Carl ORFF (1895 – 1981) Carmina Burana (1934) [64.25]

CARL ORFFCarmina Burana Ann Archibald, John Graham-Hall, Peter Sidhom, Boys of the Temple Church Choir, London, Royal Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Richard Cooke

“Cooke gets a strong performance from his choir and orchestra ….At Brilliant’s prices, you could easily buy this if you are curious or if the excellent cast appeals.

“Conductor Richard Cooke is the Musical Director of the Royal Choral Society and very sympathetic to his performers …. “Ann Archibald….. is a radiant soprano soloist. John Graham Hall is a very characterful tenor soloist, using his varied vocal registers to great effect. Peter Sidhom is an equally vivid baritone and like Hall uses the variety of registers with great character. I was rather taken with Sidhom’s performance, he sings musically and intelligently, but ensures that the immediacy of Orff’s music is not blunted

“One of the problems of this piece is the simple gorgeousness of its music. It is fatally easy to get lost in this. Richard Cooke and his forces do not make this mistake…

“Neither the packaging nor the Brilliant Classics web site give any clues as to the session details, though it seems to date from 1999/2000. It was originally issued on the Royal Philharmonic’s own label. I presume the location to be the Royal Albert Hall.  The orchestra is captured with extreme vividness, in fact the dynamic range of the recording is quite wide.

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