Composer: Charles Hubert Hastings Parry
Performer: Sarah Fox, Kathryn Rudge, Toby Spence, Henry Waddington, Crouch End Festival Chorus
Orchestra: London Mozart Players
Conductor: William Vann
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Release: 2020
Size: 2.24 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Judith
01. Allegro spiritoso
02. Hail Moloch! Hail, Awful God!
03. Draw Near and Worship, O My People!
04. Have Mercy, Dread Moloch
05. Hear Ye, The Word of Your God!
06. Hail, Thou Art Highly Favoured, King!
07. Bring Now the Children!
08. Hearken, O King
09. Hail, Moloch, Hail!
10. O Mother, Tell Us Once Again
11. Long Since in Egypt’s Plenteous Land
12. Great Queen! The King Calls for His Children
13. Lady! Thou Queen of Israel!
14. Moloch, Give Ear!
15. Stay Your Hideous Mockeries!
16. Now Shall the Lord Jehovah Visit You
17. Who Is This That Raileth at Moloch?
18. O King, Give Ear!
19. Fear Not, My People
20. The Host of Assur Is Like a Swarm of Locusts
21. Jerusalem Was Loved of the Lord
22. Moloch! Moloch! Hear Us Now
23. Fly! Fly! The Host of Assur Is Come on Us
24. Jerusalem, That Was Queen of the Nations
25. I Will Bear the Indignation of God
26. Wail, Wail, Ye Solitary People!
27. The Lord Is Long-Suffering and Merciful
28. Our King Is Come Again from Distant Lands
29. Behold, How Great Is the Mercy of Our God
30. Hear Ye the Words of the Captain of the Great King
31. Woe! Our Citys Walls Are Broken
32. Let Us Give Thanks unto the Lord Our God
33. I Pray Thee, O God of My Fathers
34. The God of Our Fathers Give Thee Favour
35. See Ye the Campfires of the Host of Assur
36. Ho! Ye upon the Walls
37. Arise, O Israel! Smite Ye Your Enemies
38. God Breaketh the Battle
39. I Will Sing unto the Lord
40. Put Off, O Jerusalem, the Garment of Thy Mourning
Recorded after the first London performance for over 130 years, Parry’s neglected oratorio here appears on disc for the very first time. Having been commissioned by the Birmingham Festival, Parry decided to combine the Old Testament stories of Manasseh and Judith. A good deal of the libretto was provided by Parry himself, who took other texts from the biblical books of Isaiah, Psalms, and Judith. Having originally conceived the work in four acts, Parry condensed it into two. Judith was premiered by Richter in Birmingham in August 1888, and it consolidated Parry’s reputation as a choral composer, numerous performances following in Edinburgh and in London. Although popular in his lifetime, Judith fell into obscurity after Parry’s death.