Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)
Suite Provençale, Op. 152
La Création du monde, Op. 81a
Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Munch
rec. 21 November 1960 (Suite), 13 March 1961, Symphony Hall, Boston
Reviewed as a 24-bit 352.8kHz PCM flac (DXD) download
High Definition Tape Transfers HDTT23498 [33]

New from HDTT comes another issue from the golden age of stereo recording. RCA Victor’s Living Stereo productions from this era are legendary. This album made by engineer Lewis Layton and producer Richard Mohr features two popular pieces by Darius Milhaud. Charles Munch was coming to the end of his tenure with the Boston Symphony Orchestra with whom he had made many fine records. The Living Stereo team did their best work in Boston with Munch and in Chicago with Fritz Reiner. They recorded with Telefunken microphones feeding a 3-track master tape. Sometimes there were more than three mics (most often it was at least five). The tapes used in the recording booth were usually Scotch ½ inch reels running through the machine at 15 inches-per-second (ips). This 3-track master (left-centre-right) would then be mixed down to a 2-track stereo master tape.

In the early days of stereo, audiophile collectors often bought pre-recorded reel-to-reel tapes in preference to LP. This happened far more in the USA and Canada than here in Europe. The reel-to-reel tapes were almost always superior in sound quality but more expensive. By the late 1950s, both formats were established on the market. The tapes available to purchase were smaller ¼ inch specimens and ran slower at 7.5 ips. The slower speed meant lower definition but more music per tape. I do not have any collection of original reel-to-reel tapes, nor the equipment to play them on. In many cases, collectors I know who do, tell me it is hard to find copies that are still in good condition without the deterioration age can bring. Nonetheless, when one finds a good reel, the sonics are very special and bring back in vivid technicolour the wonderful sonorities of that dawning of stereophonic sound. I have some flac and wav files friends have sent me over the years from original reel-to-reel tapes, and they can often be stunning.

Robert Witrak and the team at High Definition Tape Transfers are perhaps the leading authority in the restoration of original reel-to-reel masters. They have just celebrated their 19^th anniversary. HDTT working in their studio, routinely produce a copy of the original creating a DSD 256 file. This is ultra-high quality (the sampling rate is 256 times higher than CD standard). They then complete editing which might mean lowering peaks and/or tidying up little flaws in the master tape. This they do by turning the pure DSD file into a DXD. The DXD file is essentially another ultra-high-definition audio file, but this time processed into PCM format so really a flac. This edit master is 24-bit 352.8 KHz. HDTT offer both formats to purchase. For DSD 256 you will need a specialist Digital Audio Player that is capable of playing DSD files or a Digital-to-Analogue convertor plugged into your PC. For the DXD flac option, most players we routinely have on our PC’s, like VLC media or Windows media will work straight away.

Considering the edit master is the 24-bit DXD file, I would recommend getting that one. The closer you can get to the original and the less conversions made, the better the sound in my experience. HDTT offer various down-samples too. You can purchase the record in lower definition in both DSD and flac options. They will even burn a 16-bit 44 KHz CD for you. I listened to the high resolution 24-bit 352.8 KHz DXD file to get the maximum effect. It is 2.3 GB in size. 

Milhaud’s Suite Provençale dates from 1936/37. The work is drawn from incidental music the composer had written for a couple of plays performed in Orange, Provence in the mid-30s. He also draws on tunes penned by André Campra, a native of Aix-en-Provence like Milhaud himself. The old Provençale folk melodies are very effective in Milhaud’s reworkings, and the suite has always been popular in concert and on record. It breathes an air similar to that of Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances, even Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. Munch draws some very stylish and authentic sounds from his Gallic-loving Boston Symphony players. There are eight movements in all – plenty of tunes and much variety of orchestration. All the sections of this great orchestra are given chance to shine and of course we hear them in the spacious and warm acoustic of their Boston home: Symphony Hall. The sonics are truly splendid: wide stereo separation and a clear sharp sound image.

 La Création du monde, Milhaud’s short ballet score of 1923 is for me a seminal piece. Its incorporation of jazz and American big-band styles is perfect. That alto sax line is sulky and soulful and those syncopations and use of percussion never fail to impress me. Milhaud was such a prolific writer, and he wrote for over six decades but this will for me always be his masterpiece. Munch in Boston give the work its first truly great recording. The partnership made many records in those glory days and this is one of the best. Layton and Mohr clearly made an exceptionally fine taping behind the desks, and it is lovely to hear it again in all its glory in this new transfer. When I look back and think of the work of engineers like Kenneth Wilkinson (Decca) and Robert Fine (Mercury), producers like John Culshaw (Decca), Wilma Cozart (later Cozart Fine, after marrying Robert in 1957) and of course Walter Legge at EMI, I do wonder what they would make of our recording methods today. Would they discern a notable improvement in our digital technology over what they themselves produced all those years ago? I find it amazing that these tapes date back nearly sixty-five years, the sound is so alive and tangible.

I said Milhaud’s Création possibly received its first great recording with this Living Stereo session. Just over six months later, however, HMV recorded it and the following year released ASD 496. If you are a keen vinyl collector you will either have or want this in its original white/gold label early pressing. Whichever way you hear it, though, on LP or remastered CD, alongside its bedfellows Poulenc’s Les Biches and Dutilleux’s Le Loup; you will experience Georges Prêtre and the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire giving a memorable recording of the Milhaud work that for me even pips Munch in Boston. I don’t know if HMV ever released a 2-track open reel version of this Paris recording or if it was available in that format across the Atlantic on the Angel label.

I wish the label HDTT a happy anniversary and look forward to hearing more from them as they seek to increase interest in the magic sound of reel-to-reel tapes restored on the best equipment and at the highest fidelity.

Philip Harrison