A rare and interesting recording here: The Rochester Oratorio Society under its founding conductor, Theodore Hollenbach, in Berlioz's epic, and profound, Requiem. I am not sure of the date of the record but I believe it to be around 1955 or so, about the same time that Columbia was active in Rochester with recordings by Leinsdorf and the RPO. Records from Rochester were issued on the Entre and Harmony labels which were the budget labels of Columbia Masterworks prior to the introduction of the Odyssey label.
This is a Requiem for those that tire of the bombast approach to the piece. It is so easy for this music to descend into the banal because it is truly a concert hall spectacle, what with huge choral, orchestral and brass choir forces. Hollenbach navigates this mass of performers wonderfully and does not lose focus on the liturgical importance of the music. This is important since the music has to support the meaning of the text and not the other way around. Unfortunately too many performances get caught up in the excitement of the moment and performances become well, garbage. This happens far too often with a masterpiece like the Verdi Requiem, for instance.
Admittedly, one of the challenges on this recording, in monaural sound, is to capture this huge endeavor in a way that makes the music listenable and meaningful. Overall, the engineers did a fine job as Hollenbach's overiding choral vision supports the recording process. The orchestra, by the way, play very well - I would assume that it is made up of Philharmonic members and folks from the Eastman School. In addition, tenor Ray deVoll acquits himself well in his brief solo contribution.
I think that it is important to mention that Theodore Hollenbach was an important figure in the musical activities of upper state New York for many years and that during his 40 year tenure in Rochester, he built one of the finest choral society's in the Northeast part of the United States. Hollenbach also served a tenure as the music director of the Corning Philharmonic at a time when the Corning Corporation was pouring lots of money into the cultural development of that company city.
This record was in a so-so shape but it cleaned up pretty well. There are a few skips here and there but they do not deter from a very fine and committed performance. I believe this record to be a superb document of choral performance and a reminder of the artistic excellence existing in America's smaller cities.
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