RECORDING OF THE MONTH


RECORDING OF THE MONTH

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
A London Symphony
Oboe Concerto
£11 post free World-wide


RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3
£12 post free World-wide

CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY
RACHMANINOV
TRios
2CDs £16 post free World-wide
Search
What's New
Classical CD Reviews
Live Reviews
Jazz CD Reviews
Composers
Resources
Contact Us

Every Day we post 10 new Classical CD and DVD reviews. A free weekly summary is available by e-mail. MusicWeb is not a subscription site and it is our advertisers that pay for it. Please visit their sites regularly to see if anything might interest you. Purchasing from them keeps MusicWeb free.
  Classical Editor: Rob Barnett  
Founder Len Mullenger   
  


 

AVAILABILITY 

http://www.lisztdigital.com

 Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Via Crucis (The 14 stations of the cross) S. 53 (Latin & German sacred texts selected by C. Sayn-Wittgenstein) (1879) (43.12)
Ave Verum Corpus, S. 44 (text: Pope Innocent VI) (1871) (2.56)
Le crucifix, S. 342 version 3 (text: V. Hugo) (1884) (4.42)
Die Seligkeiten (The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-10), S. 25 (1859) (9.32)
John Reschl, baritone. JoAnn Stump, mezzo-soprano
Mary Kay Kapustka, piano. Francis Slechta, organ
Church of the Holy Ghost Choir/Richard Robertson
Notes in English. Texts translated into English, except for S. 53.
Recorded at Church of the Holy Ghost, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., February 2002
LISZT DIGITAL LD003 [60.47]

A capable recording of the Via Crucis is always good news. The all-time great recording was also one of the first, with the BBC Northern Singers conducted by Gordon Thorne, Francis Jackson, organ, on a 1961 SAGA LP XID 5079, many years out of print. That recording was literally terrifying in the intensity of the drama. This new recording benefits greatly from the digital sound, is more reverent and less ferocious, but still an intensely heartfelt document. The piano accompaniment is vivid, solid, and passionately played, every bit as effective as the more usual organ. The solo voices show emotional commitment but sing clearly and with musicianship. The ear accepts the little bit of strain in the baritone’s high notes and the bit of wobble in the mezzo as entirely in keeping with the passion of their declamation. The recording venue acoustic is sufficient to convey a religious atmosphere and surround the performers with a soft halo but leave every musical detail clear and unblurred. This is a very welcome addition to the Liszt discography.

When Liszt published his great oratorio Christus (S. 3) in 1872 he incorporated Die Seligkeiten into it as section 6, the first number in Part II; but here, heard by itself, it is quite effective. Here John Reschl sings the baritone solos with great reverence and commitment. The brief Ave Verum Corpus was excerpted from his Missa Solennis (S. 9) in 1871 for separate performance. Le Crucifix (S. 342/3) is a solo song, presented here with great passion by mezzo Stump, one of many Liszt settings of poems by Victor Hugo. It is not included in the general roster of the songs probably because the autograph cannot be found, and the three known versions differ slightly.

Paul Shoemaker

Advertising Rates
Visitor stats
MusicWeb International
has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer

Discs received

Having a problem Donating?



Gerard Hoffnung Concerts &
The Bricklayer Story

MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues:
Prices include postage
There will be NO VAT Rises

[Acte Préalable £13.50]
[Arcodiva £12.00]
[Avie from £6.25]
[British Music Society £12.00]
[CDACCORD from £13.50 ]
[ClassicO £12.50]
[Hallé from £11]
[Heritage £10]
[Hortus £14.99 ]
[Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ]
[Nimbus Special prices]
[Northern Flowers £13.50]
[REDCLIFFE £11 ]
[Sheva £11]
[Tactus £11.50 ]
[Talent from £12.00 ]
[Toccata Classics £10.50 ]

Musicweb
Special Offers

Monthly Best Buys

 

Naxos Classical


New Releases

Hyperion


New Releases


 





MusicWeb sells the Polish
catalogue CDAccord
£10.50 post free W-W


MusicWeb sells the
Arcodiva catalogue
£12.00 post free W-W


£11.75
post-free world- wide

 

 

Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here. 
Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Return to Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.