Released in 1998
Author Mantovani
Audiovisual World" once called this set of records R2D4 and gave it a very high evaluation. What is R2D4? British and Americans often simplify TO as 2, while For can be written as 4. So what do R and D here mean? R is the abbreviation of Records, and D means Die. Obviously, R2D4 was deciphered to be Records To Die For-"I will listen to it even if I die." Its idea comes from the American audiophile bible "Stereophile", which often publishes a list to encourage audiophiles to listen to some equipment and records they think are the best. The title is R2D4.
In fact, there are not just a few music fans who have grown up listening to "The Sound of Mantofanni" for decades. The Mantofanni Light Music Ensemble's playing style is smooth and stretched, the melody is beautiful and the sound is gorgeous. full. Although I have never enjoyed his soul-crushing music, and I may not necessarily die immediately, it is definitely the biggest regret in my musical life! Mantovani's waterfall is like a silk-like heavy string sound, sometimes flying down three thousand feet, sometimes like a vast calm sea, and its graceful dancing can bring people a sense of joy like a spring breeze or the first sunshine after a rain. Joy makes ordinary people fall in love with high-style music unconsciously.
The conductor of this orchestra, Mantovani, was born in a musical family in Venice, Italy in 1905. His father was the concertmaster of the Toscanini Orchestra. Mantovani studied violin under the guidance of his father since he was a child. In his youth, his family moved to the UK and was admitted to the London Conservatory of Music. At the age of 16, he performed publicly the violin concertos of Bruch and Saint-Sa?ns. At the age of 18, he organized a six-piece band in Birmingham and performed professionally in hotels and theaters, mainly playing light music. He was the main violinist of the band. His superb playing skills and gorgeous, clear and wonderful sound left people with endless aftertaste after listening to it, so he had already won great reputation as a violinist at that time. In 1933, Mantofanni became a British citizen. After that, he reorganized a huge orchestra mainly composed of string instruments, which became the Mantofanni Orchestra.
Mantovani found a special sound from the string instruments of the orchestra. This distinctive string performance became the unique musical feature of his orchestra. Since then, Mantofani adapted a large number of elegant, harmonious and melodious music, and the audience gave his orchestra the nickname "The Voice of Mantofani". Compared with the noisy and enthusiastic modern pop music, Mantovani's music is undoubtedly a refreshing refreshing agent. Mantofanni's success mainly lies in his full understanding of the performance of the violin and his ability to control the orchestra appropriately, so that the entire orchestra expresses the violinist's unique playing style very accurately, making the audience fascinated.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Mantovani's performance was popular in almost every corner of the world and became a melody that everyone loved. His records sold well for decades, and he became the world's number one stereo LP seller. Musicians who hit one million. In China, Mantovani was also the most frequently played representative of foreign music on various radio stations after the "Cultural Revolution". At that time, his lyrical and fresh music made countless Chinese music fans appreciate the "outside" music. The world of music has left countless beautiful memories.
As a well-known classical music brand under the Universal PolyGram Group, the British Decca record company that published the disc may be different in size, history, and artist lineup compared to Germany's DG. Very far. However, in the minds of music lovers and audiophiles, Decca recordings are unique in their open and profound sense of sound field space, first-class transparency and beautiful tone, precise positioning as if they were on-site, and gorgeous, natural, brilliant but not harsh sound range balance. , has become a unique and irreplaceable golden signboard like its blue and red trademark.
In terms of the artist lineup, Decca is most proud of Sir Georg Solti, the exclusive conductor who has signed with Decca for more than 40 years. He not only created a stunning masterpiece in the history of recordings for Decca, "The Ring", but also The artist who has won the most Grammy awards in the world has a huge reputation. In addition, there are Pavarotti, the king of C soprano, female singer Di Kanava, famous piano player Heshkenach, violinist Jung Kyung-hwa and so on. In addition, the world-fascinating light music group Mantovani, American jazz legend Duke Ellington, famous singer Bing Crosby, etc. have also left precious recordings for Decca. It can be seen that Decca is the only classical record label in the British Isles that can rival the century-old EMI.
In terms of recording, Decca had already invented a unique microphone arrangement by senior recording engineer K.E. Wilkinson during the nascent period of stereo recording in the 1950s. This "microphone tree", later called "The Decca Tree", is mainly composed of a set of microphones located on the left and right sides of the stand and another vertical microphone at an appropriate distance. The "microphone tree" formed by these three microphones stands tall On stage, with the assistance of other microphones, the advantages and disadvantages of single-point and multi-point recording can be compromised to create a detailed, balanced and dynamic recording effect. This recording technology established Decca's future recording style, with the most balanced sound range and the deepest sound field, and the sound quality is radiant and gorgeous. The Mantovani Orchestra was the first orchestra to try this recording technology that year. Later, this placement method was promoted to Decca's classical orchestral and opera recordings, achieving great success.
In order to help a new generation of music fans get rid of the pollution of a large number of mediocre and boring commercial pop music and regain health and a higher level of music taste, Decca used advanced digital mixing equipment to mix Mantovani The highlights of the golden era have been reorganized into this double-CD collection. The cover of this CD set features the intoxicating scenery of Venice, Italy, Man's hometown. In the dim yellow sunset, a pair of lovers embrace and kiss each other in a quiet harbor, which coincides with the theme of the record "Intoxicating Dusk".
Each CD contains 19 pieces of music, in addition to the classics that music fans are already familiar with, there are also many pieces that have not been included in similar selections before. Among them, there are also some rare pieces that guarantee the popularity of domestic music. The first time fans heard it.
"The very best of Mantovani" (Mantovani Selected Album) is a masterpiece from the analog recording era of the famous DECCA company. The strings are extremely sweet and the scent of pine is full. Double CD, 38 moving songs, remastered and released in 1998, should not be difficult to find in the market. Its recording effect inherits Decca's consistent characteristics: powerful bass, rich midrange, smooth treble, and its sense of space and layering are first-class.
The tracks on this disc will definitely not be unfamiliar to you. Such as "MOON RI", "AROUND THE WORLD", "AS TIME GOES BY", "SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES", "AND I LOVE YOU SO", "MY WAY", etc., in Mandofani's magic wand Next, it will enchant your ears and soul again. Especially "CHARMAINE", the first song on disc A, is Mandofani's famous work. As soon as the music starts, it pours down like a waterfall, carrying the refreshing fragrance and flowing into your barren heart. In Mandofani's concerts in the past, this section often won endless rounds of applause!
The cover of this album is quite distinctive, like a dream work by an abstract painter: a port, birds, watchers, and kissing lovers, all in a dim yellow sunset.