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Track(s) taken from CDA67019

Death on the hills, Op 72

First line:
Why o'er the dark'ning hill-slopes
composer
1914
author of text
translator of text

London Symphony Chorus, Stephen Westrop (chorus master), Vernon Handley (conductor)
Recording details: April 1998
St Alban's Church, Holborn, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Antony Howell & Julian Millard
Release date: November 1998
Total duration: 3 minutes 32 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

The Donald Hunt Singers, Donald Hunt (conductor)
The Rodolfus Choir, Ralph Allwood (conductor)

Reviews

‘Marvellous songs … most beautifully sung’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Deserves to remain the authoritative recording for many years to come’ (Choir & Organ)

‘No Elgar fan will want to miss the genuinely valuable disc. Another Hyperion success’ (Classic CD)

‘You cannot do better than a recent Hyperion disc of choral songs. The choral writing is beautiful in an understated way and the performances are winning’ (The New York Times)
Death on the Hills sets a translation of some grim words by the Russian poet Maykov, concerning Death stalking a village looking for victims. In the second half of the song, the three upper parts sing ‘with a thin and somewhat veiled tone’ some repetitive lines representing the villagers. In the midst of this enter the basses, representing Death. They have not sung for seventeen bars, and their entry, although only marked mezzo forte, can be chilling if sung with the correct intensity. Although by no means the longest of Elgar’s part-songs, he told one of his friends that it was ‘one of the biggest things I have done’.

from notes by Geoffrey Hodgkins © 1998

Other albums featuring this work

Elgar: Go, song of mine & other choral works
SIGCD315Download only
Elgar: The complete choral songs
CDA66271/22CDs Download only
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