Sullivan's The Beauty Stone from Chandos

[Alan Howe]

A follow-up to the recording of Ivanhoe:
http://www.mdt.co.uk/sullivan-arthur-the-beauty-stone-rory-macdonald-chandos-records-2cds.html

[Mark Thomas]

Mmm, a mouth-watering prospect. It's such a shame that his serious works are so overshadowed by the G&S stuff, good though it is.

[Jimfin]

With apparently a good deal previously unheard material, cut after the premiere. I'm greatly looking forward to this!

[JeremyMHolmes]

Now available for download at www.theclassicalshop.net for those who are keen to get hold of it!

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for the info.

[Mark Thomas]

I've just spent an enjoyable morning listening to this two hour long work. It's not possible, after just one hearing, to give much of a worthwhile critique of the piece, but here are a few impressions: The recording and performances are well up to Chandos' usual very high standard, and the soloists in particular make a strong impression. Although the opera is instantly recognisable as a product of Sullivan's pen, with his strong rhythmic impulse, it's written in his serious style whilst still managing to be more consistently lyrical than Ivanhoe, and never aping his G&S operettas. The quality of the melodic invention is very high, with some instantly memorable numbers, and it seems to me that Sullivan paid particular attention to the musical characterisation of the main players, who are strongly delineated. Throughout, his orchestration is a particular joy, especially in the several short but very effective orchestral interludes covering scene changes. All the music has been restored, apparently, but the original work had as much spoken as sung dialogue and the première lasted four hours! Although the spoken dialogue is missing from the recording, it all flows very well musically and I didn't notice any jarring musical transitions because of its absence. The booklet has the full sung libretto, with short summaries of the action covered by the spoken dialogue - a good compromise. If one thinks how his contemporary Massenet, say, might have set this medieval morality tale (and it's a very Massenet story line), one might feel that Sullivan's take on it is inappropriately lightweight and perhaps a bit old-fashioned for 1898, but I can guarantee that if you enjoy his Golden Legend or Ivanhoe, you are going to love this.