mention.

There is a recording of Carmina Burana conducted by Ricardo Muti, with absolutely awesome solo performances. Arleen Auger (the soprano) in that recording has one of the most beautiful and effortless "Dulcisimas" ever. Also, her long note in "Amor volat undique" when singing "Cordis in custodiaaaaa..." is arguably one of the most beautifully steadily and effortlessly uninterrupted notes ever sung. She makes the soprano role in Carmina Burana seem to be the easiest thing to sing in the world, when it's a very hard one. The baritone Jonathan Summers is also excellent, as well as the choirs. The drawback in this recording is the volume levels, at least the CD produced by EMI. The volume levels didn't end up recorded/edited evenly enough across different sections. That issue really doesn't do justice to the top quality of the performances for this pieces. I've noticed there is a new edition of the Muti performance with Auger and Summers, but that one still has the volume level problems.

I think if you really love and enjoy C.B., it is a good idea to consider getting at least 3 recordings: the one conducted by Jochum, the one by Muti, and there is another good one conducting Andre Previn. I've read that one is also highly praised, but I haven't had a chance to listen to it (planning to get it very soon to add it to my Carmina Buranas). The one by Jochum is a good way to go, but not the only one, and truly not the best one at all for certain aspects of Carmina Burana, in particular the soprano. I'd suggest don't stick to one option alone. You would be missing to much sound beauty if you don't listen to (at least) Arleen Auger in the Muti version.

So I would suggest that you you choose one or more of those three, but I would definitely NOT recommend this recording of Carmina Burana with Eugene Ormandy conducting.

There are a lot of good Carmina Burana's out there. This is NOT one of them. Save your money 'till a better one comes to SACD.

Ignore any complaints about tape hiss in the analogue re-issue.
Anyone who complains about it is like you complain about the black bar on widescreen DVD transfer and prefer inferior "pan and scan" version. You should know that you gain more when you can listen to the tape hiss in analogue recordings because it shows they pass the signal purely without artificial processed (ie. digital noise reduction). The latest digital noise reduction that used in most reissue red book CD (16 bit/44.1 khz) claimed it removes hiss without effecting the sound, but
in practical way, it effects the sound a great deal. often, the sound becomes dryer and striden. Do you want it that way? so what's the concept of high end audio then?