|
Powerfully Expressive
Holst, Howells, Finzi and Liszt
from the Derwent Singers,
reviewed by MIKE WHEELER
Liszt's Via Crucis is a typically austere product of the composer's late years. A series of meditations on the fourteen 'Stations of the Cross' -- stages on Jesus's journey to his crucifixion -- it can make a rather bitty impression, with its mixture of organ solo movements, choral passages and sections for solo voice and vocal ensemble, plainsong and Lutheran chorale.
Its very spareness makes huge demands (there isn't actually all that much for the full chorus to do), and you can only applaud any choir who tackles it at all...
Copyright © 5 April 2012
Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK
|
