Interesting that you talk about sound quality because to my ears it sounds a bit flat and uneven. While the trumpets and strings sound "vibrant" I'm curious as to where the trombones and portions of the percussion are. I compare this recording to K.E. Wilkinson's brilliant recording of The Sea Hawk suite by Charles Gerhardt and... well... there's no contest. Wilkinson's recording is alive, detailed and vibrant. I can hear every instrument including the trombones and percussion (mostly the snares) which makes Korngold's composition far more powerful. I feel that some of that power is lost in the Morgstrom recording.
It's also interesting that the Chandos release was brought up in this thread because I can't wait to hear it. Why? Well, IMHO, the middle portions of The Sea Hawk really drag on and on and on saved only by a few quick action licks and the brilliant "Rose Garden" featuring the sweeping love theme. The Sea Hawk is another example of a complete score that could use some trimming. And it looks like Chandos is going to do that for us with their single disc version of the score.
Don't get my wrong... The Sea Hawk is a classic. No doubt about it. From the rousing main theme to the gorgeous love theme and brilliant action material... it's the quintessential swashbuckling score. And Morgan and Stromberg have made die hard fans of this score very happy by providing them with every single note from the score but for me it's 30-35 minutes too long. I have other problems with the album but I'll save those for now until someone asks.
BTW, Deception should not be forgotten. The complete score is available on this album for the very first time and actually plays really well... a lot better than The Sea Hawk, IMHO. Beautiful theme, wonderful cello solos, haunting and mysterious music, the original trailer music and the original Cello Concerto. A very nice book end to this album.
-Erik-
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