The best parts of this late-Romantic setting of the Requiem are the quieter ones. Whether by design or because constrained by Victorian-era Church of England propriety, Charles Villiers Stanford’s conception is notably short of the quantum of hell-fire found in the settings by Berlioz, Verdi, or even Dvorák. There are some loud brass and drum passages in the wrathful and (theoretically) terror-laden sections, but the scent of brimstone utterly eludes the composer. However, the melodiousness of the gentle parts seems to flow from a human heart; it is these moments that make this 80-minute rarity worthy of a wider hearing.
This recording was made in 1994 and released on the Marco Polo label. Now it has migrated to the same company’s budget label, no doubt ensuring that it will get more attention. The lyrical sections are flowing and prettily sung; the relatively few dramatic parts register with considerable power. That they do not chill the spine is more probably Stanford’s fault than that of Adrian Leaper and his forces, who do a creditable job.
The release is completed by about 24 minutes of music taken from Stanford’s 1878 opera The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan, based on a tale by Thomas Moore. The selections include the opera’s prelude, two sequences of ballet music (meant to be seductive but again rather too well-behaved), and a lovely aria, “There’s a Bower of Roses”, enchantingly sung by soprano Virginia Kerr. Conductor Colman Pearce likely gleans all of the excitement that’s to be found from this too-proper view of sensuous Arabia. [5/3/2005]
