Re: [ARSCLIST] Cedar

[George Brock-Nannestad <pattac@xxxxxxxx>]

From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad

Hello again,

Steve Abrams commented on gawdawful Caruso reconstructions:

> I think you have jumped to conclusions.  Lennick was probably talking about
> the recent BMG stereo superposition of a modern orchestra on Caruso records,
> a second attempt at the re-recordings done by Victor c. 1930 (and issued 
> complete by Pearl, transferred by Marston).

----- I know a bit about the earlier ones made by HMV, which were somewhat 
later than the Victor ones  - some of them are not even completely in tune. 
But I am kind of shocked to learn that it has been tried again. What a crass 
contrast that must be.

> 
> Also, I would like to know the precise source of your information about the
> use of Bjorling's voice in the Stockham process.

----- this was discussed in:

T. Stockham, T. Cannon, and R. Ingebretsen, "Blind Deconvolution Through 
Digital Signal Processing", Proc. IEEE, vol. 63, Apr. 1975, pp. 678-692

> 
> I think it is possible to hear the signature of the old Met on some of the
> Mapleson's.  Also, the first series of Maplesons are not far-field 
> recordings.  They were made with the horn in the prompter's box.

----- I think that the most that I have regarding the Mapleson cylinders are 
two articles by David Hall in Recorded Sound from the then B.I.R.S., and I 
seem to remember that you are perfectly correct.

> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "George Brock-Nannestad" <pattac@xxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2007 9:52 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Cedar
> 
> 
> > From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad
> >
> > Hello,
> >
> > David Lennick wrote
> >
> >> Some of us are still reeling from the memory of those gawdawful Caruso
> >> reconstructions. Don't forget..the "original room" was designed to 
> >> produce
> >> the
> >> maximum amount of oomph and channel it into a horn.
> >
> > ----- that is not entirely true, and very company dependent. For
> instance,
> > VTMC used what must be described as a very dry room, because e.g. in
> 1907
> > they are reported as having all the windows open during summer.
> >
> > ----- those gawdawful Caruso reconstructions were based on very
> erroneous
> > premise by Thomas Stockham in his processes. One was that if we can find
> a
> > similar tenor in electrical recording, then we can use that voice
> > characteristic to filter the original acoustic by Caruso himself and 
> > thereby
> > get a grip on the difference, which must be what the acoustic process
> has
> > contributed. They used Bjoerling, and indeed: if you increase the treble
> > on
> > the LP, then you hear Bjoerling's voice as "used by" Caruso, very
> strange
> > indeed. But he cleaned up the bass quite efficiently. I do not have any
> of
> > the McCormacks that RCA also put out using the Soundstream process, but 
> > here,
> > at least, the voice was basically the same. Stockham called it blind de-
> > convolution, and the process works, but the opera record collector he
> must
> > have been associated with must have misled him.
> >
> > Mapleson cylinders would
> >> be
> >> about the only recordings where you might have a vague hope of
> >> reconstructing
> >> an acoustic worth hearing.
> >
> > ----- well, if anything, they were certainly far-field recordings. 
> > However,
> > the signal-to-noise ratio is such that not much reverb signal is left.
> > However, with modern signal processing - who knows.
> >
> > Kind regards,
> >
> >
> > George