This CD is clearly an item of promotional merchandise for the Canadian composer
John David Thrower's Requiem for a Princess. The princess of the title is
Princess Diana. As the 9 minute interview with Mr Thrower makes clear the
Requiem is based on material drawn from an incomplete 'Diana' (not the same
Diana) opera on which Thrower had been working for some years before the
death of the Princess of Wales.
The excerpts here may not be fully representative. The presenter explains
that the work is in a pop-classical 'crossover' style. Going by the two pop
tracks the approach is similar to a Disney musical. Strangely enough the
most acceptable singing on the disc is by pop vocalist Dennis Dubbin.
The classical vocal tracks (4 of the seven - and remember one of the seven
is the interview) are pleasant although somewhat swamped by the overly operatic
vibrato-clouded style adopted by the soloists. A reduced orchestra is used
and the chorus has been cut.
The interview with Thrower is a pretty direct plea for a producer for a
performance and recording. One of the classical tracks is an arrangement
of the Holst (Planets) choral song I Vow To Thee My Country.
I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this material and will be interested
to hear the complete Requiem (with full orchestra and chorus) as and when
a performance or recording is mounted. Until then I can only work on the
basis of what I hear; what I hear does not inspire.
Reviewer
Rob Barnett
NO STAR ALLOCATION
Note from CD producer: This CD is enhanced. In a PC (sorry no Mac) a little
multimedia presentation opens up. For the Requiem CD this is interesting
because the credits and lyrics are then available. Of course, the CDs work
in a normal CD player too. Background material about the artists is available
at resonances.com and mp3.com:
There is an article on mp3 recordings
Pop
Vocals: Dennis Dubbin Classical Vocals: Raymond Sepe (tenor) Dana McKay (soprano)
Sandra Graham
(mezzo-soprano)
