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Elgar - The Kingdom/Coronation Ode | 
| Artists: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Cambridge University Musical Society Chorus, Cambridge King's College Choir
Creators: Alfreda Hodgson, John Shirley-Quirk, Stephen Roberts, Edward Elgar, Adrian Boult, Philip Ledger, Yvonne Minton, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Margaret Price, Felicity Lott, Alexander Young, Richard Morton, London Philharmonic Choir
Label: British Composers
Category: Music
List Price: £10.99
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Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 7609
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 077776420929
EAN: 0077776420929
ASIN: B00000DOAK
Release Date: March 1, 1993
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | The Kingdom, Op.51: Prld - LPO/Sir Adrian Boult | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: I. In The Upper Room: Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God - London Phil Chor/Frederic Jackson | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: I. In The Upper Room: Men And Brethren - John Shirley-Quirk | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: I. In The Upper Room: O Ye Priests! - London Phil Chor/Frederic Jackson | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: II. At The Beautiful Gate: The Singers Are Before The Altar - Yvonne Minton | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: III. Pentecost: And When The Day Of Pentecost - Alexander Young | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: III. Pentecost: And Suddenly There Came From Heaven - Yvonne Minton | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: III. Pentecost: Repent, And Be Baptized - John Shirley-Quirk |
Disc 2
| • | The Kingdom, Op.51: IV. The Sign Of Healing: Then They That Gladly Received His Word - Yvonne Minton | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: IV. The Sign Of Healing: And As They Spake... The Sun Goeth Down - Yvonne Minton | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: V. The Upper Room: The Voice Of Joy - London Phil Chor/Frederic Jackson | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: V. The Upper Room: Thou, Almighty Lord - London Phil Chor/Frederic Jackson | | • | The Kingdom, Op.51: V. The Upper Room: Our Father - London Phil Chor/Frederic Jackson | | • | Coronation Ode, Op.44: I. Crown The King - Felicity Lott/Alfreda Hodgson/Richard Morton/Stephen Roberts/Chor Of King's College, Cambridge | | • | Coronation Ode, Op.44: IIa. The Queen - Felicity Lott/Alfreda Hodgson/Richard Morton/Stephen Roberts/Chor Of King's College, Cambridge | | • | Coronation Ode, Op.44: IIb. Daughter Of Ancient Kings - Felicity Lott/Alfreda Hodgson/Richard Morton/Stephen Roberts/Chor Of King's College, Cambridge | | • | Coronation Ode, Op.44: III. Britain, Ask Of Thyself - Felicity Lott/Alfreda Hodgson/Richard Morton/Stephen Roberts/Chor Of King's College, Cambridge | | • | Coronation Ode, Op.44: IV. Hark, Upon The Hallowed Air... Only Let The Heart Be Pure - Felicity Lott/Alfreda Hodgson/Richard Morton/Stephen Roberts/Chor Of King's College, Cambridge | | • | Coronation Ode, Op.44: V. Peace, Gentle Peace - Felicity Lott/Alfreda Hodgson/Richard Morton/Stephen Roberts/Chor Of King's College, Cambridge | | • | Coronation Ode, Op.44: VI. Land Of Hope And Glory - Felicity Lott/Alfreda Hodgson/Richard Morton/Stephen Roberts/Chor Of King's College, Cambridge |
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| Customer Reviews:
opulence and intimacy January 5, 2007
Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane (Fife, Scotland)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
'The Kingdom' was recorded to celebrate Boult's 80th. birthday in 1969. I was at the pre-issue launch in the Wigmore Hall that year, when Boult and the producer, Christopher Bishop, talked about and presented extracts from the recording to a very full Hall. Elgar's daughter, Carice Elgar Blake, was also there. It was quite an event. The performance is very good indeed, and it is well recorded. It's a rather stately piece and, for me, does not have the fire, passion or drama of 'Gerontius', but Boult valued it much more highly, and he was not alone in that. It is very well constructed and unified and undoubtedly is more craftsmanslike than 'Gerontius'. In this set, there is the considerable bonus of the 'Coronation Ode', again very well performed. They can both be warmly recommended.
