Yoel L. Arbeitman wrote:

>Dear Karl and All, First I am fascinated and allured by the Handel and
>Bach recordings you mention.  Concerning outrageously great Bach singing,
>I do wonder whether you can shed some light on the recording of the 1951
>Perpignan Festival and what was recorded and what was released and what
>is attainable,etc.
>
>I am very confused as I now see (I am a slow reader) that the "Erbarme
>dich, mein Gott" as noted in Teri Noel Towe's magisterial article, when
>one follows the link, was indeed released on a Columbia LP (or so appears
>to have been).
>
>"Although it is not of 78 RPM origin, one of the most transcendent
>accounts of this heavenly aria was recorded by the mezzo-soprano
>Jennie Tourel at the 1951 Perpignan Festival, with Pablo Casals
>conducting [M-16]."
>
>Yet TNT says "not of 78RPM origin".  I hope to have some light shed on
>this matter.

I find a listing of the recording on a Columbia LP ML 4640.  According
to the bibliographic citation, it was recorded in 1951.  OCLC does not
list a CD transfer of it, however, I would guess it could be obtained
from dealers of second hand recordings.

As for the "not of 78rpm origin," it could have been recorded on tape.
In the late years of the 78, Columbia, in some instances, would record
on 16 inch lacquer discs, unlike Victor who would record a 78rpm side
at a time.  The obvious advantage of the 16 inch disc is that a conductor
could record an entire movement in one take.  The disadvantage would be
a slight loss in fidelity resulting from having to cut a master from the
16 inch disc.  By 1951, tape was being used by the major companies, but
since those recordings were made outside of the studio, I don't know
what technology they might have used.

Karl