| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
NIGHTPRO |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
NP-1001 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
602127000125 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2
(WITH LIMITED EDITION 3RD
BONUS DISC) |
| RUNNING TIME: |
|
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1995 |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
AUGUST
27, 1996 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
SIR
DAVID WILLCOCKS |
| ORCHESTRA: |
NIGHTPRO
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
THE
MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR |
| SOPRANO: |
LORNA
ANDERSON |
| COUNTERTENOR: |
PAUL
ESSWOOD |
| TENOR: |
NEIL
MACKIE |
| BASS: |
STEPHEN
ROBERTS |
|
|
|
DISC ONE
1. Sinfony
2. Comfort ye my people...Accompagnato
(Tenor)
3. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted...Air
(Tenor)
4. And the glory of the Lord...Chorus
5. Thus saith the Lord of
Hosts...Accompagnato (Bass)
6. But who may abide...Air
(Counter-Tenor)
7. And He shall purify...Chorus
8. Behold a
virgin...Recitative(Counter-Tenor), Air
(Alto) & Chorus
9. For behold, darkness shall
cover...Accompagnato (Bass)
10. The people that walked...Air (Bass)
11. For unto us a Child is born...Chorus
12. Pastoral Symphony
13. There were shepherds...Recitative
& Accompagnato (Soprano)
14. Glory to God in the highest...Chorus
15. Rejoice greatly...Air (Soprano)
16. Then shall the eyes of the
blind...Recitative (Counter-Tenor)
17. He shall feed His flock...Air (Alto)
18. His yoke is easy...Chorus
19. Behold the Lamb of God...Chorus
20. He was despised...Air
(Counter-Tenor)
|
DISC TWO
1. Surely, He hath
borne...Chorus
2. And with His stripes...Chorus
3. All we like sheep...Chorus
4. All they that see Him...Accompagnato
(Tenor)
5. He trusted in God...Chorus
6. Thy rebuke hath broken His
heart...Accompagnato & Air (Tenor)
7. Lift up your heads...Chorus
8. Unto which of the angels...Recitative
(Tenor)
9. Let all the angels of God worship
Him. Chorus
10. Thou art gone up on high...Air
(Counter-Tenor)
11. The Lord gave the world...Chorus
12. How beautiful are the feet...Air
(Soprano)
13. Their sound is gone out...Chorus
14. Why do the nations so furiously
rage...Air (Bass)
15. Let us break their bonds...Chorus
16. He that dwelleth in
heaven...Recitative & Air (Tenor)
17. Hallelujah...Chorus
18. I know that my Redeemer liveth...Air
(Soprano)
19. Since by man came
death...Chorus
20. Behold, I tell you a
mystery...Accompagnato & Air (Bass)
21. Then shall be brought to pass..Air
(Counter-Tenor)
22. O death, where is thy sting...Duet
(Counter-Tenor, Tenor)
23. But thanks be to God...Chorus
24. If God be for us who can be against
us...Air (Soprano)
25. Worthy is the Lamb...Chorus
|
DISC
THREE (LIMITED EDITION BONUS)
1. Sir David
Willcocks greet the choir and orchestra
2. Instructions for the first sections
of the night
3. "Organ A" tune up
4. Instructions for a "retake"
5. Sir David's style and humor are
evident as he rehearses the choir
6. Continued practice on a very
difficult section for the men
7. "Worthy is the Lamb," take one.
8. Working on "Worthy is the Lamb."
9. Preparing for another take.
10. Compliments to the choir for their
concentration
11. Preparing for a new section, "For
unto us..."
12. Further preparation and rehearsal
13. Sir David on the phone with John
Mosely
14. Preparing for a new take
15. "Are you ready, John?" The
Hallelujah Chorus |
|
SITE RATING: 4/10
SITE
REVIEW: I always get a
little worried when a recording trumpets it's
achievements in high-fidelity audio over the
actual content of the album; there's a
niggling feeling in the back of my mind that
the producers are pulling a smoke-and-mirrors
act - that the actual product is dreck, but
hey, at least it's dreck in HIGH PERFORMANCE
SOUND. Not that I would ever assume that
these talented artists would ever create
something unworthy of their craft, but this
performance, with such luminaries as Sir David
Willcocks and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
joining forces, is something less than the sum
of their parts, not more. Of course, the
choice of Willcocks as a conductor for this
recording is a head-scratcher; his EMI Messiah
is one of the most cold, proper, British Messiahs
I've ever heard, and The Mormon Tabernacle
Choir is an organization known for the
tremendous warmth of their sound. And
just who is the NightPro Symphony Orchestra?
Apparently they were a "house band' put
together just for this recording, which tells
you something right there about how calculated
this Messiah
is. The performance is a disappointment
from all concerned, with Willcocks and the
Choir struggling against each other's natural
instincts about how to perform this oratorio -
Willcocks takes everything at a leisurely
pace, and the choir seems far too sedate
considering it's potential for vocal fireworks
on the large choruses. The soloists are
obscure, with soprano Lorna Anderson trilling
her notes and rolling her 'R's' as if she's
the second coming of Maria Callas (she's not),
and the rest of the soloists offering far more
style than substance to their arias. As
to the NTI EQ3 High-Definition Recording
System used to plug this disc, well, let's
just say that the company who designed and
promoted this "incredible" system went out of
business. One curious addendum to this
set was a limited edition "bonus" disc which
presented behind-the-scenes outtakes from the
recording sessions.
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