Stephen Foster

This generously programmed CD was derived from two different early-'60s albums by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that happen to fit together by virtue of the common period shared by the repertory. Their approach to the music is somewhat different from that of the Roger Wagner Chorale, who generally take a more robust, full-bodied, and direct approach to this repertory. Under Richard Condie's direction, by contrast, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir generally go for subtle, highly restrained dynamics, even on full-blooded numbers like "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," "The Battle Cry of Freedom," "He's Gone Away" (which is doubly fascinating to hear in a more authentic form than the version popularized by the Serendipity Singers around same period), and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"…

With Stephen Hough's Mendelssohn we enter a new dimension. The soft, stylish arpeggios that open the first work here, the Capriccio brillant, announce something special. But this is just a preparation for the First Concerto. Here again, 'stylish' is the word. One can sense the background – especially the operatic background against which these works were composed. The first solo doesn't simply storm away, fortissimo; one hears distinct emotional traits: the imperious, thundering octaves, the agitated semiquavers, the pleading appoggiaturas.

This disc contains works by Grainger in versions for large choral forces, performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under its new Chief Conductor, Sir Andrew Davis, and featuring the Sydney Chamber Choir and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus. The recording continues on from our nineteen-disc Grainger Edition box and brings our long-running Grainger survey to an end.