Lyric Ode – Tonträger neu kaufen

Neuware

60 Min.

2005

CD

120 g

Linley: The Shakespeare Ode / Nicholson, Parley

Release Date: 11/08/2005
Label: Helios Catalog #: 55253 Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Thomas Linley Jr.
Performer: Julia Gooding, Lorna Anderson, Richard Wistreich
Conductor: Peter Holman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Parley of Instruments Choir, Parley of Instruments Baroque Orchestra
Number of Discs: 1
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 1 Hours 10 Mins.

Works on This Recording
1. Ode on the Spirits of Shakespeare by Thomas Linley Jr.
Performer: Julia Gooding (Soprano), Lorna Anderson (Soprano), Richard Wistreich (Bass)
Conductor: Peter Holman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Parley of Instruments Choir, Parley of Instruments Baroque Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1776; England
Length: 60 Minutes 5 Secs.
Language: English

Notes and Editorial Reviews
Coincidentally, I had the original issue of this disc (CDA 66613) out to play again only days before the arrival of this midprice Helios reissue. Originally issued in Hyperion’s now sadly discontinued “English Orpheus” series in 1993, it has become a much-loved personal favorite, so I’m delighted to have the opportunity to extend the warmest of welcomes on the occasion of its reappearance.

Of all the many tragedies that befell English music during the course of the 18th century, none equals the death of the younger Thomas Linley in a boating accident on August 5, 1778. Barely turned 22, Linley was a prodigy who had become friendly with Mozart during a period of study in Italy, and had already written enough music to suggest that he was the most talented English composer to have emerged since Purcell. The “Storm Chorus” he composed as part of incidental music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest (CDA 66767) bids fair to be considered the greatest work composed by an Englishman in the 18th century.

The Lyric Ode, which dates from two years before Linley’s untimely death, was given for the first time at Covent Garden on March 20, 1776. A large-scale work written to a libretto of negligible literary quality, the Lyric Ode followed in the wake of the Shakespeare mania, as the full title suggests concentrating on the supernatural elements in Shakespeare’s plays. It is divided into two parts, the first consisting of generalized evocations tapping into the pre-Romantic vogue for magic, the only specific reference being to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The remarkable early numbers of part 2 introduce us to the Gothic horrors of Macbeth in a highly dramatic sequence of accompanied recitative and short choruses, the power of which look forward to the world of Romanticism. Finally, elves and magic are banished, reason is restored, and the work concludes with a splendid fugal chorus calling for the emergence of a new Shakespeare.

The performance features excellent work from the three soloists, the sopranos being called upon to display considerable agility in roles originally sung by Linley’s highly talented younger sisters. To that can be added robust, responsive choral singing, fine orchestral playing, and excellent pacing by Paul Nicholson. Philips issued a fine alternative version of the Lyric Ode conducted by Philip Pickett, but since that has long disappeared this reissue has no rival. Mozart, not exactly noted for proclaiming the merits of his contemporaries, told the tenor Michael Kelly that Linley was “a true genius” who, “had he lived, would have been one of the greatest ornaments of the musical world.” If you haven’t yet discovered the reasoning behind this assertion, this is an ideal way to do so.

FANFARE: Brian Robins

Helios 55253