There are those who say that once they had heard Ponselle in the flesh they never wanted to hear her recordings for they did her such scant justice. That is quite credible, though the reaction might conceivably have been different if the records could have been heard reproduced as they are here. Possibly they do not quite catch the ''molten gold, pouring, pouring'' of which her old colleagues used to speak, and yet there is enough to bring it within the range of comprehension. What is exactly as contemporary accounts describe it is, for instance, the exquisite murmurs of her entry in the Norma duet, and the something close to perfection in the prayer from La vestale which made Serafin break with tradition and for once at the Maggio Musicale in Florence allow an encore. But there is no need to go beyond the first track to realize why she was such an esteemed singer: the grand sweep of ''Suicidio'', the deep reserves of chest-voice, and the magical lightening of the middle section make it abundantly clear. Again, my copy has one wrong pitch: the Otello ''Ave Maria'' which is running high. For the second set of issues I would suggest to Nimbus that pitches need a further check, and, personally, I would query too whether the hall acoustic is not too resonant especially for the pre-electrical recordings.'