Cantate Domino Limited Collectors Edition Digibook - K2HD Mastering-Usa - Lim

Review

I could give you a three-word sentence and be done with it: 'Magnificent, buy it.'

But in deference to this glorious recording, one that has been a favorite among audiophiles since its initial release, there are a number of things that need to be said that will interest those who've enjoyed it these past 27 years, and that will come anon. For those readers who know little about this famous record, let me say first, though, that Cantate Domino is a collection of religious music primarily intended for the Christmas season.

It was recorded in the Oscarskyrkan, a church in Stockholm in 1976. It features the Oscar's Motet Choir conducted by Torsten Nilsson with soprano, Marianne Mellnäs and organist, Alf Linder. Some of the selections will be unfamiliar to American listeners but others will be known immediately, even though they are sung here in a variety of languages, French, German and Swedish among them. The choir and organist perform very well, as does the featured soprano soloist who, in fact, sings O Holy Night better than I had ever heard it sung before or since, for that matter. While the bulk of the recording is choral, there are several pieces for solo organ too; the album ends on a non-religious note with Irving Berlin's White Christmas sung in English with a Swedish accent. Linder's organ accompaniment here puts one in the mind of music being played at an ice skating rink.

As for the sound, I will have to tell you that in preparation for the arrival of this SACD, I spent the past weekend and several days since listening to my three pressings of the the original LP. In my opinion, the new Proprius SACD reissue solidly trounces my trusty old LPs in any aspect of sound quality you'd care to consider. The SACD is simply more dynamic, more transparent, and dramatically clearer. There's still a high frequency edge here and there where the choir has overloaded the equipment making the original tape, but in making numerous specific comparisons, the LP simply cannot convey the same level of detail or reveal as many of the subtle nuances that make this recording so magical. The power of the organ has never seemed so real to me as it does now on this DSD transfer, and the chorus is now so well delineated that you can pick out individual voices that go unnoticed on the LP with ease.

A couple audio enthusiasts wanted to know about external noises in this recording. There are many, but I do not believe that any of these are caused by traffic outside the church, but instead by goings-on inside. This is most noticed on tracks 2 through 4 where only the organ is playing.

This one goes to the head of the class. I consider this the single best transfer from analog to DSD I have yet to hear. And, given the sound of the original tape, it may be years before this one is bettered. Recommended with no reservation whatsoever. --'sgb', SA-CD.net, Sept. 2007