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Hubert Parry's Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, from 1880, here receives its world-recorded premiere. Perhaps recording companies thought there wouldn't be much of a market for a heavy 19th century choral work with, it must be said, a ponderous text by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Prometheus was a play intended to be read, not performed, just to give an idea). How wrong they were. This release made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023, and it is altogether enjoyable. At the time, Parry was under the spell of Wagner, whom he traveled to Bayreuth to meet. That influence certainly shows up in Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, with its basically declamatory text, partly through-composed music, wind-and-brass-heavy orchestration, and splashes of chromaticism. Yet what is remarkable is that the music does not come off as an imitation of Wagner at all. Rather, it uses elements of his style to match a specific kind of English literary text. The work gradually disappeared, but it would be surprising if Elgar, whom it clearly prefigures, did not know it well. The performances here are luminous, with William Vann using the lighter-than-expected London Mozart Players to create transparent textures against which he can set the substantial voices of Sarah Fox, Sarah Connolly, and other soloists. Parry did write some shorter pieces that remain in the repertory; one of these, Blest Pair of Sirens, is included here as a finale. However, the Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound are the main news here, and this performance, showing how this kind of thing should be done, may generate a new life for the work.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Part I (Sir Charles Hubert Parry)
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Neal Davies, MainArtist, VocalSolo - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Neal Davies, MainArtist, VocalSolo - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Neal Davies, MainArtist, VocalSolo - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist - David Butt Philip, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Sarah Connolly, MainArtist, MezzoSopranoVocals - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Neal Davies, MainArtist, VocalSolo - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Sarah Fox, MainArtist, SopranoSolo - Sarah Connolly, MainArtist, MezzoSopranoVocals - Neal Davies, MainArtist, VocalSolo - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist - David Butt Philip, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Part II Scene 1 (Sir Charles Hubert Parry)
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist - David Butt Philip, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist - David Butt Philip, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist - David Butt Philip, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Sarah Fox, MainArtist, SopranoSolo - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Part II Scene 2 (Sir Charles Hubert Parry)
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Sarah Fox, MainArtist, SopranoSolo - Sarah Connolly, MainArtist, MezzoSopranoVocals - Neal Davies, MainArtist, VocalSolo - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist - David Butt Philip, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
London Mozart Players, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hubert Parry, Composer - Crouch End Festival Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - William Vann, Conductor, MainArtist
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
Album review
Hubert Parry's Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, from 1880, here receives its world-recorded premiere. Perhaps recording companies thought there wouldn't be much of a market for a heavy 19th century choral work with, it must be said, a ponderous text by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Prometheus was a play intended to be read, not performed, just to give an idea). How wrong they were. This release made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023, and it is altogether enjoyable. At the time, Parry was under the spell of Wagner, whom he traveled to Bayreuth to meet. That influence certainly shows up in Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, with its basically declamatory text, partly through-composed music, wind-and-brass-heavy orchestration, and splashes of chromaticism. Yet what is remarkable is that the music does not come off as an imitation of Wagner at all. Rather, it uses elements of his style to match a specific kind of English literary text. The work gradually disappeared, but it would be surprising if Elgar, whom it clearly prefigures, did not know it well. The performances here are luminous, with William Vann using the lighter-than-expected London Mozart Players to create transparent textures against which he can set the substantial voices of Sarah Fox, Sarah Connolly, and other soloists. Parry did write some shorter pieces that remain in the repertory; one of these, Blest Pair of Sirens, is included here as a finale. However, the Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound are the main news here, and this performance, showing how this kind of thing should be done, may generate a new life for the work.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:10:41
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: London Mozart Players, William Vann, Sarah Fox, Sarah Connolly, David Butt Philip, Neal Davies, Crouch End Festival Chorus
- Composer: Sir Charles Hubert Parry
- Label: Chandos
- Genre: Classical Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) Choral Music (Choirs)
2023 Chandos Records Ltd. 2023 Chandos Records Ltd.
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