Espana: A Tribute to Spain Chasing The Dragon Binaural CD

A Tribute to Spain Binaural CD

Debbie Wiseman conducts the National Symphony Orchestra and mezzo-soprano Rosie Middleton for this tribute to Spain. The album includes compositional works by Chabrier, Bizet, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Rehearsed, mixed and cut directly to vinyl in one day by Mike Valentine, owner of Chasing The Dragon Records.

This version of the fantastic Espana performance was recorded with a Neumann Binaural Head. Best experienced with headphones!

Features:
- Audiophile Demonstration Album
- Binaural album
- Mastered on Stax 009 Headphones
- Produced/Engineered by Mike Valentine & Francoise Valentine

"For many of our albums, I have been using 3 microphones in a "Decca Tree" array to capture the main stereo image. Recently I have been experimenting with a Neumann Binaural Head. Although normal stereo sounds great on headphones, I have found that when using the head, the effect can become almost three dimensional. I have therefore decided to create a series of albums for headphone listeners. This is our first release and I hope that you will be transported to Air Studios, feeling the full excitement of standing in front of the National Symphony Orchestra!"
- Mike Valentine, Chasing The Dragon

Tracklist

Georges Bizet's Carmen (1838-1875)
1. Habanera
2. The Gypsy Song

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894)
3. Espana

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
4. Capriccio Espagnol

This binaural album was recorded with specialist equipment to give you the feeling of really being there in the space with the musicians. This binaural album is incredibly accurate and is intended to be enjoyed on headphones, however, it still sounds fantastic when played back on loudspeakers.

"The orchestra rehearses downstairs while upstairs the mastering room engineers record and playback a test lacquer. Finally, it's time for a recorded take of the "Carmen" excerpts with Mezzo-Soprano Rosie Middleton. The tension is palpable in both the control room and upstairs. It's quickly clear that the free-spirited rehearsal has given way to a darker, more constrained performance that satisfies no one, especially Ms Middleton. The second take is better but is still missing the required "magic". Take three is "the one". Everyone is relieved and it's technically perfect."

"Then, after a lunch break, it's on to the Chabrier "España". After a recorded rehearsal playback, it's time for a take. The first performance is spirited but an orchestral crescendo causes the cutting stylus to crash through the groove wall into an adjacent groove, requiring a second take. There's another great performance, but higher drama could be found in the mastering suite, all of which is captured on the video. Quick, decisive thinking and gutsy actions by mastering engineer John Webber saves the lacquer from disaster (as you'll see) but a third take (not shown) proves to be by far the best and it will be the one you'll hear on the final vinyl record. Please keep in mind the sound you hear on this video was captured by an Audio-Technica "shotgun" microphone attached to a camcorder and is not the actual recorded sound (given what it is, though, it's pretty good!)."

- Analog Planet

Chasing The Dragon have become known as one of the leading producers of audiophile recordings. The UK label owned by Mike Valentine offers Direct Cut LPs. Audiophile LPs, CDs, and Master Tapes which will demonstrate the potential of your Hi-Fi system.

Chasing The Dragon's releases are so detailed, if you take the time to familiarise yourself with the subtleties of these reference-level recordings, the next time you make any changes, big or small, to your Hi-Fi system, the differences will be notable.