11 of 11 recommend this SA-CD
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Label:
   Telarc - http://www.telarc.com/
Serial:
   SACD-60536
Title:
   From the Isles to the Courts - Ensemble Galilei
Description:
   "From the Isles to the Courts"

Ensemble Galilei
Details:
   1. Cantigas 7 and 338
2. Scollay's Reel/ King of the Fairies/ Old Grey Cat/ the Dance Goes On
3. Winter's Falling Light
4. Sinfonie and Musette from L'isle de Delos
5. Callanish/ Under the Full Moon
6. Anna's Garden
7. Home Fires/ The Burning of the Clavie/ The Burning of the Clavie Reel
8. Lake Skybelow
9. La Folia Variations
10. Sgt. Early's Dream/ Tune for Kieran
11. Fanny Poer/ Mary O'Neill's
12. Aisling
13. The Lady of the Lake
14. Miss Maxwell/ Bridget Cruise/ O'Carolan's Welcome
15. The Fair Maid of Barra/ Dream Angus
Genre:
   Classical
Content:
   Stereo/Multichannel
Media:
   Hybrid
Recording type:
   DSD
Recording info:
  
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Reviews: 2
Review by nickc March 5, 2004
Performance:  Sonics:
i agree with both previous reviews
as long as your speakers are not on the bright side this is the best sounding sacd i have heard (i only have about 20 so far!)
in MC the instruments decay away naturally in a fashion that can only be hinted at in stereo
the music is fairly light but highly enjoyable
here's hoping there are more sacds form ensemble galilei

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Review by Dan Popp January 3, 2004
Performance:  Sonics:
I like acoustic music. There is something about the spareness of it that allows the delicate harmonics of each instrument to come through - if recorded right. This DSD disc is recorded right. Nice and rich but not tubby, detailed but not (usually) grating. My only negative comment on the sonics is that a couple of the instruments have a lot of very high harmonic content, and these are captured with perhaps a bit too much brutal honesty for my taste. I saw a published comment by the recording engineer (back when this disc originally came out) to the effect that some of the instruments could sound very harsh and ugly on PCM recordings because of high-frequency overload. It's not exactly "harsh" on the SACD, but it's there and you can't escape it.

But that comment applies only to a couple of instruments on a couple of cuts and probably won't bother many people. Overall the sound is lush and inviting. Percussion in particular is very convincing. My cats look up at the speakers a lot when this is on.

The performance seems very confident and accomplished - I am a little out of my depth here, as my wife is actually the Celtic music expert. There is fun and tenderness here - and with sometimes 3 or 4 songs woven into each cut, you get a lot of music for your money.

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