• Sounds we thought had disappeared: the growth of historical recordings being issued on CD has been a most worthwhile recent trend. They provide a benchmark against which to measure our memory of the past. I vividly remember being taken, while on a choirboy summer school, to a Prom rehearsal to hear the young Jacqueline du Pré in the Elgar Cello Concerto. Now here is the tape of her Proms debut on 14 August 1962, aged 17, with Malcolm Sargent and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Pristine Audio; 2 CDs). What is totally gripping is the concentrated focus of Du Pré’s playing, with no wide vibrato, superbly projected. There’s a simplicity of utterance that one doesn’t always find in her later, more ample recordings of the work.
Alongside the concerto is a live broadcast of The Dream of Gerontius from Huddersfield on 24 November 1961. In spite of some noises off, this is a tremendous account which shows tenor Richard Lewis at his noble peak, the alto Marjorie Thomas rhapsodic and moving as the Angel, and Malcolm Sargent commanding his forces (the RLPO and Huddersfield Choral Society) magnificently.
• At the other end of the tradition in Italy is a fascinating revival of an oratorio by the little-known Francesco Feo, given in Bologna in 1734 (Glossa, 2 CDs). In line with the moralising times, San Francesco di Sales tells the story of the saint’s fight against Deceit and Heresy, while Francesco is supported by a distinctly non-Elgarian Angel. The music is unusually inventive, with swirling syncopated horns and wind. Fabio Biondi leads the stylish the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. Alto Delphine Galou makes a fine Saint, but the devil in the form of Luca Tittoto’s bass Deceit has the best tunes.
• Of Radio 3’s new programmes, the one that has caught my attention is Inside Music, in which performers talk about music that has inspired them and explain its workings. A tricky brief, well launched by percussionist Colin Currie with an eclectic selection from Gruber, Reich and Bartók. Violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen and conductor Nicholas Collon follow.
