Search - Berlioz, Inbal, Frankfort Radio :: Berlioz: Te Deum, Op.22

Well done

richard mullany | waynesville, north carolina United States | 09/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own four versions of this piece and mostly they all satisfy. The first version was by Beecham and the RPO issuued on Columbia back in the early fifties in mono of course. It was what one expected from Beecham, sedate, focused and above all rich in the big stuff; the Dulwich Boys Choir especialy sang like angels, the RPO was, as I say, rich in sonority and typically brilliant brass playing. I had another on Phillips vinyl with Colin Davis which was okay but still left me feeling as if I had missed something. This version by Inbal is well paced, taut choral and orchestral playing and well served by the recording engineers. The last one is by Dennis Keene on Delos. This last is a "doosy" as they used to say. It was recorded live in Dolby Surround at the Church of St.John the Divine in NYC at the convention of the American Guild of Organists. It also includes a brief lectuure on the piece by Mr. Keene which is interesting. It also features John Aler as soloist. There are two Te Deums which are cast in this mold of controlled explosions, Berlioz and Verdi and both are wonderful played on a big system so that the dynamics of voluime are fully experienced. Both composers but Berlioz in particular were skillful in the use of alternating loud, soft but most critically, passages of silence. The dramatic effect of this is really superb. As to the relative merit of these performances I think I'd be thrilled to find the Beecham on cd but between the Inbal and Keene versions I think there is only the matter of the sound , studio versus cathedral. I relish the Inbal version for it's punch and tempo, it's delineation, the transparency of a huge choir and full orchestra plus organ is not often captured so well as here."