E. Power Biggs The Four Antiphonal Organs of the Cathedral of Freiburg. Bach

E. Power Biggs The Four Antiphonal Organs of the Cathedral of Freiburg. Bach

I've always wanted a quad copy of this but found this stereo copy today. The question. Is it quad? There is a version with a QM matrix number and SQ logo on the front. This one is just M. Even in the rearward. The thing that makes me wonder is the fact that the back cover also has the stereo M matrix number, but has all the quadraphonic info. Was this a single issue at first or later? Or were they just lazy with the back cover. There appears to be one on eBay with a big picture of Bach on the back.

That's the stereo version - the back cover is pretty much the same as the quad version except the quad version has a quad remix engineer credit in the bottom right below the normal engineering credits. As you can see the diagram indicates that when listening in stereo the rear channel info will be mixed in with the fronts.

I think Columbia Masterworks was really trying to push quad at the time, so it may have been a play to sort of make people aware that there was a quad version available as well and that the stereo version wasn't as good.

The easiest way to tell if a Columbia Masterworks release is true quad is to look at the labels on the record - if it has the prefix QAL (on side 1) and QBL (on side 2) it was cut from a quad master. Even their later single inventory quad releases from about 1975 to 1978 which sometimes barely mention quad (aside from an SQ logo on the back) still still have the QAL/QBL prefixes on the record label. Normal Columbia stereo releases just have AL/BL prefixes on the label.

Sony also released this album as a SACD with the quad mix on the multichannel layer in 2002 or 2003 (ish). It's probably the best way to hear the quad mix as the engineers intended, if you're interested.

This is the back cover of the quad version for comparison:

Thanks, I was hoping someone would have the quad back cover for comparison. It seems like they eventually made a back cover that dropped mention of quad. (Or at least minimized it)

That disc and the "Bartok" disc in stereo which still shows the quad instrument/orchestra are promoting quad me thinks.

I wonder how many ended up as SQ only as a cd or later lp ?

Once again, QAL will be etched in the deadwax for the Quad LP A side, QBL will be etched on the Quad LP B side. Stereo pressings will list an AL or BL without the Q.

To my knowledge, the CD versions of the Four Antiphonal and Bartok Quads are NOT SQ encoded. The SQ LP, Q8 and single-layer SACD's are the only surround pressings of these titles.

Yes, there diagrams of the recording setups and verbiage discussing this and Quad on the 2ch pressings. The Bartok even uses a diagram as its' front cover artwork. Still, they are only 2ch pressings.

BTW: IF you've never heard these titles in Quad or 5.1, you've never really heard them. Yes, I know the Antiphonal album by Old Ernest (Power Biggs) is a pile of dough on SACD. Still, YOU NEED these albums in surround.

fizzywiggs41 said:

That disc and the "Bartok" disc in stereo which still shows the quad instrument/orchestra are promoting quad me thinks.

I wonder how many ended up as SQ only as a cd or later lp ?

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Quad Linda said:

Once again, QAL will be etched in the deadwax for the Quad LP A side, QBL will be etched on the Quad LP B side. Stereo pressings will list an AL or BL without the Q.

To my knowledge, the CD versions of the Four Antiphonal and Bartok Quads are NOT SQ encoded. The SQ LP, Q8 and single-layer SACD's are the only surround pressings of these titles.

Yes, there diagrams of the recording setups and verbiage discussing this and Quad on the 2ch pressings. The Bartok even uses a diagram as its' front cover artwork. Still, they are only 2ch pressings.

BTW: IF you've never heard these titles in Quad or 5.1, you've never really heard them. Yes, I know the Antiphonal album by Old Ernest (Power Biggs) is a pile of dough on SACD. Still, YOU NEED these albums in surround.

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I assume when you refer to the "single layer SACD" it's not SQ quad but discreet 4.0 or 5 ??


and yes I should try and obtain some of these, be they 4 or 5ch SACD. These quads were the best 4ch discs on Columbia/Masterworks from what I read and sampled.Not just freakin' ambience as was the preference of many classical music purists back in the decade of quad.


Still I wonder about BIGGS, SUBOTNICK, and others who did not ignore Quad SQ encoding, and tended to favour the medium.

BTW are any or all of the Sony "quad matrix" indicated Japanese cds actually encoded ?? Or is it a mixed bag ?

You know, I never had much of a classical collection/education till I got into quad. I could never decide what releases to buy. Now that I'm into quad, I buy the quad ones. Now I can't imagine not having a nice Classical collection.

There's probably someone here who will know more about this than me, but there are at least a couple of other Sony Classical SACDs that contain old quad mixes on the multichannel layers:


Holst 'The Planets' / Britten 'Four Sea Interludes' (Bernstein/NY Philharmonic) - Sony Classical ‎– SS 89781 (2003)

I believe that 'The Planets' portion is the entirety of the album of the same name with catalog number MQ 31125 from 1973, since they used the cover from that release. The 'Four Sea Interludes' portion is the first 15 minutes or so of Side A of the album 'A Tribute To Benjamin Britten' (M 34529) which was a single-inventory quad release from 1977. I haven't actually heard this but being a single inventory quad release there was no corresponding Q8 version so the SACD would be the only way to hear the discrete versions of those tracks.


