OFFENBACH - Gaîté Parisienne - Boston Pops/Arthur Fiedler [JVCXR-0224 2]

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Many of the same musicians are on this session as the Daphnis above. One of the most successful recordings by the great Boston Pops, the music fairly bubbles with verve and dash that makes all other versions sound tame. Manuel Rosenthal arranged music from Offenbach operettas into the complete ballet score. I made a comparison with Classic Records’ reissue LP of this same recording. I was hard put to decide which I preferred. Both had amazingly rich and deep bass end as well as wide dynamic range. The soundstaging differed somewhat - the vinyl creating more depth and the xrcd more stage panorama. The xrcd had the edge in crispness and clarity, yet the LP boasted that familiar vinyl quality of sounding a bit more like real musicians playing in a real space. I’d say at the present state of both my CD and TT sources it’s a toss up, but this sort of A/B-ing can spur future enhancements to both that may cause one or the other to pull ahead slightly in playback. Only 36 minutes length but what an action packed 36 minutes!

Composer: Jacques Offenbach
Conductor: Arthur Fiedler
Orchestra: Boston Pops Orchestra

1. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro
2. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro Brillante
3. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Polka
4. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Länder: Allegro
5. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Mazurka
6. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Valse
7. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro
8. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Polka
9. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Valse
10. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Tempo Di Marcia
11. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Valse
12. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro Vivo
13. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Valse
14. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro Vivace; Misterioso
15. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Valse
16. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro Vivo
17. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Cancan
18. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Quadrille
19. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro Moderato
20. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Allegro
21. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Vivo
22. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Vivo
23. Gaîté Parisienne, Ballet: Barcarolle