Around
1968 Philips began releasing Mercury stereo tapes on the Fontana
label in European countries. First in the 700 series. After a while
more were released in the 894 series and some time later in the
6531 series. Again much later Mercury recordings re-appeared in
sub series on the Philips label. The only Mercury that survived
as a Mercury for a longer time was MGY 130 514 which was still announced
in the 1972 catalogue: Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture coupled with
Wellington's Sieg (Beethoven) - apparently for commercial reasons.
The pressings on Fontana and on Philips were not available in all
countries where Philips had their sales- and distribution organizations.
And if they were available then they did not necessarily have the
same prefix and number. So some readers may not have come across
these particular releases.
Mercury is what could
be called a 'typical American' record label. High quality sound
recording made it possible for a small company like Mercury to establish
itself and consolidate its position on the US market. The label
did not have a great arsenal of artists to work with. It had relatively
few conductors and soloists. Many a release had Antal Dorati's name
printed on its label. In the beginning with the Minneapolis Symphony
and in later years (when the association with Philips was at hand)
with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Although conductors
Paul Paray, Stanislaw Skrowaczewsky and Howard Hanson, and artists
like Byron Janis and Henryk Szering have done their share, undeniably
Antal Dorati has contributed most significantly to the label's success.
This in spite of the fact that he was not an all-round conductor
and not a good accompanist at all times. The choice of repertory
of the company shows a taste for works that either enjoy great popularity
(Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky) or excel in lush
orchestration that can show off the distinctive recording technique.
The recording technique
was definitely part of the artistry of the label and was also carried
through in the recordings of solo- instrumentalists like Janos Starker's
violoncello in Bach's Unaccompanied Suites, the guitar sound of
the Romeros, Byron Janis's grand piano in a recording of popular
pieces, Henryk Szering's violin playing Kreisler-favorites accompanied
by Charles Reiner at the piano, and the works played by Marcel Dupré
on the magnificent organ of Saint-Sulpice in Paris.
The popular concertos
and symphonic works (generally referred to as 'the iron repertory')
are a good insurance for sales and survival in any big market. The
fact that Mercury can be considered a typical American label - more
so than Columbia or RCA - is substantiated by the many recordings
with marches, military music and the sonic documentaries of The
Civil War. Also Mercury produced so called 'sonic spectaculars'
like the Overture 1812 or a release like 'Bravo Hi-Fi' with music
by Gershwin, MacBride and Gould. The Civil War belongs actually
to the same category. If the catalogue contained some exclusive
repertory, then it was more a consequence of the possibilities and
interests of some of the important artists than by an outspoken
wish to be an avant-garde label, which Mercury was not because there
was no continuity in the building up of this segment of the catalogue.
The same is true for the section 'opera'. The few operas that the
American catalogue contained had been recorded for the Italian publisher
Ricordi and certainly were a welcome addition to the Mercury catalogue.
See also Mercury Living
Presence.
