[SACD-R][OF] Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra - Carl Orff: Carmina Burana - 1960/2000 (Orchestral, Choral, Expressionism)

Eugene Ormandy leads the Philadelphia Orchestra and choral forces in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana – one of Ormandy’s landmark recordings. This recording earned rosette from the Penguin Guide, their only one for this work, noting that it has “just the right panache; tremendous vigor, warmth and color; an essential classic.”
Reviews from SA-CD.net

[This recording] was first issued in 1960 and gradually became established as the one to own. Since then there have, of course, been many competitive versions. For me this Ormandy version is the most exciting. Probably the most outstanding feature is the chorus. The Rutgers University Choir excel. They are fresh sounding with young voices who sing their hearts out. There is a raw (not in the derogatory sense) quality which suits the score perfectly. Rhythms are snappy with brisk tempi. Diction is excellent and thanks to a now very clear recording I can make out the words for, probably, the first time in any recording. The Philadelphia Orchestra support with much lively playing. The line up of soloists (Janice Harsanyi, Rudolf Petrak and Harve Presnell) are superb. Presnell as the Abbot is outstanding, bringing the part to life with great success.
But what of the recording? It is after all, early CBS. The improvement over the RBCD version is vast and sounds clearer and more dynamic to me than even the LP. I have already mentioned the diction being helped by the clarity. The soloists are well balanced with the other forces and seem to have a real 3D presence. I am amazed at the dynamic range. There is lots of orchestral detail. The ff’s don’t harden and the sound opens out remarkably well. I am sure a new DSD recording would be a bit warmer but you can’t have everything. My only wish would be a bit more meat from the lower strings. That is not to say that the recording lacks bass. It is there – you can feel the bass drum through your furniture when the volume is turned up and this performance and recording begs and justifies a high volume setting.
I am glad I found this recording again before it becomes impossible to get. To discover it is so much better than previous entities was a real bonus. It may not be the last version I will own but for now my reunion with an old friend is very cordial indeed. (NB this is a stereo only SACD release.)
I am going to award the recording 5 stars with the caveat that it is over 50 years old! Many of the Living Stereo’s and Mercury’s have achieved that score and I believe this recording is in the same class. Brand new DSD’s and high res PCMs are in another class altogether.
…
Classic recording of Carmina Burana has never been out of the catalog in one format or another. Ormandy and Philadelphia Orchestra are appropriately brash. The Rutgers University Choir sings this with all the lust you could imagine. At some points they become so involved driving the text that the tone suffers – and the result is sexually wonderful.Have to say, while very good, the soloists are not the best. Harve Presnell is the best of the three. Rudolf Petrak does what he can with the Swan Song but he resorts to too much disconnected falsetto for my taste. Janice Harsanyi is OK but nothing great. She seems to be at the extremes of her range above the staff. (For my money Judith Blegen is the perfect soprano for Carmina Burana). But the Rutgers University Choir makes up for any weakness by the soloists.
The SACD is a vast improvement over prior iterations. The soundstage is very wide and deep. Individual instruments can be pinpointed. Slightly muddy low brass and percussion textures are now crytal clear. And the bass drum will make your listening room rumble all most as much as the classic Fennel Telarc recordings. Great improvement in text clarity from the choir and soloists. You can also hear a few pages turns.

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