Many music lovers miss the sound from vinyl pressings.
Many others have yet to discover how pleasant the sound can be.
Most of our albums are mastered from vinyl LP pressings and earlier
recordings (before 1953) from 78 rpm discs. It is our ability to
recreate, in the digital age, the sound from the disc era that many of
our customers find most enjoyable.
Unlike modern digital recordings tracks in our
albums do contain some distortion, and the occasional surface noises,
but for many listeners these "defects" are soon forgotten.
The Royal Navy's flying capabilities developed
rapidly during World War Two. This programme reflects the development
by way of three Royal Navy training films from the film archives of the
Imperial War Museum.Catapult Ships (1940), Deck Landing
(1942), Carrier Flying (1946)Black and White 76 mins
"Fantastic" Flypast September 2005
"A high quality, educative programme totally devoid of
gimmicks" Aircraft Illustrated August 2005
Four Royal Navy instructional films covering a
wide range of activities are featured in this programme. Portland
Ahead (1975) takes viewers through the process of having a ship and
its company brought up to fighting fitness by FOST. Tug Work - At
Sea (1978) features the crew of A95 Typhooon and ocean going tug,
towing frigates. Hover Navy (1978 ) reviews the experimental
use of hovercraft for mine counter measures, beach landings and
maritime patrol work. Aircraft Salvage, Location and Recovery
(1978), shows the recovery of a Wasp helicopter lost at sea in depths
beyond normal diving limits. Colour 96 mins.
What the Critics Say
The following are reveiws by Brian Wilson at Music
Web International
Recordings of the year
"- There have been many fine reissues this year... and much as I’d like
to include the reissue of Pierre Monteux’s recording of Dvořák’s
Seventh Symphony (Beulah), the clear favourite is the release on a
single blu-ray audio disc of Sir Georg Solti’s complete Wagner Ring
Cycle."
"If I hail the Monteux recording of the
symphony as a
very special old friend, that doesn’t mean that I’m disregarding the
concerto This Beulah reissue is good value for the Concerto and
mandatory for the Symphony."
"This classic recording of the Fireworks Music in many
ways marked the beginning of Handel’s music being performed with period
awareness in that Mackerras assembled a host of London musicians in the
original proportions: 62 wind and nine percussion. In order to get them
all together, the recording had to be made at night. Though Mackerras
later repeated the exercise and others have come even closer to period
practice the 1958 recording remains of great value.
"The Testament reissue of the Fireworks comes with
more Handel as coupling but many will prefer the Beulah coupling of
more music for wind ensemble, this time from the renowned Eastman
players and Frederick Fennell, a selection from a Mercury recording
(AMS16048) which was released in the UK in 1960.
"The Handel performance was well worth reviving, the
ex-Mercury items even more so. The transfers have been done with
Beulah’s customary skill: I doubt if even the master tapes could yield
better results, though with the usual caveat that the wav files which I
receive are of better quality than iTunes’ mp3."
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"This (American) Columbia recording of Carnival of the
Animals, with a new commentary by Ogden Nash, was first released on its
own on a 10” Philips LP in the UK (NBR6001) and later with Walton’s
Façade on Philips Classical Favourites and CBS Classics. The
Beulah release stands or falls by whether you like to hear the music on
its own – as I definitely prefer – or to have it interrupted with an
all-too-clever commentary. If you prefer the latter, then you
could hardly hope for better than Noël Coward’s equally clever
delivery. The orchestral performance is good and the mono
recording has been well transferred for its age but for me it’s a shame
that some desirable Beecham and Barbirolli recordings and the final
Alborada del gracioso, all in stereo, appear in company with this
version of Carnival of the Animals. Still, it’s inexpensive
enough if you purchase it for its second two thirds.
"
Dan Morgan praised the Decca Eloquence recording which contains Wolff’s
Alborada – review – and I’m equally pleased with the Beulah
transfer.
I haven’t heard the Eloquence, but I doubt if, though transferred from
the master tapes, it sounds much better than what Beulah have conjured
out of the grooves of SXL2105, itself always something of a
demonstration LP. "
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Recording of the month
"This is superb: there have been many fine
interpreters of Delius but none finer than Beecham. With his EMI
recordings tied up in box sets and only the 1952 Hassan excerpts
available separately on Naxos Historical, this very well-filled Beulah
reissue is especially welcome, especially for the Florida Suite.
"The 1952 mono items have come up sounding infinitely
better than I remember from the Philips Concert Classics LP on which I
first heard them – only a little thinness betrays their age. The other
items have come up sounding as well as on the 6-CD set Beecham conducts
English Music .
"Beecham’s stereo recordings of Over the Hills and Far
Away and Summer Night on the River will be included in another Beulah
release of music by Grainger and Delius, due for release shortly
(9PD82). "
Reissue of the month
"I’m convinced that the Thought Police have been
reading my mind. Last month Beulah revived Pierre Monteux’s recording
of Dvorák’s Seventh Symphony, which remains for me one of the best ever
(2PD45, with Violin Concerto – Reissue of the Month). Now it’s the turn
of Rafael Kubelík’s Concerto for Orchestra with the RPO. His later
Boston Symphony version has been reissued by Australian Decca but this
fine RPO recording seems to be otherwise available only in a massive
Warner box set.
"
Even when first released in mono in 1959, the HMV recording outshone
its competitors. The Beulah transfer of the stereo version is very good
indeed – it hardly sounds its age – and the performance is first-rate,
especially if you find the two Solti recordings (LSO and Chicago) a
little too up-front. I shall still turn to the Solti versions but in
other moods I’m glad to have the Kubelík, which I once owned on a World
Record Club reissue (ST836), to hand again.
"
If the other works on this Beulah reissue are not quite such classics,
they certainly don’t detract from its value. The Britten is a reminder
that Eugene Ormandy’s performances of British music are well worth
hearing – I’m thinking of his Delius, too – and it’s good to have
Constant Lambert’s own recording of The Rio Grande in a clean transfer
which sounds more like early LP than 78s.
"
It was a nice touch to use a photo of the Rio Grande for the cover.
Unfortunately, it’s a bit off-beam: the Rio Grande depicted is the
actual river in the USA, but the imaginary Rio Grande of the Sitwell
poem is supposed to be in Brazil. "
Listen to Beulah at Spotify
You can now listen to Beulah albums for free
at Spotify.
