*** 2x 180g Vinyl LPs ***

Decca Classics announces the launch of the Decca Pure Analogue vinyl series, presenting iconic recordings from the Decca and Philips catalogues. The series is mastered by Rainer Maillard and cut by Sidney C. Meyer at the renowned Emil Berliner Studios utilising their 100% pure analogue techniques (AAA). Only analogue sources from the original stereo and quadrophonic master tapes are used, including recently discovered analogue masters of early digital recordings.

Pressed in Germany at Schallplattenfabrik Pallas on 180g virgin vinyl, these limited-edition deluxe gatefold releases will feature: the original artwork and liner notes; archival photos and facsimiles of original recording session sheets. Each individual release includes bespoke notes by Dominic Fyfe, detailing the history of the recording, the technical background and the mastering process.

Colin Davis’s first Sibelius cycle with the Boston Symphony Orchestra was released in 1977, one of the world’s most august record clubs – the Carnegie Hall Selection Committee – deemed it definitive: “the leading Sibelius conductor of our time joining forces with what may well be the finest Sibelius orchestra in the world.” When Symphonies 5 and 7 were recorded to four-track in January 1975, Symphony Hall Boston was no stranger to experiments in quadraphonic recording ever since Deutsche Grammophon became the orchestra’s exclusive record label in 1970; however by the mid-1970s, quadraphony was all but abandoned and this album was never released as a quad LP.

For this release Rainer Maillard at Emil Berliner Studios has used the original, edited four-track quadraphonic master tape to make a new stereo mix sent directly to the cutter head. This preserves a pure analogue path throughout. The Philips engineers of the 1970s would similarly have mixed the four front and rear channels before cutting but this downmix would have resulted in a two-track stereo copy for mastering, whereas here the lacquer is cut directly from a “live” mix into stereo from the four Quad channels. Sonic results have been further enhanced by distributing the recording across three sides instead of the original double-sided LP. This has also enabled us to include Davis’s December 1975 recording of Sibelius’s last major orchestral work, Tapiola, on the fourth side.

“No one listening to Colin Davis’s cycle of Sibelius symphonies will be left in any doubt that here is a born Sibelian and that these recordings are a very considerable achievement.” – Gramophone, 1977

Dominic Fyfe, A&R Director, Decca Classics, writes: “Decca Pure Analogue will be a revelation for collectors and audiophiles, as well as introduce new audiences to the warmth and brilliance of an all-analogue sound. Recordings we thought we knew have emerged with arresting immediacy, presence and newfound detail. There is unlimited treasure: the jewels of the Decca and Philips catalogues as well as rediscovered masters, including analogue versions of Decca’s early experiments in digital recording. The series opens a window onto the golden age of the analogue LP, when ‘ffrr’, ‘ffss’ and the Decca ‘Tree’ were King. Both Decca and Philips were fabled for the quality of their original LP pressings – setting the bar high for the new series – but the painstaking care with which the original masters have been treated, together with the bespoke presentation, give these legendary recordings a new lease of life.”