John Williams Plays Rodrigo and Villa-Lobos Guitar Concerti (Barenboim/Goves/English Chamber Orchestra - SS 90381 (2003)[/B]

The main portion of this album is from the 'Concierto De Aranjuez / Concerto For Guitar And Small Orchestra' album (MQ 33208) from 1974, with the 'Fantasía Para Un Gentilhombre, For Guitar & Orchestra' tracks from a 1967 concert added at the end. Presumably the 1974 tracks are the quad mix, I'm not sure if the 1967 tracks are a shelved quad mix, or if they were remixed to 5.1, or upmixed to 5.1 from the existing stereo mix. The cover of this album reuses the cover from the 1974 vinyl release.


ETA: Found some more...


Boulez Conducts Ravel - SS 87979 (2003)

This looks to be a straight reissue of 'Boulez Conducts Ravel Vol. 3' (MQ 32838) from 1975.


Bartok 'Concerto for Orchestra' / 'Miraculous Mandarin Ballet' - SS 87710 (2003)

This is the entirety of the 'Concerto For Orchestra' album (MQ 32132) from 1973 and the entire 'Miraculous Mandarin Ballet' (about 30 minutes in total, it was all of side 1 and track 1 of side 2) from the album of the same name which was catalog number MQ 31368 from 1972.


Tchaikovsky 'Symphony No. 4' / 'Nutcracker Suite' - SS 87982 (2003)

The Symphony No. 4 performance looks to be a complete reissue of the quad album of the same name (MQ 33886) from 1976, and apparently the Nutcracker portion is from a 1960 performance so it's either a 3 channel job, or a 5.1 remix from the original tapes.

steelydave said:

There's probably someone here who will know more about this than me, but there are at least a couple of other Sony Classical SACDs that contain old quad mixes on the multichannel layers:


Holst 'The Planets' / Britten 'Four Sea Interludes' (Bernstein/NY Philharmonic) - Sony Classical ‎– SS 89781 (2003)

I believe that 'The Planets' portion is the entirety of the album of the same name with catalog number MQ 31125 from 1973, since they used the cover from that release. The 'Four Sea Interludes' portion is the first 15 minutes or so of Side A of the album 'A Tribute To Benjamin Britten' (M 34529) which was a single-inventory quad release from 1977. I haven't actually heard this but being a single inventory quad release there was no corresponding Q8 version so the SACD would be the only way to hear the discrete versions of those tracks.


John Williams Plays Rodrigo and Villa-Lobos Guitar Concerti (Barenboim/Goves/English Chamber Orchestra - SS 90381 (2003)[/B]

The main portion of this album is from the 'Concierto De Aranjuez / Concerto For Guitar And Small Orchestra' album (MQ 33208) from 1974, with the 'Fantasía Para Un Gentilhombre, For Guitar & Orchestra' tracks from a 1967 concert added at the end. Presumably the 1974 tracks are the quad mix, I'm not sure if the 1967 tracks are a shelved quad mix, or if they were remixed to 5.1, or upmixed to 5.1 from the existing stereo mix. The cover of this album reuses the cover from the 1974 vinyl release.

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Got both of these, don't remember the MultiCh fondly on either (I suspect they dicked around with the Quad like they did most of the others..) the Aranjuez struck me as being particularly underwhelming. I'm on the look out for a cheap copy of the SQ record of the Aranjuez so I can suss out if the SACD is "as is" or not! Oh, also I have that single inventory Britten Sea Interludes SQ LP though I've not got round to playing it yet let alone decode it. All in good time though, I promise

I suspect a lot of the original quads were underwhelming from a discreteness standpoint - some were very discrete but a lot of them were what they called 'concert hall sound' ie just reverb in the rears.

I think I was editing my post while you replied too, do you have the other titles I added to the list? I would imagine that Bartok 'Concerto For Orchestra' album was probably discrete because it was promoted as one of those 'surround sound spectacular' type albums complete with a gatefold showing how it was mixed etc..

steelydave said:

I suspect a lot of the original quads were underwhelming from a discreteness standpoint - some were very discrete but a lot of them were what they called 'concert hall sound' ie just reverb in the rears.

I think I was editing my post while you replied too, do you have the other titles I added to the list? I would imagine that Bartok 'Concerto For Orchestra' album was probably discrete because it was promoted as one of those 'surround sound spectacular' type albums complete with a gatefold showing how it was mixed etc..

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Yeah I have all of them; the Bartok SACD with the picture on the front cover of the different instruments in the "4 corners" was not discrete surround, they mucked around with that one when they transferred the Quad to SACD, that much I remember.. the Ravel & Tchaikovsky SACDs I'd have to check can't remember a thing about them, sorry