Search - Sir Colin Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bryn Terfel :: Last Night of the Proms: The 100th Season (1994)

Someone shoot that idiot with the popgun

Doug Urquhart | Southport, CT USA | 06/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It isn't easy to record the Last Night of the Proms. An essential part of the experience is the audience participation - clapping in time to the Sailor's Hornpipe, bellowing out the chorus of Rule Britannia, the amazing sound of 7,000 people singing Parry's Jerusalem, even the occasional hoots, bangs and other interruptions (as long as they're occasional). It's important to capture this, otherwise all you get is a concert.Unfortunately this recording seems biased towards the audience. The orchestral sound was muddy, but every pop, squeak, hoot from the audience was crystal clear. Towards the end I was hoping that someone would strangle the idiot with the popgun who was sitting to the right of the auditorium, and interrupting all the quieter passages.Oh well - put it down to the acoustics of the Albert hall. I still enjoyed the recording."

POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE - RULE BRITANNIA

WILLIAM D HUFF | BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA | 07/07/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST ROUSING CHORAL VERSION OF THESE TWO WORKS EVER RECORDED. BRYN TERFEL'S RENDITION OF RULE BRITANNIA LITERALLY BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE WHILE THE ELGAR WILL BRING TEARS TO YOUR EYES."

A Powerful Performance of Belshazzar's Feast

WILLIAM D HUFF | 06/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The performance made of Belshazzar's Feast at this Prom concert is the best I have heard. Having played in a performance of this work, I can attest to its difficulty, yet the BBC Symphony, Singers, Chorus, Bryn Terfel, and Andrew Davis make it sound effortless. The final moments of the work, as the chorus sings of the Israelites jubilation at the fall of Babylon, are some of the most astounding I've heard on a recording."