Release Date: 27 May 2012
Label: Naxos - Ex Select Products / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 747313286171
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: Delius
Description
Long an admirer of Nietzsche's 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 Hill's previous BSO recordings include aperfectly judged" Dies natalis by Gerald Finzi (The Guardian on 8.570417), while his Vaughan Williams Sancta Civitas (8.572424) was described as"thrilling... a great case for a neglected work" (Classic FM). "David Hill launches the opening O du mein Wille! with terrific gusto, the chorus and orchestra responding with thrilling impulse and intensity. Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra, on which A Mass of Life is based, really fired Delius's imagination and lust for life in this music, a factor that this performance powerfully underlines. Even in Part 2, where the tension slackens and the music becomes more meditative, Hill maintains the inner momentum and points up the essential poetry of the piece. In this Delius anniversary year it is good to welcome such a stirring and perceptive interpretation of his work." The Telegraph *****"Hill draws some marvellously expressive playing from the BSO, with soloists - chief among them Alan Opie - in magnificent form."Stephen Pritchard, The Observer""
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Lully
Zhou:Battersby
Zhou:Battersby