Elgar's Greatest Oratorio October 31, 2004
Tom MacFarlane
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
In Sir Adrian Boult's opinion, The Kingdom is a greater work than The Dream of Gerontius, and on this disc you have the "dream team": soloists, orchestra and conductor. A total triumph.pBut there's more: a work of Elgar's that has gone out of fashion because its "script"! The year was 1902, and Elgar composed the Coronation Ode for the coronation of Edward VII. But, because of the king's appendicitis, it was never performed.pYes, the words are anachronistic - full of the imperial swagger of the day - but if you can forgive it that, here is some "top drawer" Elgar, and life-enhancing it is. pA.C. Benson wrote the words, and one section has become immortal. Using the trio from Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, he wrote the stanza that begins: "Land of Hope and Glory ... " pThere is another recording - on Chandos - of the Ode, and very good it is too, but Boult's recording includes the Band of the Royal Military School of Music which lifts the performance above very good, to unique.pYou know part of the Coronation Ode already - enjoy the rest of it!
The greatest recording of the human voice? August 20, 2007
E. J. Powell (wales)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Many years ago I heard a reviewer on Radio 3 introduce what was "possibly the greatest recording of the human voice". He was refering to Margaret Price's singing of "The Sun Goeth Down", possibly the best known episode of The Kingdom.
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br /The claim seemed inflated and preposterous. But he may well be right.
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br /I listened with astonishment - Price can rarely have been in better voice and her performance certainly deserves to be ranked amongst the greatest among recorded sound. Its one of those glorious moments when several elements come together to produce something to cherish and to pass on to future generations - Boult a model of sympathetic insight, orchestra and soloists all on top form. And of course, Elgar at his melting, heartfelt best. Definately a recording to cherish: for fans of Elgar, Boult, Price and anyone who cares about the human voice.
HOPE AND GLORY, OR HOPE ANYWAY February 27, 2005
DAVID BRYSON (Glossop Derbyshire England)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
By Elgar's time 'oratorio' had become a word to avoid. In my own view, Handel's great invention found one and only one worthy successor in Haydn. There might have been another if Schubert had lived longer, because his unfinished 'Lazarus' is not only fine music but actually goes some way towards anticipating the continuous style that Elgar adopts here in The Kingdom. I know of no evidence that Elgar was influenced by Lazarus, but it appears he took some hints from Gounod's Redemption and also from a work by Philipp Wolfrum, of which I am unencumbered with knowledge. He was also working in the shadow of Wagner, and that raises basic issues too in respect of The Kingdom. For the rest, I'm not surprised he did not want to associate himself with the wretched oratorio-mongering of the Victorians, not just Gounod and the English professorial school but even, sadly, so great a composer as Mendelssohn.pBoult is pretty categorical in his belief that The Kingdom is a finer work than the better-established Gerontius. From a purely musical standpoint, I guess he is probably right. From my own point of view, there's more than that to the question. Gerontius is at least clear about what it is, and what it definitely is not is an oratorio. The Kingdom has the true oratorio feel to it, with or without the name. The text, unlike that of Lazarus, is scriptural, part Acts part Gospels, and it seems to me that there are right ways and wrong ways of setting scriptural texts. One right way is as in the Bach Passions, where the scriptural narrative is simply given as recitative. Another right way is that of Messiah, with the prophetic messages dwelt on at length, as befits their significance for believers and atheists alike. What convinces me a lot less is treating them in something like the way Wagner treated his own libretti. Obviously Elgar modifies Wagner's plan considerably. With him it is the voices that carry the thread of the action, not the orchestra as with Wagner, but that just compounds the problem with so much of the text crying out for treatment at length but passed over summarily as if it were any old libretto. I have no problem with a use of 'Leitmotiv' along something like Wagner's lines, although I'm not sure that anything except the 4-note rising phrase heard first in the prelude really qualifies for that expression, but one aspect of Wagner's influence that I truly deplore is his way of writing for the chorus, which Elgar mitigates, but for me not enough. pAs far as the performance is concerned, I suppose Boult epitomised the interpretation of Elgar for two or three generations. The soloists are a fine group of experts in the matter too. There is the occasional touch of English oratorio-contralto hootiness from Yvonne Minton, but not to excess and I accept it as all part of the general approach. The recorded sound, dating in the first place from 1969, is also perfectly good, with excellent balance among the massive and varied forces that the score demands. pThere is a filler too, and a very good one. Did you know who wrote the words of 'Land of Hope and Glory' to the great familiar tune from the first Pomp and Circumstance march? Just acquire this set and you will find out. Hurry while stocks last.
