Just to clear up the disturbance issue.....I took part in the performance and had a goood view of the front of the Arena. There was an altercation between someone sitting on the Arena floor and another Prommer who had taken great exception to it. Stewards were involved and someone was ushered out through the bull run.
I have read the comments with great interest. In the past 3 months the Halle Choir have spent 22 hours in rehearsal or performance with the orchestra and soloists. This reflects Mark Elders's absolute attention to detail and the huge investment by the Halle and BBC in the project. Even at 5pm on Saturday Elder was polishing and nuancing orchestral passages and we were discovering little nuggets of gold in the score.
With piano rehearsals the choir have clocked up over 70 hours working on the piece, and it has taken that long for me to fully appreciate it. The Apostles is a complex work, and some of the negative comments on the merits of the piece, such as the Guardian's, seem to disclose more about the superficiality of the reviewer.
I have listened to all the recordings of the work, and on balance think Elder's is the definitive version. I prefer the performances of Sheila Armstrong (Boult) and Alfreda Hodgson (Hickox), but Evans and Coote were both very good. Groves was in better form in Manchester than London. He seemed to be struggling most of the week vocally and a bit out of sorts. Sherratt's Judas was a little more theatrically restrained than Bayley's, but his tone was wonderful. Kempster was as good as a young Terfel and Imbrailo is without doubt the finest Christ on record. The Halle Youth Choir as the semi-chorus are crystalline in tone and a wonderful asset.
I can't add much to what has already been said about the orchestral playing and Elder's conception of the piece.
I have read the comments with great interest. In the past 3 months the Halle Choir have spent 22 hours in rehearsal or performance with the orchestra and soloists. This reflects Mark Elders's absolute attention to detail and the huge investment by the Halle and BBC in the project. Even at 5pm on Saturday Elder was polishing and nuancing orchestral passages and we were discovering little nuggets of gold in the score.
With piano rehearsals the choir have clocked up over 70 hours working on the piece, and it has taken that long for me to fully appreciate it. The Apostles is a complex work, and some of the negative comments on the merits of the piece, such as the Guardian's, seem to disclose more about the superficiality of the reviewer.
I have listened to all the recordings of the work, and on balance think Elder's is the definitive version. I prefer the performances of Sheila Armstrong (Boult) and Alfreda Hodgson (Hickox), but Evans and Coote were both very good. Groves was in better form in Manchester than London. He seemed to be struggling most of the week vocally and a bit out of sorts. Sherratt's Judas was a little more theatrically restrained than Bayley's, but his tone was wonderful. Kempster was as good as a young Terfel and Imbrailo is without doubt the finest Christ on record. The Halle Youth Choir as the semi-chorus are crystalline in tone and a wonderful asset.
I can't add much to what has already been said about the orchestral playing and Elder's conception of the piece.
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