Posted by Press Release – For Immediate Publication
High Definition Tape Transfers Releases
Judy Garland: The Final Concert in Copenhagen
In High-Definition Audio
RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO, CANADA – The Canadian label High Definition Tape Transfers, Inc. (HDTT), which specializes in high-definition releases of classical, jazz, and pop classics and whose extensive catalogue ranges from Duke Ellington to Gustav Mahler, is proud to announce the high-definition release of Judy Garland’s very last concert, recorded at Falkoner Centret in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 25, 1969. It will be available as hi-def downloads in 24/352.8 DXD PCM Flac, DSD128 Direct Stream, DSD64 Direct Stream, 24/192 PCM Flac, and 24/96 PCM Flac formats, as well as regular CD format at 16-bit/44.1 kHz.
This exciting release is sourced from two independent sets of tapes of the live event, one being two 15 IPS quarter-inch two-channel analog reel-to-reel master tapes from the collection of award-winning Garland scholar Lawrence Schulman, and the other being a high-quality 7.5 IPS quarter-inch two-channel analog reel-to-reel tape from the collection of renowned audio engineer John H. Haley. This HDTT release will include the first-time commercial release of two duets with Johnnie Ray, “Till the Clouds Roll By” and “Am I Blue?,” that were recently discovered by Haley, allowing the first complete release of the entire Garland concert in Copenhagen, including Garland’s engaging dialog between numbers. The Schulman tapes are the original tapes prepared by Danmarks Radio for its broadcast of the concert, based on recordings made live in the hall by that station, whereas the Haley tape is the original tape independently recorded live in the hall by the concert hall itself. Both sets of tapes captured the concert in fine sound.
This moving concert is testimony to the fact that the legendary 46-year-old American singer still had “it,” even near the very end (she died on June 22, 1969). Based on these tapes dubbed for HDTT at a sampling rate of 352.8 kHz by engineer Robert Witrak, this release has been restored and remastered for HDTT by John H. Haley of Harmony Restorations LLC. The liner notes have been written by Schulman, who has produced and penned the liner notes for numerous Garland sets in the last quarter-century on a variety of labels and has written extensively about Garland for the ARSC Journal and other publications. The cover has been designed by legendary award-winning designer Raphael Geroni of Raphael Geroni Design. This new HDTT release is the first time a Garland concert has been issued in high definition. The tracklist is as follows:
- Overture
- Get Happy (Ted Koehler-Harold Arlen)
- Just in Time (Betty Comden-Adolph Green-Jule Styne)
- The Man That Got Away (Ira Gershwin-Harold Arlen)
- I’d Like to Hate Myself in the Morning (John Meyer)
- For Once in My Life (Ronald Miller-Orlando Murden)
- Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody (Sam M. Lewis-Joe Young-Jean Schwartz)
- Over the Rainbow—orchestral interlude
- Chicago (Fred Fisher)
- Till the Clouds Roll By (P.G. Wodehouse-Jerome Kern) – duet with Johnnie Ray*
- Am I Blue? (Grant Clarke-Harry Akst) – duet with Johnnie Ray*
- San Francisco (Gus Kahn-Bronislaw Kaper-Walter Jurmann)
- Over the Rainbow (E.Y. Harburg-Harold Arlen)
- Over the Rainbow—orchestral interlude
*First commercial release
For more information, contact High Definition Tape Transfers at: info@highdeftapetransfers.ca. High-definition downloads of this release are now available on the HDTT website, highdeftapetransfers.ca. The release is now available in regular CD format on Amazon.ca.
Below are photos of Judy and her new husband Mickey Deans arriving in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 18, 1969.
An intriguing release, to be sure. Judy somehow found her sense of art again, though the voice was now coarse and thin. Some of Judy’s banter is very cute, if I recall.
Thanks, again, Scott, for keeping us apprised of all things Garland.
Thanks for your comment Gary. You might be pleasantly surprised how much finer Garland’s voice sounds in the new hi def transfer, made from the original tapes, especially in the hi-def formats. Not the same voice as earlier but still very impressive, with her performing brilliance intact. The Danish review of the comcert, provided in the free download booklet on the HDTT webpage, also gives pertinent evidence of the state of her talent. Go to highdeftapetransfers.ca and look for the webpage for this release. There is a button to download the free booklet. John Haley