Polish Chamber Philharmonic - Symphonies No. 3 & 4 - SUPER-AUDIO CD [Super Audio CD (SACD)]

I have heard these two works (and also by the same performers the 7th and 8th Symphonies) many times both live in different halls with different orchestras as well as many recordings. However, I have to confess I was never satisfied by those performances either at the artistic level (both live and recorded) or at the aural level when recorded. Artistically they were never right, mostly because of extraneous changes to the original instrumentation and orchestration and when recorded, because of the invariably banal sound. Happily, I can say here and now that this SACD in either it's Pure Tube Stereo or Real Surround Sound version as created by Tacet, has finally moved me to think of it as my long-sought referenceInch CD both artistically and aurally.Inch (John Nemaric)

Another album under the Anthology of Polish Art a Cappella series, created together with the 'Collegium Cantorum' Choir of the Czestochowa Philharmonic under the direction of Janusz Siadlak, is devoted to Andrzej Koszewski's choral music. Koszewski's special place in Polish music is best characterized by his concept of the choir as 'an orchestra of human voices'. Koszewski discovers in a choral ensemble the possibilities of shaping the timbre of sound analogous to those of a symphony orchestra, and (with full respect for the human voice) treats it similarly, moving in the aesthetics defined by good taste and striving to maintain a sound effect within the framework of high art. That is why all non-standard means of articulation as well as whistle and whisper, often resulting from the use of the properties of the Polish language, are employed in a thoughtful and fully justified manner, never for the effect itself. The selection of songs presented on our album, with the outstanding performance quality of the ensemble, fully confirms it.

Where should I begin? with the music or the recording technology? Both are equally thrilling!... (Pizzicato) InchNow, without wishing to go OTT about it, this is one SACD which I think I can unreservedly recommend to EVERY reader of this website who likes classical music. I'd personally go so far as to rate it as probably the most important issue sound-wise I've come across in listening to multichannel CDs, indeed in my entire adult listening experience (stretching back thirty years now)... Inch (Terence Blain on SACD)