Debussy Danse sacrée et danse profane - Barbirolli (1927)

The National Gramophonic Society was founded by Compton Mackenzie to complement his magazine, The Gramophone. From 1925 to 1931 it issued about 170 discs of carefully-selected music that hadn't previously been recorded - part of Mackenzie's work to get the gramophone taken seriously. Finance, and competition from EMI in this repertoire, ended the project. Its output is very rarely encountered. The recordings were created by a number of different companies; this one was recorded at the London studio of Vocalion (Aeolian Hall on New Bond Street) on 3rd January 1927.

Debussy’s Danse sacrée et danse profane was commissioned in 1904 by the French manufacturers Pleyel for their new chromatic harp. When published that year Debussy indicated that the solo part could be "harp or piano".

A piano was used here for its first recording, Ethel Bartlett being the soloist. The "NGS Chamber Orchestra" conducted by John Barbirolli was in reality the Chamber Orchestra of London’s Chenil Galleries which Barbirolli conducted regularly. Bartlett was Barbirolli's regular accompanist in the 1920s, having met him in WW1. She, and her husband Rae Robertson, were regular artists for the NGS.

78 transfer by Julian Dyer from original discs in my own collection

Видео Debussy Danse sacrée et danse profane - Barbirolli (1927) канала Julian Dyer