best recordings for a sense of scale

Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions is the best non-classical or orchestra example that comes to mind.

Recorded in St Peter's cathedral I believe it has a very good sense of the space and the environment in which the recording took place.

There was also a follow up dvd made about 10-15 years later which showed the actual venue and had other famous musicians join the Cowboy Junkies and replay the album - included Natalie Merchant I think......

If you mean a good sense of space, then I would suggest Duke Ellington's "Jazz Party in Stereo".

http://www.amazon.co.uk/There-Are-Many-Sides-Night/dp/B000006XAU

Somewhat classical perhaps, but this live mostly acoustic guitar recording by Steve Hackett (former guitarist of (Genesis) really conveys the acoustics of the hall it was recorded in better than most recordings.

Oscar Peterson 6 at Montreux, for a nice jazz record on Pablo label. I could name many classical and opera selections, but you said you were uninterested.

I'd second The Trinity Sessions (both versions). I know you dissed the classical and opera, but if you have an exception for early music, there are a few recordings on Jordi Savall's label, Alia Vox, that were done in a Spanish castle, my favorite is with his wife, the soprano, Montserrat Figueras - "El Cant De La Sibil-La" has a majestic sense of scale and atmosphere. The tiresome audiophile darling, Jazz at the Pawnshop, has a great sense of atmosphere and you-are-there presence.

The question is a bit confusing in that the OP starts by asking about a sense of space, which is quite clear, and mainly what myself and others are responding to. But in a follow-up question speaks specifically of sense of "scale", which may lead one to think of the size of instruments and their placement in space (apart from the environment they're in). I can think of recordings that make a piano sound small and distant, and others that make it sound life-sized and in the room, for instance...neither happen to convey much about the atmosphere they are in in those particular cases, but the latter short piece DOES convey a wonderful sense of scale of a piano. I'm assuming this is not what the OP is after(?).

The Trinity sessions were recorded at The Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto Ontario Canada ! Cheers!

Thanks for all of the great responses. Sorry for the confusion with the question. I should have said a sense of space, both large and small.

Jax2, though I meant a sense of space, if you have recommendations of good recordings to illustrate a sense of scale as well, I would be eager to hear them.

Everything you guys say is like a little hidden gem. Thanks again for the responses.

Jax2, though I meant a sense of space, if you have recommendations of good recordings to illustrate a sense of scale as well, I would be eager to hear them.

OK, here's a few -

So the one that I was thinking of is a very short piece on an EP of Tori Amos - it is one of two lovely piano solos on the EP, "God", titled, "All the Girls Hate Her". I think Amos' Bosendorfer must be directly miked or close-miked because it feels like the piano is right there in front of you just behind the speakers. Her use of the extra octave on the Bosendorfer contributes some if you have speakers up to the task.

My friend introduced me to a blues guitar CD by David Bromberg which has a very lifelike, forward presence of his guitar and vocals. It came as a long awaited release in 2007 called "Try Me One More Time".

Vocals on a realistic scale are not as hard to come by it seems as they are more often than not emphasized. One of my favorite artists with a gorgeous voice, Antony, has several albums where he occurs to me as right there in front of me, life size and present. His latest, The Crying Light, is very good. I also like the EP, The Lake, and the Mecury Award winning, I am Bird Now (also avaialbale on vinyl).

Jazz...hmmm, check out the ECM release, "Achirana" ...check out the cut "The Spell", though the entire CD is GREAT. The sense of scale is immediate and life-like. ECM seems to have a superb track record of for excellent recordings, at least in my experience.

Orchestral is nearly impossible to convey a true sense of scale without some very serious $ invested into a system and a large space, and even still it will likely fall short. A very dramatic example that may impress there, on a very top-of-the-charts selection of classical music (read: highly overplayed) - check out Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra doing Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man on Reference Recordings. A system capable of deep bass will be necessary.

Jax2, more great suggestions. Even the samples I could find on line through my lesser phones that I use in the office (AKG 181 as opposed to the AKG 701s I typically use at home)sounded pretty good. I'm not really a headphone guy, but I could tell that these tracks will hold a special treat when I play them through my speakers at home. Looks like I'll be ordering some CDs today.
Thanks everybody!

Many of the Duke Ellington recordings on Pablo might be a good choice, as will his "Far East Suite", which features a larger ensemble than does most of the Pablo material. The Sinatra "Live At The Sands" with Count Basie is similar in "scale" to Far East Suite, though the music is quite different.

In pop music, Alejandro Escovedo's "With These Hands" isn't a great recording, but there's a lot of percussion spread about. Lindsey Buckingham plays with massed voices in space on "Under The Skin" and the original soundtrack of "Theme From Shaft" uses pan potting to emphasize spacial elements within in a pretty dense orchestration.

Good Luck

Marty

The Deep Listening Band
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dllp=amg&sql=11:fpfrxqt5ldke

From the Caves of the Iron Mountain

Steve Gorn, Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta

Recorded in the Widow Jane Mine, Catskill Mountains

Rosendale, NY

Astounding recording

Wes Montgomery Trio

This came on my system last night and exhibited exceptional jazz club ambience. The dynamics and sense of space with the organ and percussion parts in particular were breathtaking.

If I am to understand this thread, we are to recommend a recording which can show off your system. I recommend : Flim & the BB's "This is a Recording". I would say beyond the music being excellent, this has it all.

Jacques Loussier Trio plays Debussy - on Telarc Jazz