Delius: Mass of Life & Idyll

David Hill's impressive new recording with his Bach Choir (in the original German) boasts confident, ardent choral singing and orchestral playing, and a string solo team - even if Alan Opie,... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2012, More…

Release Date: 28th May 2012
Catalogue No: 8572861-62
Label: Naxos
Length: 1 hour 58 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

16th July 2012
Gramophone Magazine

July 2012

Editor's Choice

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Delius: A Mass of Life

1:37:44

$22.00

$26.40

$38.50

Janice Watson (soprano), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano), Alan Opie (baritone), Andrew Kennedy (tenor)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bach Choir
David Hill
Recorded: 26-28 November 2011
Recording Venue: The Lighthouse, Poole, Dorset, UK

Part I: O Du mein Wille! (Chorus)

5:24

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Part I: Erhebt eure Herzen (Baritone)

1:59

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Part I: In dein Auge schaute ich jungst (Chorus, Tenor, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone)

13:50

$3.00

$3.60

$5.25

Part I: Wehe mir! (Baritone, Chorus)

2:37

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Part I: Nacht ist es (Chorus, Baritone)

8:44

$2.00

$2.40

$3.50

Part II: Auf den Bergen

5:26

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Part II: Herauf! nun herauf (Chorus, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor)

4:21

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Part II: Susse Leier! (Baritone)

4:43

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Part II: Lento - La la la (Chorus) - Lasst vom Tanze nicht ab (Baritone, Chorus)

18:25

$4.00

$4.80

$7.00

Part II: Heisser Mittag schlaft (Chorus, Baritone, Mezzo-Soprano, Soprano, Tenor)

14:32

$3.00

$3.60

$5.25

Part II: Gottes Weh ist tiefer (Baritone, Chorus)

4:27

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Part II: Kommt! Lasst uns jetzo wandeln! (Chorus, Baritone, Tenor, Mezzo-Soprano, Soprano)

13:16

$3.00

$3.60

$5.25

Delius: Prelude & Idyll

19:45

$5.00

$6.00

$8.75

Janice Watson (soprano), Alan Opie (baritone)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
David Hill
Recorded: 26-28 November 2011
Recording Venue: The Lighthouse, Poole, Dorset, UK

Prelude

3:09

$1.00

$1.20

$1.75

Idyll: Once I passed through a populous city (Baritone, Soprano)

16:36

$4.00

$4.80

$7.00

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Recording of the Week, Holst and Delius on Naxos

16th July 2012

JoAnn Falletta conducts the Ulster Orchestra in Holst’s Cotswolds Symphony, and David Hill directs Delius’s Nietzsche-inspired Mass for Life with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Long an admirer of Nietzsches poetry, Frederick Delius composed A Mass of Life while at the height of his powers, blending passages from Also Sprach Zarathustra into orchestral textures of great expressive depth and striking beauty. Written in his final years, the Prelude and Idyll sourced music from a long discarded opera, transforming a story of lust and vengeance into one which emphasizes the transience of life and love. David Hills previous BSO recordings include a perfectly judged Dies natalis by Gerald Finzi (The Guardian on 8570417), while his Vaughan Williams Sancta Civitas (8572424) was described as thrilling a great case for a neglected work (Classic FM).

Reviews

July 2012

David Hill's impressive new recording with his Bach Choir (in the original German) boasts confident, ardent choral singing and orchestral playing, and a string solo team - even if Alan Opie, representing the prophet Zarathustra, perhaps makes his points with too much Wagnerian declamation at the expense of line....But listeners tempted by Naxos's bargain price into exploring this work won't be disappointed.

23rd June 2012

fresh, finely nuanced singing.

July 2012

Alan Opie, who has the lion's share of the solo music in the work, is almost Wotan-like in his performances...Andrew Kennedy, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Janice Watson also offer fine lyrical interpretations of their solo parts...This is a must for any Delius Liebhaber and...a marvellous starting point for anyone new to Delius's unique but compelling art.

August 2012

It's a tribute to David Hill and his musicians and technical team that this rolling wave of joy is exceptionally well caught.

16th July 2012

Hill draws some magnificent playing from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and has a top-class quartet of soloists, most notably baritone Alan Opie (who has the lion’s share of the solo music in the work) who delivers a lyrical and radiant account. The chorus parts are notoriously hard but the members of the Bach Choir rise to the challenges superbly and help produce a really thrilling performance.

10th June 2012

splendid modern sound, a thrilling choir and orchestra, and, in David Hill, a conductor no less devoted to Delius than his more celebrated predecessor [Beecham]. His soloists are outstanding: Janice Watson, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Andrew Kennedy sing with clarity and radiance, but the star is Alan Opie, whose lyrical singing is wonderful.

27th May 2012

The singing is suitably majestic for Nietzsche's vision of mankind's destiny...Hill draws some marvellously expressive playing from the BSO, with soloists – chief among them Alan Opie – in magnificent form.

7th June 2012

Even if you already have those discs, the excellent line-up of vocal and orchestral forces in this new one is well worth investigating, the Bach Choir on fine form and the four soloists sounding thoroughly immersed in their roles...Hill maintains the inner momentum and points up the essential poetry of the piece.

16th June 2012

Even I, congenitally allergic to Delius’s music and Nietzsche’s writing, can scarce forbear to cheer this stunning recording...it certainly celebrates life, especially in this thrilling performance by the Bach Choir, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and quality soloists

Delius: Mass of Life & Idyll

2 CDs

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Recording of the Week, Holst and Delius on Naxos