Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music [Box set]

Camille Saint-Saens (Composer), Paul Paray (Composer), Spoken Word (Composer), Edouard Lalo (Composer), Henri Barraud (Composer), Ernest Chausson (Composer), Jacques Ibert (Composer), Maurice Ravel (Composer), Georges Bizet (Composer), Ambroise Thomas (Composer), Ferdinand Herold (Composer), Daniel-Francois-Esprit Auber (Composer), Charles Gounod (Composer), Hector Berlioz (Composer), Jules Massenet (Composer), Paul Paray (Conductor), Frances Bible (Performer), Detroit Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Marcel Dupré (Performer), Frances Yeend (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Frances Bible, Marcel Dupré, Frances Yeend
• Orchestra: Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Paul Paray
• Composer: Camille Saint-Saens, Paul Paray, Spoken Word, Edouard Lalo, Henri Barraud, et al.
• Audio CD (November 9, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 5
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B00035VV7S
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,524 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for lovers of French Orchestral music, April 28, 2006

By 

Alan Majeska "Alan Majeska" (Bad Axe, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music (Audio CD)

Paul Paray is one of the best interpreters of French orchestral music whose stereo recordings are gathered together in this budget priced box, and offer terrific value to the consumer: great recordings/ performances AND sound, at a low price. First off, this item is highly recommended.

There may be some listeners who have favorite recordings of certain works in this set, such as the Saint Saens ORGAN Symphony, the Ravel TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN (Paray strikes me as rather too fast in the Forlane movement, and other parts), or CARMEN Suites. But it is great to have all this music in one set, and Paray is not inferior to anyone in this music. There are several rare works here, including Paray's own MASS. And there is Bizet's rarely heard LA PATRIE Overture, and Thomas Overtures to RAYMOND and MIGNON; Herold's ZAMPA; and Saint Saens' Bacchanale from SAMSON ET DALILA. The Detroit Symphony of the late 1950s/early 60s plays wonderfully, sounding as good as many more prestigious "big name" orchestras.

Of course other listeners have favorites and may not agree with my perception, but I enjoyed this set alot, and will continue to return to it in the future. That's saying alot for one who's a committed fan of Karl Bohm (1894-1981), Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985), Carl Schuricht (1880-1967) and Bruno Walter (1876-1962). The "French" sound and style Paray drew from the Detroit Symphony is much different from Bohm, Ormandy, Schuricht, or Walter, but is most enjoyable. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paray's MLP French Gems Are Back!,, June 6, 2005

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music (Audio CD)

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing as SACD hybrids. However, they are unfortunately now being sold at full-price, despite a competing Living Stereo hybrid series on RCA/BMG being available at midline. In spite of the added expense, I hope this MLP reissue trend will continue, and maybe we'll even see a few items receiving their CD debut in this series.

These various performances of French Orchestral Music by the great Paul Paray have always been among my favorite MLP offerings. While three of these recordings continue to be available in their original CD incarnations -- the Ibert/Ravel, the Bizet Suites and Saint-Saens discs -- the remaining two discs of material have been out-of-print for some time. However, with this box set Paray's Lalo/Chausson and French Opera Highlights albums are now deservedly restored to the catalog. Even better is the fact that the four 5CD box sets being reissued have been reasonably priced, however they are not SACD Hybrids. This Paray set, and the ones of Dorati conducting Bartok and Tchaikovsky, and Hanson conducting a variety of American music, including his own compositions, have a total cost cheaper than the original single issue CDs! Once again, Mercury Living Presence lives!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FRENCH MUSIC BY THE FRENCH MASTER, April 25, 2008

By 

L. E. Roberts "Larry" (Escondido, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music (Audio CD)

If you did not grow up in the late fifties or early sixties listening to classical music, then you may not have been exposed to the Mercury Living Presence phenomenon. A record company experimenting with some of the techniques now used in live recording who made incredible master tapes, before other companies (possibly except for Deutsche Grammaphone) had even dreamed of these ways. They also had a stable of incredible artists, of whom Paul Paray stands out as one of the finest.

Most of the afficianidos of the that era were total fans of the German and Hungarian conductors. Don't get me wrong, I have every recording I can get of George Szell, Otto Klemperer, et al., but Paul Paray was an absolute master. It isn't on this album, but his Symphonie Fantastique blows away ever other recording I have heard, including all four of the Colin Davis recordings. As for the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony, no one else even comes close. Dynamics, quality of sound, plus Szell's (he was the master of it, if not the only practictioner) gift of hearing every single instrument should be enough, but there is also the incomparable artistry of Marcel Dupre on the organ (the man who pulled the stops for Saint-Saens in the premier performance, and no mean composer himself).

The rest of the disks are up to the standard set by the Saint-Saens #3: Paray is a Maestro who understands French orchestral music. I do not suggest that a German, English, American, or any other conductor cannot play French orchestral music superlatively well. It is just that Paray plays it the same way that a man capable of fathering 20+ children plays Bach better than a celibate monk would. The passion, the clarity (aside from the incredible engineering) make this an album for any collector who loves French orchestral music. Anyone listening can tell that Maestro Paray LOVES this music.

I would recommend this album for anyone who loves to get involved with their music. It is great!