 Unmissable January 14, 2009
Ian Richardson
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Elgar's "The Kingdom" had a checkered preparation. It was Elgar's final act of salvage from the ruin that was to have been his hugely ambitious cycle of oratorios based on the foundation of the early Christian church. All of this is filtered through his hyper-romantic Edwardian sensibility. It's relative failure in popularity was a profound career-altering experience for him. "The Kingdom" is the second part of the tale following on from Christ's ascension, that ended the first part, called "The Apostles". It has tended to lie in the shadow of that work and the even greater popularity of "Gerontius". The "action" centers on the inspirational descent of the Holy Spirit on the founders of the early church as described in the Acts of the Apostles. I have just had the experience of singing this work as a member of the chorus and bought this recording to help me prepare for that performance (and because I have grown to love the work, too).
br /This is not really a dramatic work at all but rather an extended spiritual meditation of extraordinary power. Although the soloists are named Peter, John, Mary and Mary Magdelene these are really generic, rather than dramatic protagonists. They could be anyone (or everyone?). Elgar does not get truly under the skin of any character as he did with Judas. The greatest dramatic moments come from the numerous recollections from "The Apostles," and these borrowings tend to highlight the fact that the drama of the earlier work is largely missing from this one.
br /However, whatever reservations I might have about the work I would not be without it. The consistency of expression and the skill and beauty of the writing sweep the listener along irresistibly. Right from the outset the prelude grips and, in spite of my comments about the leitmotifs from "...Apostles" there are plenty of stunning and original touches (including THAT tune with it's rising triplets that will probably haunt you for weeks). The performance is superb; paced with wonderful skill and with a quartet of youthful voices that could not be bettered in a thousand years. Not only do we get Margaret Price singing a magnificent "The Sun Goeth Down" but all the singers give us something close to genius. I cannot let pass the comment in another review that talks about "English oratorio hootiness" that "goes with the territory" from the young (Australian) Yvonne Minton. He can't have been listening to the same recording as me. Such a youthful voice and with faultless intonation. This must be John Shirley-Quirk's finest recording and SO good to hear the under-recorded Sandy Young singing so beautifully.
br /Boult seems to me to understand these works better than anyone before or since and he directs the choir and orchestra to give of their best as well. The choir are enthusiastic and committed but not flawless. The descent of the Holy Spirit and the conversion of the crowd in Part III is magnificent and includes some of the finest music Elgar ever wrote but the ending feels a little flat, although its calm beauty grows on me with each hearing. The recording is very fine, if not quite up to a modern digital recording and suffering slightly in comparison with Boult's own recordings of "...Apostles" and "...Gerontius".
br /Although many may feel that this is the least satisfactory of the three oratorios, this is a rather pointless observation (A bit like saying that Wells Cathedral is slightly less satisfactory than Salisbury). It is better to know and love them all.
br /The filler on the second disk is the Coronation Ode. A thoroughly rumbustious and uncomplicated work that includes a choral setting of that great tune from the first Coronation march. Now you can learn the words properly for the Last Night. It is expertly directed by Philip Ledger with an earlier incarnation of my own choir. The most remarkable thing about this recording (beside the fact that it is very good) is the engineers' extraordinary success in capturing such a lovely sound in the notoriously difficult acoustic of King's College Chapel. Very atmospheric and jolly. Strongly recommended.
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