SITE RATING: 1/10
SITE
REVIEW: This is a
recording with an extremely murky
provenance. It is indisputably under the
baton of J. Randolph Jones, and most likely
released in 1962 (via an original
advertisement found in the Cincinnati
Enquirer from the era). J.
Randolph Jones was the conductor of the Jersey
City Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, (which
was staffed with members of the NBC Symphony
and the New York Philharmonic, with John
Corigliano (Sr.) as its concertmaster), and
who also guest conducted in Mexico City.
Previously released in 1976 on the Everest
label (SDBR 3398), and originally credited to
'Soloist,
Chorus and Chamber Orchestra of the Pro Musica
Antiqua', label Metacom Inc. re-released
this album crediting the choir and orchestra
of St. Paul's Cathedral under the baton of
Randolph Jones. Madacy records has
also released this album (again credited to
"Pro Antiqua") as part of its Ultimate
Christmas Collection box set, and
www.ReDiscovery.us lists it under the nom
de plume Kurt von Baum (who was a
faux-Nazi character in a French-Italian
musical comedy The Crazy Kids of War (1967),
starring Terrence Hill) and the Homburg
Symphony. But regardless, it's all
the same recording. Whatever
guise it appears in, it needs to be avoided,
since the sound is abysmal, the performance
is ham-handed, and the track order is
completely random. I suspect that this
release was mastered from vinyl sources -
there is an underlying "buzz" in the
recorded sound which sounds throughout, as
well as occasional distortion in the upper
and lower ranges. As to the
performance, it's strictly
by-the-numbers: the chorus sound like a
basic community choir with wide-spread
vowels; the tenor soloist is cursed with a
wobbly vibrato in his otherwise boyish tone,
the orchestra plays well, but with little
distinction, the alto soloist is similarly
b-class; the bass soloist combines all the
worst qualities of throaty, heavy singing,
and the soprano occasionally slides up to
her upper register. As I said in a
previous review - the mystery surrounding
this recording is more interesting than the
recording itself. Consider this one
for the scrap heap.
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