London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Adrian Boult
Pristine Audio PAC0018, 34:40 [www.pristineclassical.com] ***:
Recorded 10 September 1953 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London for Nixa LP Records (NLP 904), this fine interpretation of William Walton’s popular oratorio features baritone Dennis Noble (1899-1966) in splendid voice and diction. Sir Adrian Boult, who leads this performance, conducted the London premier in 1931. Usually presented in 10 sections, this inscription has nine, seeming to omit No. 4, “In Babylon, Belshazzar the King made a great feast.” The restored sound by engineer Peter Harrison of disk2disk audio, is fine.
The piece itself is an amalgam of musical styles, brilliant all, with some use of jazz idioms to represent the profanity of Belshazzar’s decision to violate sacred Hebrew vessels for use in his idolatries. While the text borrows heavily from The Book of Daniel, this version does not include Daniel’s famed reading of the handwriting on the wall. The energy of the sections devoted to “Praise ye the god of gold” and “Thus in Babylon” cannot be denied, especially the full chorus in unison. The sheer quantity and volume of the augmented brass and wind section makes for vibrant, visceral colors. Noble returns for the recitation “And in that same hour,” which mentions the writing on the wall, but only as a dark prophecy of the doom that awaits Belshazzar. “Slain–and his kingdom divided.” Wicked battery sound precede the surge of joy that beckons us, “Then sing aloud to God.” The jubilation and antiphonal ferocity of the singing, accompanied by the LPO’s nimble strings, proves infectious, impressive enough to demo on audiophile equipment. Modal harmonies illuminate “The trumpeters and pipers are silent,” which then transitions to the raucous, percussively jubilant finale, “Then sing aloud to God.” I found the diction on this last cut smudged and garbled, despite the force of the interpretation.
Pristine offers its catalogue on 24-bit FLAC downloads, and collectors ought to sample the CD and FLAC incarnations each to see which best suits their musical, computer and audio requirements.
— Gary Lemco
