[78-L] Hear My Prayer

[DAVID BURNHAM]

dl wrote:
 
But the original version remained in print on Victor. I have never seen a North 
American issue of the remake.

dl

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Well not on 78 at least.  I think LP issues were of the later take, but that's probably because any LP issue originated in G.B.  I guess the record wasn't near as popular in North America, while in England it became quite a legendary recording - one of the most popular legends being that Lough died after making the record, (which he did, of course, but not until many decades later, he lived to be a happy old man;  I met him when he was in his 70s).

I know it's always expected in this business to prefer what is older or rarer, or both.  Weingartner's recording of Beethoven's 5th by the unknown orchestra which is very hard to find is hailed as his best, although it begs the question, "if it was so good, why was it pulled from the market"?, and Robert L. Marsh wrote a book which had the consistent message that the only Toscanini recordings worth listening to are those which were never released to the public - every time he was considering an unreleased recording it seemed he always included the line, "This recording is superior in every way to any of the commercially released versions".  Very early in his book, I detected a certain amount of gloating, "I have access to this recording and you don't!"

Anyway, I digress.

Of the two versions of "Hear My Prayer", I believe the first is superior to the second in two particular areas:  first of all, the sound of the voice.  This piece is very plaintiff and when Lough made the first recording, he was just a member of the choir.  The voice sounds a bit nervous and humble and lends itself perfectly to the words.  When he made the second version he was a celebrity, well-known for many records he had made and he approached the mike with pride and confidence.  I feel this detracts from the performance.  The second reason is purely musical and personal.  Just before "O for the wings of a dove" begins, there is a huge cut in the music, (to accomodate a single 12 inch record).  In the complete version, this line is sung over a tonic in the pedal, (G), and the recap is over the dominant in the pedal, (D).  The recap is all we hear in the Lough recording and in the earlier version, the organ played it as such - over the "D", which is
 far more musical for my taste.  The later recording is over the "G".

db