Bliss beyond compare!
Valerie A. Lord | Malta, NY United States | 11/14/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've waited several years for this to be released on CD, after hearing the title selection on a scratchy LP and singing it in a performance. It is perhaps the most ethereal depiction of heaven ever written,and I find it impossible to listen to without tears. I confess that I have yet to listen to the rest of the CD, but if it's only a fraction of the quality of the final,title cut, it's worth it at twice the price. I have recently heard another recording of this work (on a cd entitled MY BELOVED SPAKE)wherein the excellent choir is far more prominent. However, on this recording, the choir is more enwrapped by the the strings and the soloist, Valery Hill, has a FAR more haunting qulity. If you love Faure,Elgar,Vaughn Williams (think "Reconciliation" from the DONA NOBIS PACEM)you will treasure this gem.
P.S. Now 3/18/05...One of my closest friends is now dead and this selection has taken on a different weight. Desperately searching for a "wailing song" on the night of his untimely death (9/16/04) ...I turned to the last track(Hierusalem) on this cd and played it over and over and over and over again and started to feel something close to peace. This is still the most complete sensorial depiction of blissful heaven I know of. I hope some of you find comfort and hope in it."