CANTELOUBE Songs of the Auvergne. de los Angeles (EMI) – INKPOT
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VICTORIA DE LOS ANGELES soprano Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux conducted by Jean-Pierre Jacquillat Full texts with translations in English, German and French. EMI Classics Great Recordings of the Century |
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I used to work in this place with a huge collection of at least 3000 LPs, containing some of the most famous recordings in the history of classical music recording. Unfortunately, this collection was largely in disuse, literally and sinfully left to collect dust (and I know many of you out there will pay tons of money for some of these LPs, for example, the other Melodiya Borodin Quartet Shostakovich cycle).
Among these records was the LP ASD 2826 from EMI, 1973, which contained on side 2 just nine of these Songs of the Auvergne, sung by the always regal Victoria de los Angeles. For a long period of time, during lunchtime, I would dig out this LP and put it on, letting the gorgeous sounds of the breathtaking Balro, et al. wash my weariness away.
Auvergne sits close to the centre of France, a volcanic region dominated by the Massif Central, an ancient extinct volcano. The fertility of the area is without doubt; the landscape ranges from volanic landscape to great expanses of rich forest. Auvergne is the land of the Arvernes, originally from Gaul, who were driven t |