Mourning today the passing of two of the great driving forces of Decca.
Christopher Raeburn was a great-hearted and golden-eared individual with high musical ideals and an infallible instinct for talent-spotting and development. He was the best-known and best-loved of Decca's producers, having joined the label in 1954 and bouncing straight into the first-ever studio recording of the Ring Cycle. Jimmy Locke was the chief sound engineer and the brain behind the much-celebrated 'Decca sound' from 1963, a 'star among stars' as Valerie Solti says.
Michael Haas has written an obituary of Christopher for Gramophone, quoting Angelika Kirchschlager's tribute: "When you listen to me, it’s not only with your ear, but even more with your soul, searching for perfection not only in intonation but in truth. There is no better example of knowledge, enthusiasm, respect and humanity in this world of music than you!"
Norman Lebrecht is inviting further comment over at Slipped Disc, more are appearing at Gramophone, here and here, and I too would like to invite your memories, tributes and so forth in the comment boxes below, please.
I got to know Christopher personally just a few years ago, but can think of few people in the business whose warm and open nature and absolute artistic integrity inspired so much affection so quickly.
To lose both him and Jimmy within days, and barely a week after the 'realigning' or whatever it is of Decca itself hit the cyberwaves, seems not only tragic but also ironically symbolic...but I don't have to tell you that. You can see it clear as daylight without anyone uttering a word.
UPDATE, 27 February: Here is an obituary of Christopher from The Independent.
5 comments:
Funny thing, I've just looked through the obituaries of three top London newspapers and there's no mention of either! This confirms my view of the decline of the "quality" press, which no longer leads taste but follows it.
Christopher's passing is an inestimable loss.
He was a dear friend to me for over 30 years - a friendship that went back to the days in which I first got to know George Korngold, Erich's younger son, who introduced us during the recording sessions for his father's Cello Concerto, to which Christopher had come as a guest at the old Kingsway Hall.
He was a witty, gracious and immensely knowledgeable man who had a seemingly endless fund of stories and anecodotes about the great musicians with whom he had worked. He sensed my nervousness as a very young man and was immensely kind and generous to me.
To receive an invitation to lunch from Christopher meant a marvellous afternoon in the presence of a great raconteur, invariably at the Garrick Club.
Over the years, I came to value his advice and every meeting with him was memorable and rewarding.
I was therefore so happy that last November, I was finally able to repay him and present Christopher in a special evening all about his fascinating life at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Kensington, where for almost 2 hours, he kept a packed house in thrall, many there being former colleagues from Decca.
I had no idea he was so mortally ill and certainly he gave no indication, such was the charm and vigour of his conversation.
With his death, a golden era has indeed passed and his many friends and the music business are all the poorer for it.
Was saddened to hear this news. Both Christopher and Jimmy were hugely talented and enormous fun. I posted some recollections of the brief time I worked with them here.
I count myself grateful to have bought and heard so many Decca recordings through the years. Their technical and production standards set the bar for the rest of the industry. That the passing of these two men has been barely noted in the press is shocking and sad. Fortunately, their legacy is undiminished.
Neil Levenson
finally, another tribute to Raeburn, Lock, and their work-
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/raeburn-0209.shtml
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