# A memorable visit to "Bath Compact Discs"



## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

There are any number of good reasons for visiting the city of Bath. One of them is that it's like walking around inside a giant work of art; another is to experience eating breakfast in the Pump Room with the trio playing. Last week I discovered another to add to the list.

I do virtually all my CD buying over the internet these days - partly for convenience; partly because it tends to cost less; but also because there simply isn't a shop with an adequate selection of classical music anywhere nearby. But every month, in _Gramophone_ magazine, there's a full page advertisement for 'Bath Compact Discs', on Broad Street. I was in Bath; I'd had my breakfast; I decided to call in and take a look.

Now this place is what I'd call a classical record shop. The stock was big enough to keep me browsing for an hour, and still feel that I hadn't done more than scratch the surface. Copies of the current _Penguin_ and _Gramophone_ Guides were on hand for consultation, so no purchase needed to be made without guidance - and in any case it seemed to me that the staff were eminently capable of offering helpful and informed opinion. At the end of my hour, I made two purchases:










(If you haven't heard her version of the 'Queen of the Night' aria from _The Magic Flute_, then I urge you to do so (and watch it, too) here. It'll make your day, though you may not fully recover your equilibrium.

Second purchase:










These went with me to spend a few days by the sea where, in surprisingly warm late March sunshine, I was able to listen to _Floridante_ outdoors, on headphones, with the faint swish of a gentle sea heard occasionally in the background. There's a duet in Act 2 that swept me away more powerfully than the retreating tide could have done, and the recording as a whole seemed to me very fine.

Returning home from this idyll, I passed once more through Bath and decided to pay another call at Bath Compact Discs. This time the stock had already changed noticeably, and they had some interesting special offers including this, which (encouraged by my pleasure in the Curtis _Floridante_) I couldn't resist:










It was a great bargain (cheaper than anywhere I could have found on the net, I now discover). Then I spent some time in the secondhand section, and came up with this, in pristine condition:










And finally, even though I'd spent myself almost into financial extinction (please send food parcels), I found another bargain:










I had a very nice chat with one of the members of staff - friendly, keen to talk, very knowledgeable but wearing his knowledge lightly. And I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This shop is going to become a regular place of pilgrimage whenever I visit Bath in future. Apparently it's existed for 20 years or more, which represents 20 years of missed opportunities as far as I'm concerned. I just hope that in the present climate they can continue.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Welcome back, Elgarian. 
That sounds like a great shop. You spotted Patricia Petibon! If there was a thread for the prettiest singers she'd be at the top of my list!

I take it you are bit of a Handel fan then?

FC


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

post-minimalist said:


> I take it you are bit of a Handel fan then?


If points were awarded cumulatively for both newness _and_ enthusiasm, then I may be a strong contender for the most enthusiastic new Handel fan on the planet. I have years and years of accumulated ignorance and missed Handelian opportunities to catch up on.

Makes a change from Elgar, too.


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## Margaret (Mar 16, 2009)

Elgarian said:


> There are any number of good reasons for visiting the city of Bath. One of them is that it's like walking around inside a giant work of art; another is to experience eating breakfast in the Pump Room with the trio playing. Last week I discovered another to add to the list.


Welcome back. Glad you had a good trip and found such a treasure.

So what does breakfast at a place called the "Pump Room" consist of? My only knowledge of English breakfasts comes from reading Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. Seems to consist of fat, greasy sausages and something called kippers which I understand is a type of fish.



Elgarian said:


> Makes a change from Elgar, too.


LOL -- coming from you.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Margaret said:


> So what does breakfast at a place called the "Pump Room" consist of? My only knowledge of English breakfasts comes from reading Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. Seems to consist of fat, greasy sausages and something called kippers which I understand is a type of fish.


