Homer's Secret Iliad Kenneth Wood

This new West Side Story, the first American-based recording to appear since DG’s star-studded 1985 composer-conducted version, blessedly avoids that earlier production’s operatic pretensions, returning instead to the work’s Broadway roots by using young, theatrically trained singers with some genuine acting ability. Even with that, it’s probably wishful thinking to expect that this cast (fine as it is) can recreate the vibrant, raw freshness and scintillating brilliance of the original. Mike Eldred’s Tony comes off best; singing with a more mature sound than Larry Kert, he nonetheless creates a sense of heightened expectancy and wonder in “Something’s Coming”.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest written literary text in Middle Eastern/Western cultural history, predates the Hebrew Bible. The epic relates the story of King Gilgamesh, partly divine, partly human, who may have existed historically circa 2800 BC. From immature youth and a belief in his immortality, he eventually comes to accept the power and reality of Death. The Resurrection of the Soldiers for string orchestra was commissioned by George Vass, to whom it is dedicated, and the English Symphony Orchestra.