Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Lan Shui - Seascapes
SACD rip via PS3 to iso and 24bit/88.2kHz stereo flac | Hybrid Disc (SACD Surround/SACD Stereo/CD Stereo) | Label: BIS-SACD-1447  
Classical | 3.56GB

Amazon customer review:
I've been collecting vinyl, CDs and - latterly - SACDs for over 30 years now. Phew... One of the great delights of this music collection mania is the unexpected. And this certainly falls into that category. Why buy a recording from an unknown orchestra and conductor of a great classic and three repertoire pieces that are somewhat off the beaten track? Well, this is why: 

1) These are simply wonderful, nuanced performances, extremely well performed and directed. The warhorse Debussy, in particular, is given a performance of great sensitivity and finesse. 

2) The whole SACD is thematically linked and the lesser known pieces turn out to be both interesting and well worth knowing better. The Bridge is fascinating, and the Zhou Long piece intriguing... 

3) The BIS 'house sound' for SACDs is amongst the best, and this is a superior example of the breed- lucid, transparent and with a staggering dynamic range. 

Unreserved five stars, therefore for the SACD layer.

Bis says:
The sea & Singapore are inextricably bound together – indeed, the 1st records of a settlement here give it the Javanese name Temasek ('sea town'). Ever since, these islands have provided a base for traders & fishermen, pirates & sailors. With the arrival of the British East India Company in 1819 Singapore quickly developed into one of the most important trading hubs of Asia &, indeed, the world. Although the patterns & methods of world trade & transport have changed, the sea still permeates the daily life of Singaporeans. This also applies to Lan Shui & the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, who on this disc perform 4 works inspired by the sea by composers as varied as Debussy, Glazunov, Frank Bridge & Zhou Long (b. 1953). The latter was the subject of Rhymes, the orchestra’s previous & highly praised disc, of which web site Classics Today wrote: ‘Zhou’s is a personal, distinctive voice; & his beautifully crafted music achieves a remarkable synthesis of Western & Eastern musical traditions with musically rewarding results.’ The reviewer at BBC Music Magazine agreed, calling the result ‘utterly compulsive’ with the addition: ‘Here is orchestral playing of the highest calibre.’ Zhou Long’s The Deep, Deep Sea has as its title a quotation from Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, & was written for flautist Sharon Bezaly who performs it here. If the sea in Zhou Long’s piece is an Asian one, Glazunov used a visit to Crimea & the Black Sea for his inspiration, adding a good pinch of Wagnerism to its not very salty water. Debussy & Bridge on the other hand most probably had the same sea in mind when they composed their works: Debussy finished his La Mer while visiting England in 1904, staying in Eastbourne on the south coast, & Frank Bridge (1879-1949) was born & grew up in Brighton, some 30 kilometres further west.

     Tracks:

Claude Debussy
La Mer
  1.	I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer. Très lent	9'23
  2.	II. Jeux de vagues. Allegro	6'51
  3.	III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer. Animé et tumultueux	9'14

Zhou Long
  4.	The Deep, Deep Sea	10'40

Frank Bridge
The Sea
  5.	I. Seascape. Allegro ben moderato	6'47
  6.	II. Sea-foam. Allegro vivo	2'23
  7.	III. Moonlight. Adagio ma non troppo	6'48
  8.	IV. Storm. Allegro energico	6'56

Alexander Glazunov
  9.	La Mer, Op.28	18'47


Sharon Bezaly, flute
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, orchestra
Lan Shui, conductor

Iso checksum:
666e6c0a18757ef7144448a42df82608 *Bezaly - Singapore SO Lan Shui - Seascapes.iso

Rip process:
Rip disc with sacd_ripper 0.36 on PS3
convert Stereo tracks to wav with weiss Saracon @ +6dB gain
Convert wav to flac and trim click from ends with SACD2FLAC.