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Josquin Despréz sul sito della Gimell records

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Josquin Despréz sul sito della Gimell records Empty Josquin Despréz sul sito della Gimell records

Messaggio  dowland58 Ven Mar 14, 2008 5:58 pm

Incuriosito da una interessante recensione
di Gramophone, ho visitato il sito della
Gimell records, la casa discografica del
coro inglese, specializzato in musica antica,
dei Tallis scholars.

http://www.gimell.com/

Molto bella la presentazione grafica generale,
ampia la scelta di CD acquistabili sotto
forma di supporto tradizionale (il CD, appunto),
oppure sotto forma di files scaricabili.

Questi ultimi possono essere acquistati sotto
diversi formati, con prezzi diversi a seconda
della qualità sonora: sia sotto forma di mp3,
sia sotto forma di file di alta qualità sonora,
wma o flac (sigla del tutto nuovo).

Secondo l'editore di Gramophone, che
presentava il sito, questi ultimi due formati
avrebbero una qualità sonora superiore
rispetto allo stesso CD.

E' possibile ascoltare circa 20 secondi di
ogni brano (che per della musica polifonica
in realtà non è molto)


Josquin Despréz sul sito della Gimell records CDGIM-039

Sul sito è presentato un nuovo lavoro,
i cui files sono scaricabili in anticipo,
rispetto all'uscita del CD: due messe
di Josquin Despréz (Missa sine nomine
e Missa ad fugam), giudicate molto
bene dalla rivista.

Lascio agli esperti la lettura completa
della recensione
Gramophone ha scritto:
Tune Surfing

The latest "own-label" site to add a download
facility comes from that early music jewel, Gimell, the home of The Tallis Scholars. Since its launch Gimell has combined impeccable scholarship with technically magnificent recorded quality and, apart from an ill-judged and brief affiliation with Universal, has proved that doing what you know well is the perfect recipe for success. In keeping with Gimell's philosophy of "audiophile" sound, gimell.com
offers a variety of different file formats from MP3
(at 320kbps) via CD-quality downloads in WMA format (not compatible with Macs) right up to
Studio Master (a 24-bit file) and Studio Master Pro (you will need to check what kind of soundcard your PC has, or this won't work). If you are interested in lossless sound you should experiment with the various test files Gimell offers - a nice feature that saves you disappointment and unnecessary expenditure. It's worth pointing out that many recordings were made in 24-bit sound but have had to be "degraded" to 16-bit for release on CD, so here - to squash a regular mantra about downloading - the sound quality is better than the equivalent CD!
I spent a weekend playing around on the site, downloading different formats and comparing them (using both a PC and a Mac) and have been very impressed with the results. The higher-quality files are offered in both WMA and FLAC formats and again I would suggest downloading a few of the test files to ensure that your computer is compatible (FLAC is playable on a Mac but you may well need to convert the file to Apple Lossless using the iTunes jukebox on a PC - it sounds a bit mad but it works).
The Tallis Scholars' latest Josquin Desprez recording - of the Missa Sine nominee and Missa Ad fugam, two Masses entirely based on canons - has been made available as a download in advance of its CD release date (something I was suggesting last month that DG experiment with). The music is not only very beautiful - especially in this wonderfully controlled performance - but also intriguing in its extreme technical virtuosity: just trying to "unpick" the various lines as the music unfurls is fascinating. The recording was made in one of Gimell's favourite venues, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Salle, in Norfolk - a quite wonderful acoustic for polyphonic music. I downloaded it in three different formats - MP3, CD Quality and Studio Master - and put it alongside the CD. I have to admit to having been hard-pressed to differentiate between the CD Quality and Studio Master formats without wearing headphones, and even then it was far from clear-cut. But the ability to acquire music in all these different formats is wonderful - and music as sublime as this really does need to be heard with the highest-quality sound.
The pricing of the various formats is sensibly organised from £7.99 to £15.99.
To best appreciate lossless sound Gimell recommend a Network Music Player, a splendid device that relays the sound from your computer to your hi-fi at 24-bit quality. Gimell suggests two different players, the £1289 Transporter and the rather more manageable £189 Squeezebox (made by Logitech, which specialises in wireless networking). Again, I would suggest reading the very easy-to-understand explanation on the Gimell site before investing because certain files will not work with some of the NMPs (you will run into problems, for example, with DRM-protected iTunes files).
I installed the Squeezebox on my hi-fi system downstairs (it took about five minutes and the on-screen instructions couldn't have been clearer), and it immediately connected wirelessly to my PC upstairs and using the on-screen display I could sort through the music and play it through the hi-fi. I have long believed that as soon as "convergence" is achieved (in other words all your various bits of kit start to "talk" to one another) then downloading will achieve its potential in the classical sphere - especially if you can listen in better-than-CD sound in the comfort of your listening room rather than perched in front of your PC!
dowland58
dowland58


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