Very Good Performance
Charles Buschman | Roan Mountain, TN | 03/26/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The best aspect of this DVD is David Willcox's conducting. I have known of him as a superb arranger for decades; I did not know him at all as a conductor. He is of the Toscannini school, ultra precise, which is precisely what Handel numbers need. The preformance is musically superb as a result. I have given this DVD only four stars because of the four Handel "Coronation Anthems" only one is Handel at his best -- Zadok the Priest, which is sung first on this DVD and absolutely superbly.
I believe that the video quality of a classical music DVD is as important as the musical performance. If it is not, why should not a person just buy a CD? Here the lighting, the definition, the dress of the performers, the architecture of the building and other visual aspects are very good, though the lighting is not as splendidly theatrical as it is in the St. John's College Choir's DVD Ave Verum, the best choral DVD yet made.
I know that many people will object to my saying the following, but I must. To have close-up shots of individuals who ought not to be the subject of a close-up shot has something of the same effect as assigning solo passages to individuals not fully capable of singing on key -- it disrupts. There ae a few of these here. Just because someone belongs to a choir that makes a DVD does not entitle him or her to be the subject of a close-up shot."