Tippett's early oratorio was a rare visitor to the Edinburgh Festival, and made a very effective programme for the closing concert. On this occasion there were several notable features. The conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky first came to the Festival in 1962, and gave the British premiere of the 4th Symphony of Shostakovich in 1964. However he was never a frequent visitor. Here he was making his final appearance in Edinburgh, and conducted in general a fierily dramatic account. He was ably backed up by the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchesstra.
The solo quartet was a well-picked group, perhaps inevitably dominated by the still-superb Wagnerian tones of Sir John Tomlinson. How sad that his Festival appearances were so infrequent during a long career. His annual commitment to Bayreuth over many years no doubt made it difficult to include Edinburgh in his busy schedule.
The American soprano Nicole Cabell was a recent winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and confirmed her quality - a lovely, silky voice that caressed the spirituals beautifully. The other two soloists, mezzo Jane Irwin and tenor John Mark Ainsley were rather more familiar visitors, and the quality of their performances showed just why they were always welcome.
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