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 Vol. 62, No. 4, July/August 1999.

A new collection of Randall Thompson's choral music is always welcome, yet this one is something of a mixed bag, primarily because only excerpts are included for Frostiana and The Testament of Freedom.  This under-filled CD could probably have accommodated both works complete.  And one complete work is preferable to two incomplete.  Also, I would have liked to have Frostiana and The Last Words of David with orchestral accompaniment. At least there are several other complete recordings of The Testament of Freedom with orchestra.

Once past those objections this is a fine disc.  Michael O'Neal sang with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers for two years and was several times a tenor soloist with the Atlanta Symphony under Shaw.  His training of his chorus clearly shows the Shaw influence, and his chorus is based in the Atlanta area.

Few American composers have written as effectively for chorus as Randall Thompson. Anyone with choral experience in this country undoubtedly has sung and loved some of his works.

Alleluia can be compared with the recent Shaw recording on Telarc (Nov/Dec 1998). In many ways it is the equal of the Shaw.  The Last Words of David was written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Serve Koussevitzky with the Boston Symphony and The Testament of Freedom was written with a powerful orchestral option. Both have stunning organ accompaniments here.  Frostiana is seven settings of poetry by Robert Frost.  The songs are gorgeous, but only four of the seven are included here.  And only two of the four movements of The Testament of Freedom are included. The Testament uses texts of Thomas Jefferson, and the cumulative effect of the whole work is so powerful that even those who disdain overtly patriotic works are often deeply moved by it.  To use only the two outer movements borders on sacrilege. The Peaceable Kingdom from 1936 is one of Thompson's finest works. It is presented complete and a cappella, as intended. it was inspired by Edward Hick's painting of the same title.

The recorded sound is good though not ideal. Microphone placement is fairly close, but the acoustic space of the Roswell, Georgia, United Methodist Church sometimes causes slight blurring.  The accompaniments are well played by Tom Alderman, but the piano sounds like an inferior instrument.

Despite my carping, I enjoyed this disc.

Bauman

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