The Pump Room is the fashionable place people went to in the late 18th/early 19th centuries to 'take the waters' for all sorts of cures. But really it was just a fashionable place to be. Today the atmosphere is more Edwardian than Georgian - two pictures below:

















There isn't a sausage or a kipper to be seen for breakfast. We had a 'Beau Nash Brunch', which had little to do with Beau Nash methinks, but consisted of orange juice, Eggs Benedict, toast, preserves, and coffee. (A glass of warm spa water is always an option for those who can cope with it.) The great thing, though, is to time the visit so that the trio is playing, so it becomes a musical breakfast, too. A statue of Beau Nash watches from on high at the back of the room (see right hand picture) to make sure we all behave ourselves.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Ahh! that's how you spell it!! I thought it was a 'bone ash brunch'! Disguting! Only joking! 
Sounds like you had a super time!
FC


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

post-minimalist said:


> I thought it was a 'bone ash brunch'!


That's more expensive. They use genuine Roman bone ash, excavated from the ruins of the Roman baths, y'see.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)




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## Margaret (Mar 16, 2009)

Elgarian said:


> The Pump Room is the fashionable place people went to in the late 18th/early 19th centuries to 'take the waters' for all sorts of cures. But really it was just a fashionable place to be.


How very elegant.



Elgarian said:


> (A glass of warm spa water is always an option for those who can cope with it.)


I thought all Europeans _liked_ funny tasting water. When I was there I couldn't get a glass of tap water even when I asked for it; not even telling the person to take this glass and put it under the tap, turn the water on and fill it worked. I still ended up with soda water or mineral water every time. I finally had to do it myself from bathroom sinks. (The natives seemed puzzled by the sight while the Americans understood.)


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## handlebar (Mar 19, 2009)

I wanted to visit Bath the last time i was down that way but alas did not. I went to Cardiff instead LOL
I have seen that record shoppe advertised in Gramophone for years.
Glad to hear you had a good time there and scored some delightful cd's.

Jim


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Margaret said:


> I thought all Europeans _liked_ funny tasting water.


Believe me, there's nothing funny about Bath spa water. It comes direct from the deepest bowels of the earth, and is served _still warm_, still reeking of the infernal regions. It takes real faith to actually take a sip.

The good thing about it is that it tastes so horrible, that when you've finished your glassful, you feel much better just because you've stopped drinking the vile stuff. Personally, I think that's the secret behind its 'curative' properties...


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

handlebar said:


> I have seen that record shoppe advertised in Gramophone for years.


Yes; it was nice to find that they're not just a page in a magazine, but a real shop. Here's their website. Not terribly exciting at the moment, though they told me they're in the process of improving it.


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## Margaret (Mar 16, 2009)

Elgarian said:


> Believe me, there's nothing funny about Bath spa water. It comes direct from the deepest bowels of the earth, and is served _still warm_, still reeking of the infernal regions. It takes real faith to actually take a sip.


Sounds like sulfur water. I grew up not drinking that. In Mississippi in the summertime it comes warm too. I also grew up not understanding how people could say water didn't have a taste and how people could drink water. It wasn't until I moved away that I found out you can actually drink water.

I know when I've visited hot springs the water's got sulfur in it and it stinks the same way as the water did in Mississippi. Ugh, couldn't imagine drinking it.



Elgarian said:


> The good thing about it is that it tastes so horrible, that when you've finished your glassful, you feel much better just because you've stopped drinking the vile stuff. Personally, I think that's the secret behind it's 'curative' properties...


LOL. Sounds reasonable to me. If the cure's worse than the disease then you're going to feel better with just the disease.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Margaret said:


> I know when I've visited hot springs the water's got sulfur in it and it stinks the same way as the water did in Mississippi. Ugh, couldn't imagine drinking it.


They don't say what's in it. I don't think they dare ....


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Elgarian said:


>


I have that one too. Good, but not one of his very best oratorios for my taste.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

jhar26 said:


> Good, but not one of his very best oratorios for my taste.


Yes I had some misgivings about it, but it didn't cost much, so I thought it was worth the gamble - the _Penguin Guide_ marks it as a 'key' recording and gives it a 4 (yes,_ 4_ - must be a misprint) star rating. I haven't listened to it yet.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Elgarian said:


> Yes I had some misgivings about it, but it didn't cost much, so I thought it was worth the gamble - the _Penguin Guide_ marks it as a 'key' recording and gives it a 4 (yes,_ 4_ - must be a misprint) star rating. I haven't listened to it yet.


