
Music Composed by
Mikl�s R�zsa
Conducted by
Erich Kunzel
with the
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
and the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Tracks:
BEN-HUR
1. Overture (03:54)
2. Star of Bethlehem / Adoration of the Magi (03:51)
3. Rowing of the Galley Slaves (02:41)
4. Alleluia (02:11)
5. Parade of the Charioteers (03:28)
6. Miracle and Finale (05:35)
QUO VADIS?
7. Prelude (01:46)
8. Ave Caesar March (04:13)
9. Fertility Hymn (01:16)
10. Assyrian Dance (02:00)
11. Marcus and Lygia (04:54)
12. Miracle and Finale (04:10)
KING OF KINGS
13. Overture (04:04)
14. Roman Legions (01:38)
15. Nativity (02:01)
16. The Feast of Passover (02:07)
17. Herod’s Feast (01:09)
18. Miracles of Christ (02:53)
19. The Lord’s Prayer (02:26)
20. Pieta (03:03)
21. Resurrection and Finale (02:23)
Total Time: 61’43
"Before anything else is said here, it should be established that Three Choral Suites by Mikl�s R�zsa
by Erich Kunzel, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a GREAT album. Telarc’s sound
captures every nuance of the orchestra and chorus, both being in top form and in complete communion
with R�zsa’s music. Although said many times over the years, perhaps here more than ever it is apropos:
"what a fine orchestra they have there down in Cincinnati." Three Choral Suites by Mikl�s R�zsa will make
a believer out of you.
This is the first time Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops have produced an album of "golden age" Hollywood film
music devoted to a single composer. One may wonder why such well-known film scores, namely Ben-Hur,
Quo Vadis, and King of Kings, that have so often been recorded, even under the composer, should need
to be "reconstructed" as they are here. Toward the end of his life, R�zsa had planned to pull together
these works into the form of choral suites for concert use, but died before getting very far with the idea.
To compound the irony, R�zsa authority Christopher Palmer, who initiated the Quo Vadis choral suite here,
died before he had a chance to put the final changes on his work. Other R�zsa experts, such as Daniel
Robbins, Julian Kershaw, Joseph D. Price, and even Kunzel himself, have thankfully remained among the
quick, putting these scores into a performable state. These are the first recordings of any of these particular
suites, and their inherent qualities fully justify R�zsa’s vision in recasting the music in this way, as it is
clearly the ideal way to present R�zsa’s film music in a concert setting.
The performance is perfectly idiomatic for the style, and the superb Telarc recording provides the sections
of the orchestra in a spectrum so well divided it is almost better than being there. There are many
highlights, but to cite just one, the "Assyrian Dance" from Quo Vadis has a wonderfully propulsive quality
to it — for once, you have orchestral percussionists who are truly "awake." In spite of the many Grammy
awards Kunzel and Cincinnati Pops have picked up over the years, in this case, the Grammy committee
should not even wait for the ceremony to distinguish this release — it is that good."
All Music
Source: Telarc CD (my rip!)
Format FLAC (RAR), DDD Stereo
File Size: 324 MB (incl. artwork, booklet, log, cue)
Download Link – https://mega.co.nz/#!wo1jiLRR!DyQ-pkHOvRzYAEWIuB2S53ze7ktoa0BrkPCID_aiOJs
Enjoy! Don’t share! Buy the original! 🙂
And don’t forget your friendly uploader! 😉
Thank you so much!
Yes, you may be right. I’ll dig out my old LP to see if that’s the arrangement on it. I think the LP I have is not listed on soundtrackcollector, at least I couldn’t find anything resembling my LP. I’m courious which label it was released on. Prometheus may have re-issued that old recording I have on LP. According to soundtrackcollector, the Prometheus album features the Brigham Young University Choir. As soon as I hold my LP in my hands, I’ll know for sure! Possibly it’s even a separate recording. There have been so many recordings of the various Rozsa scores that one can assume that soundtrackcollector may have missed that one!
I’ve checked my LP, and it’s the same recording as the one on the Prometheus album. There is a reference in the notes of the Prometheus release:
12 CHORUSES FROM BEN-HUR AND KING OF KINGS
Performed by The Brigham Young University A Capella Choir
Conducted by Philip Woodward (according to soundtrackcollector, his name is Ralph Woodward), Don Cook organist
Originally released on Medallion Records ML 311
That’s the LP I have! (ML 311)
Thanks so much for this one. I was watching Quo Vadis only the other day 🙂