Corydon Singers - Berlioz: L'Enfance Du Christ

Friday 1st December 1995
Corydon Singers - Berlioz: L'Enfance Du Christ

STYLE: Choral
RATING 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 18272-
LABEL: Hyperion 669912
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 2

Reviewed by John Irvine

Where to begin? This is such a good recording! An excellent performance, wonderfully dramatic, nicely paced, with pathos pulling on the heart strings at all the right moments. Brilliant soloists, a passionate and competent choir, perfect instrumental passages. A real delight to listen to. Perhaps the major accomplishment of this disc is to provide a sense of continuity and development throughout the three parts of this work. No mean feat: the three parts were written at different times and for different reasons by Berlioz and each part is scored differently. Part One is the most dramatic, with its highly theatrical incidents requiring a large orchestra and with stage directions being given to the participants. Here the Corydon Singers have taken an approach generally more suited to opera than to sacred oratorios (which this piece is, at least superficially). However, this is an approach which pays major dividends as the listener is whisked through a variety of scenes: Roman soldiers march on and off stage, Herod enters gripped by the recurring nightmare of a child who will dethrone him, his demonic soothsayers sweep on and consult the spirits (very dodgy this bit!) before concluding that Herod must slaughter every new born child. The dramatic tension never lets up for a second. The contrast with the following scene set in the Bethlehem stable could not be greater. One of the finest moments in the piece is achieved when as if from a great distance a choir of angels warn Joseph and Mary to flee into Egypt. The Second Part contains the Shepherds' Farewell, a piece that should be familiar from carol services. Drama returns in the Third Part as Joseph and Mary, by now desperately hungry and weary, try to find shelter in Egypt before being taken in by a family of Ishmaelites. An evening's entertainment follows containing one of the most beautiful trios for flutes and harp I have ever heard. Long held notes on the strings end the narrative and lead to a meditation or contemplation of the birth of Christ. Although Berlioz was openly contemptuous of the Christian faith - or at least the formal version of it he found enshrined in French Catholicism - he was obviously touched by the subject matter of his "Sacred Trilogy". Like many unbelieving composers both before and since, Berlioz has left something which transcends the personal beliefs of its composer and instead reflects something of God's truth. A wonderful performance and recording of a great piece of music. Very warmly recommended.

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