Well, it's good. You certainly won't regret having it. But if I could choose I would rather take a Messiah, Solomon or Jephta recording with me to my desert island. In my opinion Handel didn't get the balance right between the choral and the solo numbers on this one although there's some very beautiful music there.


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## nefigah (Aug 23, 2008)

A fascinating thread. I didn't realize there were still places on this earth where you could eat breakfast to a live trio. I definitely hope to be able to go to Europe some day, water notwithstanding (I spent some years in Russia, and am used to asking for water "without gas"  ). I also want to see some Baroque organs.

Anyway, the store sounds great. I know it can be hard to find certain recordings even on Amazon. And having knowledgeable people to talk to sounds like a real treat!


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## Edmond-Dantes (Mar 20, 2009)

AH! I want to go to Europe SOOO badly. My dad was going to take me when I turned 16, but he ended up closing his busyness. Now, he's promised to take me for 3 years, but hasen't. He wants to wait until the economy gets better. -_-;; He got a TRUCKLOAD of money from the liquidation and COULD very easily take me, but when he got money he turned into miser. ^-^;; It wouldn't bother so much but my sister got to go. Anways, I started ranting. I WILL go to europe soon though... I hope. ^_^;;;


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

jhar26 said:


> Well, it's good. You certainly won't regret having it. But if I could choose I would rather take a Messiah, Solomon or Jephta recording with me to my desert island. In my opinion Handel didn't get the balance right between the choral and the solo numbers on this one although there's some very beautiful music there.


Yes, I knew _Israel_ was probably not the best way to start getting to know the oratorios - but I expect I'll work my way through them all eventually. Do you know _Judas Maccabeus_? I bought that because I was hoping to go and see William Christie conducting it at the Edinburgh Festival in August, and didn't want to go without knowing the work beforehand. But as it happened, tickets were sold out before the end of the first day of general release, so my scheme was foiled!


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Elgarian said:


> Yes, I knew _Israel_ was probably not the best way to start getting to know the oratorios - but I expect I'll work my way through them all eventually. Do you know _Judas Maccabeus_? I bought that because I was hoping to go and see William Christie conducting it at the Edinburgh Festival in August, and didn't want to go without knowing the work beforehand. But as it happened, tickets were sold out before the end of the first day of general release, so my scheme was foiled!


What I mean with Handel not quite getting the balance right between the choral and solo numbers on _Israel_ is that at first it had very few solo numbers but because initially it was a commercial failure he got rid of the entire first part of the oratorio and added some solo numbers to parts two and three. It's an interesting work and definitely worth a listen, but he didn't get it exactly right in my opinion.

I've never heard _Judas Maccabeus_.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Thought I'd resurrect my old thread and celebrate another visit to Bath Compact Discs last week. As ever it was a deep pleasure to visit Bath (and to continue the tradition of having breakfast in the Pump Room), and tucked into the day was an hour or so of browsing (and buying) in Bath Compact Discs. There's something inexpressibly exciting about merely being _in_ a shop devoted entirely to classical music recordings; and of course temptation lies in wait at every turn.

Anyway, here are my purchases, almost all bought at very competitive prices:










The newly-released number 6 in the Glossa series of Handel Italian cantatas, this was a CD I've been much anticipating, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it available on special offer, actually at less then I could buy it on Amazon. An essential purchase.










I'd been pondering this purchase for a while, being enormously fond of Magdalena Kozena's singing, and once I was standing there with a copy in my hands, I didn't have the will power to put it back in the rack, even though it cost a bit more than I might have hoped.










This was in a bargain dump costing next to nothing, so I decided I'd rather have it than not, for a mixed bag of Mozart arias sung by various notables (Lynne Dawson, Della Jones etc) and conducted by McGegan.










