Special Enchantment
Richard Hickox's
'Light of Life' -
impresses
HOWARD SMITH'... Chandos/Hickox win hands down.'
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Edward Elgar's Light of Life, an oratorio for soprano, contralto, tenor, and baritone soloists, full choir and orchestra, is a regrettably neglected work by the man who four years later brought us his awe inspiring Dream of Gerontius.
The earlier Judean setting concerns a blind beggar whose sight Christ restored. Its words are taken from the Gospel of St John with additions by the Reverend Edward Capel Cure; a rector of St George's, Hanover Square and Canon of Windsor.
Though less visited than Gerontius, Op 38 (1900), both works are unmissable -- look for the later masterpiece in a glorious 1964 recording featuring Richard Lewis, Janet Baker, Kim Borg, and the Ambrosian Singers, Sheffield Philharmonic with Chorus, Hallé Choir and Orchestra with Barbirolli (EMI CMS7 63185-2)...
Copyright © 25 November 2012
Howard Smith,
Masterton, New Zealand
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