Search - Neal Davies, George Dyson, Richard Hickox :: Dyson: Nebuchadnezzar; Two Coronation Anthems; Three Songs of Praise; Woodland Suite

Fans of Walton's Belshazaar's Feast will enjoy Nebuchadnezza

Todd Nolan | Seattle, WA USA | 12/25/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This large-scale, 48 minute choral work was composed a couple of years after Walton's take on the Book of Daniel story of Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego, and included the Song of the Three Holy Children. According to excellent notes by Lewis Foreman, Dyson must have known of the Walton piece because it was such a big hit. While Stanford also wrote an oratorio on the subject, it disappeared after its debut, unlike Belshazaar's Feast, which has never left the repertoire. And Nebuchadnezzar does sound a lot like its predecessor. Since I was hoping this premiere recording would sound more like Dyson's Agincourt, Sweet Thames Run Softly, The Canterbury Pilgrims and Quo Vadis, I was slightly disappointed. I have never cared for the Walton work, but if you do, this version of the story is similarly dramatic, and you would probably want to give this a try.



For the rest of the disc, the Woodland Suite is a charming little piece of only 7 minutes length. The Three Songs of Praise are wonderful, and I wish one of the many amateur choirs in the Seattle area would perform them. Two Coronation Anthems round out a nice disc. If you're not familiar with Dyson's music, you may want to start with the masterpiece Canterbury Pilgrims on the Chandos label that's coupled with In Honour of the City, another fantastic and underrated choral gem. And Sweet Thames Run Softly, set to Spenser's poetry, and Hierusalem are too little known in choral circles. Instead of one more Mozart Requiem and Mendelssohn Elijah, I would dearly love to hear one of these Dyson treasures performed by someone like Seattle Choral Company or Karen Thomas' Pro Musica, maybe the Tudor Choir. So only 3 stars for me, but recommended if you're fond of the Walton Belshazaar's Feast."