John Johnson’s Review of tape “Tatsuki Narita”

The five tracks are “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens, “Zigeunerweisen” by Pablo de Sarasate, “Nigun” by Bloch, “Introduction & Tarantella” by Pablo de Sarasate, and “Meditation” by Jules Massenet, all composed in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

The sound is just marvelous. They used a special bow for the violin, and I have to say I have never heard a violin sound so “actually in front of me”. The piano is also beautifully recorded.

The frequency response is well out to 30 kHz, maybe even a little bit out to 35 kHz. This is the practical limit of tape. We can’t hear much above 20 kHz, especially as we age, so the reality of 35 kHz is perhaps something that we can sense but not put our finger on what it is.

The entire tape is a standard by which I wish all tapes, including the stuff that was done back in the 1960s, were recorded. I will have to suffice with modern tapes from high-quality sources. UltraAnalogue Recordings gets my definite recommendation.