A bit of a shot in the dark, this one - all of Mozart's concert arias on 6 CDs for under £3 per CD. Seemed like a good way of getting to know a lot of material that was unfamiliar to me, even though I knew nothing about the performers (mostly Dutch, I think).










I felt that this smaller collection of Mozart's concert arias, performed using period instruments, might give me a kind of yardstick against which to compare the performances in the cheap bargain box.










What an incredible bargain - 30 CDs in a box, not just of a ragbag of items, but effectively a coherent history of sacred music through the ages, including a large number of recordings that received great acclaim when released individually. It has a nice thick booklet, a good substantial box, and the card slipcases all have images that, when laid out together, constitute a kind of jigsaw puzzle. At £1 per disc, and knowing how valuable I've found these kind of boxes in the past, this was not to be missed.

The system won't let me include more than 6 images, so I'll spill over into the next post.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Continuing the saga:










I know nothing of Cherubini, but this complete opera recording (now out of print, I think) was in a bargain dump at a small fraction of the price I'd have to pay on Amazon, so this seemed like a good opportunity to acquaint myself with Cherubini. And heck, it has Lucia Popp singing in it, so how could I resist that?

And finally, not bought in Bath Compact Discs, but bought on the same trip:










This is entirely new territory for me, but a preliminary listen to the final 2 CDs in the 8CD set tells me this is going to be a great adventure. The performances use period instruments and are full of musicality and vitality. This is not one of your usual 'basic' Naxos productions. It's a good, solid, smart box, with attractive card sleeves, and a useful well-produced booklet; and the set comes at £3 per CD. No wonder a recent _Gramophone_ reviewer welcomed it warmly.


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## nefigah (Aug 23, 2008)

Looks like you've got enough to last you till the next time you end up in Bath! I am once again envious


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Elgarian said:


> What an incredible bargain - 30 CDs in a box, not just of a ragbag of items, but effectively a coherent history of sacred music through the ages, including a large number of recordings that received great acclaim when released individually. It has a nice thick booklet, a good substantial box, and the card slipcases all have images that, when laid out together, constitute a kind of jigsaw puzzle. At £1 per disc, and knowing how valuable I've found these kind of boxes in the past, this was not to be missed.


I've been lusting after this for some time - have you started listening to it? Are the recordings good? The Amazon reviews make it seem very enticing!


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> I've been lusting after this for some time - have you started listening to it? Are the recordings good? The Amazon reviews make it seem very enticing!


I've been focusing on the Haydn set so far - which really is very fine indeed - the music seems to dance into the air and set it alight. So I haven't played anything from the HM box yet - but I have no doubt about the general excellence of the recordings that await me.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Elgarian said:


> Continuing the saga:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have a recording of "Medea" with Maria Callas and Renata Scotto that's just terrible in my opinion. Could be that it's a good opera - and it probably is, but I can't judge it from that recording.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

jhar26 said:


> I have a recording of "Medea" with Maria Callas and Renata Scotto that's just terrible in my opinion. Could be that it's a good opera - and it probably is, but I can't judge it from that recording.


I haven't listened to it yet - I need to wait for the mood to strike. (I'm far too embedded in Mozart piano concertos at the moment!)


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Time to resurrect this thread and report on another visit to Bath Compact Discs. Started as usual with breakfast in the Pump Room (see above) accompanied by the Trio (I know no better way to start the day), and then pottered off to the CD shop where I bought the following (to celebrate the fact that the following day we were going to stay by the sea):










I haven't listened to Debussy for years and years (never replaced my discarded Debussy LPs with CDs), but apparently this is a highly regarded set; and indeed it did go down very nicely during the following sunny days with the sea view.

Then there was this new Lully recording of _Bellerophon_, which release I've been looking forward to:










As I was leaving the shop, I asked as an afterthought, where I should go in Bath to find jazz records, whereupon I was told 'next door'! There's a little alley next to the shop, and a few yards along it is _Broad Street Jazz_ - which, I was told, is one of the very last few (perhaps the very last) remaining independent jazz specialist shops in England, housed in what once was a store room for Bath Compact Discs! Well, what an unexpected pleasure that turned out to be. I spent ages in there, chatting - very useful indeed to someone like myself who knows nothing at all about jazz but has just discovered a taste for Benny Goodman and some of the female vocalists of the 1930s. Finally I emerged from the shop with a bagful of treasure, including the following (after listening to some of it in the shop).










