Parry: Judith

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On the evidence of these CDs, conductor William Vann totally believes in this piece; he offers a compelling reading, drawing from the excellent Crouch End Festival Chorus and LMP (all of whom... — Choir & Organ, May 2020, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 28th Feb 2020
Catalogue No: CHSA5268(2)
Label: Chandos
Length: 2 hours 10 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

21st February 2020
Record Review

7th March 2020

Record of the Week
Gramophone Magazine

April 2020

Editor's Choice
Gramophone Awards

2020

Shortlisted - Choral
Presto Recordings of the Year

Finalist 2020

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Parry: Judith

Work length2:10:53

$41.00

$53.30

$71.75

Sarah Fox (soprano), Toby Spence (tenor), Henry Waddington (bass-baritone)
Crouch End Festival Chorus, London Mozart Players
William Vann

Allegro spiritoso

Track length5:10

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Hail Moloch! Hail, Awful God!

Track length3:14

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Draw Near and Worship, O My People!

Track length1:32

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Have Mercy, Dread Moloch

Track length0:41

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Hear Ye, The Word of Your God!

Track length0:53

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$1.75

Hail, Thou Art Highly Favoured, King!

Track length2:13

$1.00

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$1.75

Bring Now the Children!

Track length2:27

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Hearken, O King

Track length1:07

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Hail, Moloch, Hail!

Track length1:31

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O Mother, Tell Us Once Again

Track length5:31

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Long Since in Egypt's Plenteous Land

Track length4:37

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Great Queen! The King Calls for His Children

Track length5:22

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Lady! Thou Queen of Israel!

Track length5:12

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Moloch, Give Ear!

Track length5:26

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Stay Your Hideous Mockeries!

Track length1:34

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Now Shall the Lord Jehovah Visit You

Track length2:13

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Who Is This That Raileth at Moloch?

Track length1:11

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O King, Give Ear!

Track length0:40

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Fear Not, My People

Track length0:33

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The Host of Assur Is Like a Swarm of Locusts

Track length1:19

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Jerusalem Was Loved of the Lord

Track length0:26

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Moloch! Moloch! Hear Us Now

Track length3:24

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Fly! Fly! The Host of Assur Is Come on Us

Track length3:25

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Jerusalem, That Was Queen of the Nations

Track length1:49

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I Will Bear the Indignation of God

Track length5:23

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Wail, Wail, Ye Solitary People!

Track length5:51

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The Lord Is Long-Suffering and Merciful

Track length3:50

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Our King Is Come Again from Distant Lands

Track length2:46

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Behold, How Great Is the Mercy of Our God

Track length6:19

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Hear Ye the Words of the Captain of the Great King

Track length3:46

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Woe! Our Citys Walls Are Broken

Track length3:06

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Let Us Give Thanks unto the Lord Our God

Track length2:27

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I Pray Thee, O God of My Fathers

Track length3:12

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The God of Our Fathers Give Thee Favour

Track length4:05

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See Ye the Campfires of the Host of Assur

Track length8:27

$2.00

$2.60

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Ho! Ye upon the Walls

Track length2:43

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Arise, O Israel! Smite Ye Your Enemies

Track length3:43

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God Breaketh the Battle

Track length4:05

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I Will Sing unto the Lord

Track length4:40

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Put Off, O Jerusalem, the Garment of Thy Mourning

Track length5:00

$1.00

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$1.75

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Recording of the Week, Charles Hubert Parry's Judith from William Vann and the London Mozart Players

21st February 2020

Parry’s 1888 oratorio on the Apocryphal tale of an avenging Jewish widow emerges as a worthy successor to Mendelssohn’s Elijah in this gripping world premiere recording with Sarah Fox, Kathryn Rudge and Toby Spence.

Recorded after the first London performance for over 130 years, Parry’s neglected oratorio here appears on disc for the very first time. Having been commissioned by the Birmingham Festival, Parry decided to combine the Old Testament stories of Manasseh and Judith. A good deal of the libretto was provided by Parry himself, who took other texts from the biblical books of Isaiah, Psalms, and Judith. Having originally conceived the work in four acts, Parry condensed it into two. Judith was premiered by Richter in Birmingham in August 1888, and it consolidated Parry’s reputation as a choral composer, numerous performances following in Edinburgh and in London. Although popular in his lifetime, Judith fell into obscurity after Parry’s death.

Reviews

May 2020

On the evidence of these CDs, conductor William Vann totally believes in this piece; he offers a compelling reading, drawing from the excellent Crouch End Festival Chorus and LMP (all of whom would have been new to the piece) a thrilling account. The soloists are all on fine form, with Sarah Fox in the title role singing with burnished tones, and Toby Spence as the conflicted king exploiting his ringing top register.

April 2020

Every aspect of this performance sounds like a labour of love. Rudge’s soaring, expressive singing as Meshullemeth gives the piece its real heart, and she’s accompanied with intense sympathy by the conductor William Vann, who avoids any suggestion of bombast or sentimentality, and builds Parry’s great paragraphs so eloquently and with such assurance that you’d think he’d been conducting this music all his life.

March 2020

A major and distinguished addition to the Parry discography.

21st February 2020

At its best, it’s stirring stuff indeed, and the choral writing in places anticipates the grandeur of Elgar’s Gerontius...the Crouch End Festival Chorus have a whale of a time baying for blood to appease their pagan god Moloch in Act One, and are equally impassioned in the wonderful lament for the dispossessed Jews of Jerusalem...The London Mozart Players play out of their boots for William Vann, who directs with terrific drive and impetus, and the low brass-winds and percussion literally have a blast in the numerous death-or-glory outbursts.

8th March 2020

It’s all you might imagine a grand piece by Parry to be: resolute, bold, melodic – and surprising: the tune for the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind was lifted directly from this piece. Vann and his excellent forces make a convincing case for more performances.

28th February 2020

You don’t have to be Parry’s champion Prince Charles to feel a thrill as the soprano Sarah Fox rings out as Judith, the Crouch Enders exult, the tenor Toby Spence sonorously conveys the vacillating king Manasseh and Parry creates sequences of stirring clamour. Give it a spin

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Recording of the Week, Charles Hubert Parry's Judith from William Vann and the London Mozart Players

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