The Golden Ring - Wiener Philharmoniker/Georg Solti [1965]

Amazon.co.uk Review

When The Golden Ring was aired on the BBC in 1965, it was the longest music documentary ever made. And though now Humphrey Burton's 90-minute black and white film about Georg Solti's landmark recording of Gotterdammerung seems rather rough and naïve in its use of basic documentary techniques, the excitement it conveys about the gargantuan Ring cycle project is still palpable. Underlings scuttle about, engineers endlessly fiddle with knobs, and Decca producer John Culshaw oversees the largest recording project ever undertaken with the command of a great military general. The technical insights are fascinating: all the sound mixing has to be done immediately, for instance, and echo effects are created by placing certain instruments in different rooms with closed-circuit TV cameras giving them Solti's beat. Culshaw's legendary attention to detail is also noted: he had obsolete stierhorns made especially for Hagen's call to the Gibichung vassals.

Burton's documentary style is a little awkward, and his use of cut-aways and fades now seems antiquated. But he is sensible enough to allow generous portions of the music to speak for themselves, and the closing scene--Birgit Nilsson singing Brunnhilde's immolation--is simply heart-stopping. Despite the roughness, this film undoubtedly still captures one of the greatest moments in the history of classical music recording.

On the DVD: The Golden Ring, as you might expect from a 1965 documentary, has patchy sound and picture quality (from a mixture of video and 16mm film). Occasionally the tape seems to splinter a little and the microphones fail to catch certain conversations with clarity. But somehow it all adds to the raw excitement and doesn't detract from the subject matter. The DVD also includes 69 minutes of audio highlights from the final recording.--Warwick Thompson

Customer Reviews:

Revisitng a legend.......2004-03-10

I saw The Golden Ring when it was first televised in 1965, and I was captivated by this filmed account of the recording of Gotterdamerung by Decca. Those participating in the recording are Birgit Nilsson as Brunnhilde, Gottlob Frick as Hagen, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Gunther and Wofgang Windgassen as Siegfried, all in top form. A very young Humphrey Burton narrates. Among the highlights is the recording of the steerhorn scene, and it is fascinating to see the care that went into getting just the right sound. Decca were in the forefont of hi-fi recording and they pioneered stereophonic effects. We see the soloists moving from one position to another as they sing, their music stands carried by an obliging stage manager. The film is in black and white, but this does not detract at all from its value as a first class documentary. The recorded sound is excellent. Included are several sound clips from the final recording. I highly recommend this DVD, which will be of interest to Wagnerians and hi-fi buffs alike.

History in the making.......2004-02-03

A fascinating documentary about the Decca recording of Gotterdammerung in Vienna under Solti and a stellar cast of Wagnerians. A bit dated and stilted in parts - including an excruciating staged discussion about trams and a "joke" involving a real live horse - but worth watching to see Solti, Nilsson, Windgassen, Fischer Dieskau and Culshaw at work. Filmed in 1965 - note the ever present cigarettes which must surely be barred from recording venues these days. Shame that they didn't film Siegfried or Walkure to get a glimpse of Hans Hotter. Includes some Dolby 5.1 audio tracks which left me a bit cold - the LP sound takes some beating. Would some enterprising publisher now re-issue Ring Resounding by Culshaw?

A BBC Classic.......2003-11-14

First broadcast in 1964 by BBC television, it is a documentary of John Culshaw's monumental undertaking of Wagner's Tetralogy Des Ring Der Nibelungen. Nothing like this had been attempted before. Culshaw's determination in recording this version of the four operas which make up the Ring Cycle culminated in an extraordinary achievement for its time. He wanted to make the ultimate version which Wagner perhaps wanted and knew was not possible during his lifetime. Gathering together some wonderful Wagnerian singers and the magnificent Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and chorus led by the highly acclaimed Sir Georg Solti led to the definitive version which all other recordings have to be judged. The documentary which covers some of the recording sessions of the final opera of the cycle; Gotterdammerung, is highlighted by the presence of one of the great Brunnhilde singers of all time; Birgit Nillson. Overall, its a great buy for all Wagnerians, and needs to be seen to see how much work actually went into making this recording the success it has remained to this day. And to make this disc an even better buy it contains recorded audio highlights from all Operas in the cycle, culminating in the most moving Brunnhilde's Immolation ever recorded. These highlights have been remastered in Digital Audio 5.1, so if you have a Home Cinema setup which is wired for Audio 5.1 sound, be warned, for it is a listening experience which you will never forget. Not to be missed!

Something for the Wagner enthusiast.......2003-06-25

The '60's recording of the ring was a monumental one, and, being a proud owner of the original recording on vintage vinyl, this DVD was of great interest to me. It certainly made me realise how much more effort it was then to record something so big - even nowadays you don't see ring cycles being performed or recorded on a daily basis.
The attention to detail, such as the making of Stierhorns and Wagner tubas specifically for this event, was evident, as the originals had been disappeared at the end of WWII, presumably taken home by allied troops as war trophies.
The chance to see Birgit Nilsson and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in their natural habitat, so to speak, is a chance not to be passed up, as there are plenty of recordings, but not many screen appearances available of these greats. I have to say I was hoping that Kirsten Flagstad would be on the DVD, but the documentary filmed only the making of Gotterdammerung, being the last in the cycle and Kirsten Flagstad was only present for the first.
Apart from that, though, I would recommend this to any Wagner fan who wants to know more about the original Solti recording and wants to see these fine musicians at work.

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