| Frederick
Fennell's swashbuckling performances of Sousa marches, originally
on two separate LPs entitled "Sound Off" and "Sousa
on Review", have long been amongst the most celebrated of the
many recordings of American repertoire on the Mercury Living Presence
label. Totalling 24 marches, those included here span (1880-1928)
almost the entire career of the so-called 'March King', John Philip
Sousa (1854-1932). Performed by the celebrated Eastman Wind Ensemble,
the band's size and personnel follows closely that of Sousa's own
Marine Band, comprising 52 players: 25 reeds, 19 brass, 6 percussion,
harp and double bass.
As with the great majority of MLP's stereo releases,
the actual recordings were made using three microphones - a stereo
pair, plus a central microphone. The LP (and subsequent CD) stereo
releases mixed the centre channel into the two outer channels. Now
- and for the first time -- SACD's multi-channel capability enables
all three discrete channels to be present on the disc, allowing
the listener to hear the recordings as they were originally taped
(and as they were always intended to be heard, when future technology
permitted). Enhancing this new opportunity is the significant additional
fidelity gained through direct-to-DSD transfers from the original
half-inch analogue masters, via DSD's much greater resolution, frequency
response and dynamic range.
In addition to this first-time presentation of
the three-track original recordings, the SACD also contains a high-resolution
DSD stereo soundtrack, mixed to match as closely as possible the
original LP stereo mixes. Finally, as all Mercury Living Presence
SACDs will be 'hybrid' releases, the SACD also includes a CD stereo
soundtrack (Wilma Cozart Fine's original CD transfers), thus making
the disc compatible with all CD players.
The covers and packaging have been kept within
the famous Mercury Living Presence tradition, maintaining the logo
banner, cover art and, where possible, original liner notes.
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