This is a 10 CD box - terrific value at well under £20, and indeed cheaper than Amazon. The main snag is the lack of documentation. The CDs are housed in attractive card sleeves, but there's no booklet and no information at all beyond the tracklistings on each sleeve. As far as I can see, each CD holds a complete Sarah Vaughan album from the 1950s, and the music seems excellent. Next up was this:










Important discovery, this. They recommended this album to me during the conversation, and played most of it for me in the shop, and I was hooked enough to buy it. She has a husky jazz voice, and seems to improvise with an intuitive fluency that makes the songs seem very vibrant.

Then there was this:










I already have the 'Complete Columbia Recordings' _Lady Day_ box, but this seemed a good way to try some of the later 'worn-out ragged' recordings. She sounds better than I'd expected, actually, and again, like almost everything else I bought, this came cheaper from the shop than I could have bought it online.

More to follow later.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

:tiphat:

Great report Alan. I really must visit this shop.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

sospiro said:


> I really must visit this shop.


Remember, it's essential to have breakfast in the Pump Room first.

Continuing my purchases at the excellent Broad Street Jazz shop, I plumped for this collection of Helen Forrest's radio recordings:










Then there was this:










Gaston has been urging me to try Peggy Lee, and at last I have - this set of recordings would seem to be among her very earliest recordings. Delightful in every way; and it's set me off on a Peggy Lee voyage.

Finally I bought this DVD of the 1958 Newport jazz festival:










Apparently regarded by many as the greatest jazz film ever made, I thought it was worth a shot, but after one viewing I'm not so sure that it's my kind of thing. Some of the jazz performances fall into the realms of the kind of jazz that has always frustrated me: that is, where the improvisation moves so far from the original tune that I lose all memory of what the original tune might have been, and indeed I become unable to discern any recognisable pattern in the notes at all. The highlight is Anita O'Day's performance, but even that goes further out of the solar system than I feel tempted to follow at times. See for yourself:


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Money well spend, Alan. What albums are in that Sarah Vaughan box set?


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

jhar26 said:


> Money well spend, Alan. What albums are in that Sarah Vaughan box set?


I wish there were a simple answer to that question. Some are 'real' albums, like _Dreamy_ from 1960; others seem to be 'real' albums but with the tracks in a different order, like the 1958 album she made with the Count Basie Orchestra, here retitled 'Doodlin''. Others seem to be collections of the 'Sarah sings Broadway' sort. If and when I get it sorted out, I'll let you know.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Elgarian said:


> I wish there were a simple answer to that question. Some are 'real' albums, like _Dreamy_ from 1960; others seem to be 'real' albums but with the tracks in a different order, like the 1958 album she made with the Count Basie Orchestra, here retitled 'Doodlin''. Others seem to be collections of the 'Sarah sings Broadway' sort. If and when I get it sorted out, I'll let you know.


Thanks........


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

In the meantime, here's a tracklisting for all 10 Cds (with the album titles they're given in the box).


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Elgarian said:


> In the meantime, here's a tracklisting for all 10 Cds (with the album titles they're given in the box).


Thanks. I don't think it's a box set with regular albums but with cd compilations - each of them compiled according to theme, mood or songwriter.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

jhar26 said:


> Thanks. I don't think it's a box set with regular albums but with cd compilations - each of them compiled according to theme, mood or songwriter.


Some of them are complete in themselves though. 'Dreamy' was an actual album; so was the one with the Basie Orchestra. One of the CDs is a live show in Chicago from 1957 (perhaps a radio transmission?). What's not clear about some of them (it's a shame there's so little documentation) is who did the compiling and when and why. Bit of a muddle really.


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