Virgins 2018

The press release manages to write several paragraphs about Roger Eno without mentioning his brother. We will though. It's our Brian's brother. But really he should be seen in his own right as a composer of note and here collaborates with producer Youth (Killing Joke, Embrace etc). The pairing of Roger’s melancholic piano lines and Youth’s cinematic production gives the album a deeply moving quality. Wistful piano melodies twist and turn through vast, yet sparse, soundscapes, dipping through a myriad of influences. Orchestral swells rise throughout the mysterious track, Velvet Minute, whilst Salty Tears brings out a soft and sombre side to jazz, and closer Forgotten Song showcases an inspired take on merging Roger’s minimalist piano with Youth’s organic and synthetic sound design…

This is a great example of the "old school" of English oratorio performance. Actually, it's not that "old" because although it uses modern instruments, Raymond Leppard is as fully informed about Baroque performance practice as any period instrument guy. Beyond that, he has a stunning line-up of soloists, lead by Dame Janet Baker, who sing their roles with appropriately operatic fervor.

One of the most spectacular heroes of the Old Testament is Joshua, the successor to Moses, who caused the walls of Jericho to tumble down with that city's famous trombones. The Israelites' army conquered the promised land of Canaan under his leadership. This biblical story supplies the background to Handel's oratorio 'Joshua', premiered in 1748; it was supplemented by a love story involving the young captain, Othniel and Achsah, the daughter of an elder, by the presumed librettist, Thomas Morell. Thus the composer was able to include the entire spectrum of his musical expressivity: the magnificence of tympani and trumpets, joyful and jubilant choruses, virtuoso arias and moving love duets.