I'm glad to know another fan of Dorati and the great old Mercury
/Minneapolis Symphony recordings.  (My favorite was the Respighi "Church
Windows" which I stupidly sold to a dealer along with most of my Mercury
original LPs.)

For many years I have had a pet theory of the success of these recordings.
First and foremost, the performances reflect an unusual collective
excitement expressed by both conductor and musicians.

Secondly, an unusual confluence of planned and unplanned technical
manifestations added several unusual characteristics to the overall effect
of the recordings.  To begin, the so-called "Mercury Living Presence"
single microphone was set up to emphasize a close up acoustic perspective.
In addition, an amount of distortion was probably vicariously added to
high frequencies perhaps as a result of the rising high frequency response
characteristic of the Telefunken U-47 microphone which in turn caused a
small amount of additional harmonic distortion in the high frequency range.
This distortion was perhaps caused by the characteristic of magnetic tape
stock of the period.  (Scotch #111?) What characteristics the Fairchild
tape recorder electronics possibly contributed I can only remotely
speculate upon.  (Later three track stereo recordings made on Ampex 1/2
inch tape machines and the 35 mm sprocketed machines seem not to share
the characteristic "roughness" of the early mono recordings in the high
frequencies.)

The overall effect upon the early '50s reproduced sound was indeed
positive.  This curiosity about the technical aspects of these recordings
has intrigued me for decades.  If any list member knows how I could
contract one of the remaining Mercury classical team members (Robert
Eberenz or others) I would be pleased to hear.  Additionally, I would
appreciate knowledge about any memoirs which may have been written by
people connected with this program, as well.  Please contact me directly
at ([log in to unmask]) or by phone 781 749-5493.

Bernard Gregoire
Hingham, MA