Decca
The name "Decca" has its origins in a portable gramophone called the Decca Dulcephone, patented in 1914 by the manufacturers of the instrument, Barnett Samuel and Sons. Invented by Wilfred S. Samuel, the name is the result of the fusion of the word ‘Mecca’ with the initial D of ‘Dulcephone’. The company then renamed itself the ‘Decca Gramophone Company’, and at the same time became known as ‘The Supreme Record Company’. It was bought in 1929 by the former stockbroker Edward Lewis.
In 1939 Decca was the only record label in the United Kingdom, aside from EMI. Within a few years it had become the second biggest label in the world. During the 1930s and 1940s, Decca counted within its catalogue a plethora of legendary signatures: including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Jane Froman, the Boswell Sisters, Billie Holiday, the Andrews Sisters, Ted Lewis, Judy Garland, the Mills Brothers, Billy Cotton, Guy Lombardo, Chick Webb, Louis Jordan, Bob Crosby, the Ink Spots, Dorsey Brothers, Connee Boswell and Jack Hylton, Victor Young, Earl Hines, Claude Hopkins and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
In 1966 Edward Lewis created Deram, the first British label devoted entirely to pop and rock music. Deram released the albums Songwriter and Night Flight by Justin Hayward, and in 1969 launched a progressive rock section of the label, entitled Nova, which lasted less than a year. Consequently, the 1970s were disastrous years for the Deram label as a whole. Meanwhile, Decca became increasingly famous for its classical repertoire. On the death of Edward Lewis in January 1980, the company Polygram took on what remained of Decca. Deram reappeared briefly during the early 1980s with albums by the groups Bananarama, the Mo-debts and Splodgenessabounds.
In 1997 Seagram bought MCA, Universal Studios and Polygram Deutsche Grammophon. Decca Records has now become a trademark of Universal Group; comprising Decca Classics (employing a blue and red logo), Deutsche Grammophon, Philips and Verve Music Group, Concord Records, Blue Thumb, and UCJ Round Records.
Today, Decca Records continues to support our chosen artists and unearth new talent, be it in pop, rock, folk or Americana (especially in its Broadway repertoire), releasing albums by Robert Plant, Imelda Peut, William Orbit, Kirsty Almeida, Melody Gardot, Eric Whitacre and Nikki Yanofsky. It also promotes the classical music of a new generation of great artists; including Riccardo Chailly, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nelson Freire, Cecilia Bartoli, Renee Fleming, Juan Diego Flórez, Jonas Kaufmann, Janine Jansen and Albrecht Mayer. Decca continues to release music from older classical musicians such as Wilhelm Backhaus, Benjamin Britten, Clifford Curzon, Radu Lupu, Kathleen Ferrier, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, Julius Katchen, Georg Solti, Alicia de Larrocha and Luciano Pavarotti.
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Der Bettelstudent - Gasparone - Die Dubarry
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Southern Style
Vocal Jazz - Released by Decca on Jan 6, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt : Piano works (9CD)
Solo Piano - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sweet Smell Of Success (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Deluxe Edition)
Elmer Bernstein, Chico Hamilton
Film Soundtracks - Released by Decca on Oct 1, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: Theatre Music (6CD set)
Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strawinsky: Feuervogel/Pulcinella
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn, Bruch: Konzerte für 2 Klaviere
Marielle Labèque, Katia Labèque, Philharmonia Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov
Classical - Released by Decca on Apr 2, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saens: Sinfonie Nr.3 "Orgelsinfonie"
Peter Hurford, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arrau spielt Liszt (Eloquence)
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Panis Angelicus - Festliche Klänge für Panflöte
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J. Strauss Jr.: Wiener Walzer
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Willi Boskovsky
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Love Jazz
Louis Armstrong & His All Stars
Jazz - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Voice Of The Century ([blank])
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cécile Ousset : The Recordings For Decca France
Solo Piano - Released by Decca on Sep 13, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A. Vivaldi - Le Quattro Stagioni Opus 8
Werner Krotzinger, Karl Münchinger, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Jean-Pierre Rampal
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anita Cerquetti Recital
Anita Cerquetti, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Orchestre du Mai Musical Florentin
Opera Extracts - Released by Decca on Apr 30, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel, Debussy : The Decca 78s
Symphonic Music - Released by Decca on Jun 8, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky : Ballet Suites - Serenade
Symphonic Music - Released by Decca on Mar 6, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák : Symphonic Variations - Serenade for Strings
Symphonic Music - Released by Decca on Feb 7, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tschaikowsky: Piano Concerto Nr.1, Op.23 - Violin Concerto, Op.35
Classical - Released by Decca on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo