The making of this recording grew out of a generous and interesting proposition by sound recording engineer Ashley Clarke, a long-time professional in pro-audio at Yamaha Canada Music Ltd. at Toronto, and subsequently Los Angeles. Ashley’s background as a sound recording engineer was impressive and he suggested he record the group in studio using a Yamaha 20 Bit Digital System, a system that was new at the time and one that he was anxious to try. At the time, this meant recording as though ‘live in concert’, with no editing of the performances.

The already typical pressures on musicians when recording are greatly intensified when recording this way, including sustaining intonation for the strings, and greatly taking away a sense of freedom from the musicians, with all of us needing to be extra cautious for fear of ‘marring’ the performance in any way. Although a demanding, very challenging request, we decided to accept Ashley’s proposal.

This recording first appeared under the name Concert Gems. Fanfare and Pro Arte/Intersound Recording Labels, that had represented and distributed the group’s earlier recordings, had not survived the continued downward spiraling of the classical music industry. Concert Gems was released by the Canadian Record Company EBS. One year later, it was picked up by DOREMI, with international distribution, with the company re-naming the recording The Romantics.