{"product_id":"long-faure-ballade-four-nocturnes-1954-pasc038","title":"LONG Fauré: Ballade, Four Nocturnes (1954) - PASC038","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBalla\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ede\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eNocturnes Nos. 2, 5, 7, 8\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eRecorded in 1954\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eDuration 34:57\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eKathleen Long, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003epiano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e London Philharmonic Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eConductor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Jean Martinon\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC038.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eThe March 2006 issue of The Gramophone magazine printed a letter from Phillip Arnold of Staffordshire, England, which read:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv align=\"center\"\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width: 90%;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"8\" border=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMay I make an impassioned plea through the pages of your magazine, which I have now been buying since 1964, for the release on CD of what I (as I am sure do many others) consider to be one of the great recordings of the 20th century? Dutton Laboratories has already released Kathleen Long's 1944 recording of Fauré's Ballade (with the NSO conducted by Boyd Neel) together with two Mozart concertos and Walter Leigh's Concertino. However, she re-recorded the Ballade (conducted by Jean Martinon) as well as recording the Theme and Variations and some Barcarolles, Impromptus and Nocturnes in the early 1950s for Decca's long-playing LXT label. The performance is very similar - achingly beautiful - but the recording is vastly technically superior.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\n\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNone of the later recordings has ever been released on CD - I had the reissue of the Ballade and the Nocturnes (accompanied as on the original with Françaix's Concertino) when it was reissued on Ace of Clubs years ago, and that seems to be the last that was heard of her LP recordings.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\n\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlease, Universal and The Gramophone, can you assist?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eWhen I read this letter I was immediately intrigued to hear the recording - to describe it as \"one of the great recordings of the 20th century\" is strong stuff indeed! It also struck me that here was an ideal opportunity to use the power of the Internet to bring this recording back to life in double-quick time - in time even to get a reply published in the following issue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eFirst step was a search for discs to work from, to which we are indebted to Watson Records of Dundee for their helpful and efficient manner - and of course the discs involved. I'm pleased to say that they have also located further records by Kathleen Long which will be appearing here in the months to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eWorking from the original Orange\/Gold label Decca LXT pressings (with reference to the later Ace of Clubs release) I discovered how well these early discs could be made. Indeed, although the surface noise was lower on the later release, there was no doubt that the original possessed a finer and sharper sound. My suspicions that the later Ace of Clubs was mastered from a copy of the original tapes is bolstered by the fact that the recording is out of phase with the original LXT issue, as well as having increased hiss and less resolution.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eFrom then on it was a matter of bringing this beauty back to life - not until I was sure that it would be possible did I confirm with editor of The Gramophone that this would be going ahead in time for their April issue - better to get it right than to rush it out. One problem surfaced late in the day - a variable wow on the Ballade left the piano at times sounding a little wavery. Here I adopted the methods used so succesfully by my colleague Peter Harrison for our César Franck Piano Quintet release to digitally de-wow the recording by degrees varying from 0.08 semitones at the start to 0.15 semitones at the end of the recording - minute amounts, but when you know they're their you can hear them and they do become an itch you have to scratch!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e(At this point I should point out that the record itself was a perfectly centred pressing - the slight pitch variation could only have some from the mastering stage and was not apparent on the Ace of Clubs issue.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo here it is, some 53 years after its original release, and sounding perhaps better than it ever has done. We are now in the process of remastering more of those rare early Decca LPs to continue a Kathleen Long series, including works by Fauré, Schumann and Scarlatti. We hope you enjoy this fabulous recording, and thank The Gramophone and Mr. Arnold for bringing it to our attention.\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eBallade for Piano and Orchestra, Op.19 (13'31\") \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRecorded Kingsway Hall, London, 8 February 1954\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eKathleen Long, \u003c\/b\u003epiano\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e London Philharmonic Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eConductor\u003cb\u003e Jean Martinon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNocturne No. 2 in B major, Op.33 (4'55\") \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op.84 No.8 (2'19\") \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNocturne No. 5 in B flat major, Op.37 (7'03\") \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eFAURÉ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNocturne No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 74 (7'08\") \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded West Hampstead Studios, London, 27 May 1954\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKathleen Long, \u003c\/b\u003epiano\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,san-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eReleased as Decca LP LXT 2963\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eMatrix numbers: ARL.2155-1A, ARL.2156-2A\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eDuration 34:57\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,san-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC038.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC038.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Mono 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932278968659,"sku":"quc1789301538577","price":10.08,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/1833\/9155\/files\/long-faure-ballade-four-nocturnes-1954---pasc038_1.jpg?v=1789301545","url":"https:\/\/vendnora.com\/products\/long-faure-ballade-four-nocturnes-1954-pasc038","provider":"luckagni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}