Elgar, Gerontius The Angel's Farewell Procter, Willcocks, CUMS, 1961

[@Tenortalker]

Thank you for sharing this precious live recording.. It is so poignant as a reminder of the great work of Sir David Willcocks, a beautiful performance from choir and orchestra. At its centre is the magnificent, warm toned contralto voice of Norma Procter who sings the Angel with conviction and sensitivity. If you have the complete recording and it is in good enough to post I am sure many people would enjoy it. I assume this is a private recording from a radio broadcast?

[@DukeofDarkCorners]

I have the full recording, yes. I obtained it about 6 years ago, as a pair of LPs (pressings rather than acetates) on Ebay, labelled as a "Private Recording, IBC London Records. Published by Martin Chadwick", by permisson of Kings College Chapel - there seems to have been a run, as I have seen other copies for sale from time to time, as well as a Verdi Requiem conducted by Willcocks with Heather Harper(!) singing soprano. Not yet managed to get that one though. I don't know any more than that, and would welcome further information. The rest of the transfer is the same quality as this excerpt - I shall work on getting it uploaded.

[@Tenortalker]

That would be great Michael. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Interested to hear about Heather Harper in the Verdi. I see she sang it at Kingsway Hall in 1975 under Carlos Paita recording listed on discogs.com . She also tackled it at the Proms in 1969 with Lorin Maazel. It would be good to find the latter if it was broadcast because you would also have Charles Craig at his peak in the Tenor part. All the best, Andy.

[@DukeofDarkCorners]

The full performance is now available at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6eWhaiCpZ6Xrs0