Edward Elgar - The Kingdom; Coronation Ode

Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)

The Kingdom Op.51

Margaret Price (Soprano)

Yvonne Minton (Contralto)

Alexander Young (Tenor)

John Shirley-Quirk (Bass)

London Philharmonic Choir

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Sir Adrian Boult

Coronation Ode Op.44*

Felicity Lott (soprano)

Alfreda Hodgson (Contralto)

Richard Morton (Tenor)

Stephen Roberts (bass)

Cambridge University Musical Society

Choir of King's College, cambridge

New Phiharmonia Orchestra

Band of the Royal Military School of Music

Phillip Ledger

Recorded 1969 and * 1977

I find the sweep and generalised grandeur of "The Kingdom" much more appealing than "The Apostles". I am not encumbered by any embarrassment about this being an overtly devotional, religious work nor do I ever find Elgar to be especially English in any sense which purports to be condescending towards the music, especially that which implies that "oratorio" is a dirty word, redolent of pious platitudes and sentimental tunes. I am primarily attracted to this work by the rich, layered complexity of its sound world and the sincerity of the performance; Boult, his singers and orchestra perform it as if they are convinced that it is a great work - and such it becomes with that kind of advocacy. There are frequent echoes of the contemporaneous Second Symphony and rather fewer of the putative influence of Wagner; I am not even so sure that Elgar's use of leitmotifs is all that prominent and pervasive in that despite our being assured of their widespread use (Jaeger counted 79!), the listener is at best only subconsciously aware of them, apart from the most obvious such as the ascending theme in triplets.

Chief among the glories of this set is the singing of a young Margaret Price, whose pure, vibrant soprano soars magnificently in a manner very reminiscent of Gundula Janowitz but with its own special, shimmering colour. Her singing of "The sun goeth down" is one of the great vocal recordings of the last fifty years and should find a place in any retrospective survey of British singing. She blends beautifully with the burnished mezzo of Yvonne Minton - always a favourite singer of mine. John Shirley-Quirk sings with great dignity and beauty of line, while under-recorded Alexander Young's plangent, slightly "English" tenor makes the most of the little music he has. The London Philharmonic Choir acquits itself creditably, especially in phrases requiring sustained high notes, and the orchestra is excellent.

This is essentially a static, meditative work and is, as such, ideally suited to home listening where one is less likely to feel cheated by any lack of dramatic incident, although I do not want to give the impression to anyone who is not already familiar with the music that it is small scale; just listen to the culmination of Part III, "Pentecost" for a really climactic effect sustained by the brass of the Philharmonic. Recorded sound is good for 1969, with no distortion and good balance, if obviously not as full as a modern recording.

The filler is a committed performance by Philip Ledger and Cambridge forces supplemented by the Band of the Royal Military School of Music of the "Coronation Ode"; I have much less to say about an essentially big-boned and straightforward piece which is nonetheless a welcome bonus.

Ralph Moore (Amazon review)