Elgar's The Light of Life
Elgar's The Light of Life
The Gramophone Choice
Judith Howarth sop Linda Finnie contr Arthur Davies ten John Shirley-Quirk bar London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / Richard Hickox
Chandos CHAN9208 (63' · DDD · T) Buy from Amazon
In the glorious orchestral ‘Meditation’ Hickox’s conducting demonstrates a noble flexibility, sensitivity to dynamic nuance and feeling for climax. Equally the engineering, sumptuous yet detailed, comes close to the ideal. The LSO and Chorus contribute to proceedings in exemplary, disciplined fashion. As the Blind Man, Arthur Davies could hardly be more ardent, but his slightly tremulous timbre won’t be to all tastes. John Shirley-Quirk, so eloquent and firm-toned a Jesus for Groves (on EMI) back in 1980 now shows signs of unsteadiness in the same part. On the other hand, Linda Finnie and Judith Howarth make a creditable showing. Hickox’s reading excels in precisely the areas where the Groves was deficient, and vice versa. If you already have the Groves reissue, hang on to it, for it’s by no means outclassed by the Hickox. However, for anyone coming to this underrated score for the first time, Hickox’s must now be the preferred version.
