Only days after the death of Ronald Corp (who passed on May 7), another conductor from the Hyperion Records stable, Matthew Best, has died. Best, who founded the Corydon Singers in 1973 (if my math is correct, at the age of 16!), made many cherishable recordings. Over the years, I’ve acquired a number of them. His Villa-Lobos disc that includes the composer’s “Missa São Sebastião” was a revelation.
Of course, Best also recorded plenty of Vaughan Williams. Vaughan Williams had a lifelong fascination with John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” laboring at an opera on the subject for decades, finally completing it only later in life. In the process, he assimilated material from some of his earlier settings and inspirations. One such source was incidental music composed for a radio play in 1942, the broadcast of which featured John Gielgud as Christian. In 1990, Best recorded a distillation of this music as “The Pilgrim’s Progress: A Bunyan Sequence,” with Gielgud returning to reprise the role he created.
Another program conducted by Best that includes Vaughan Wiilliams’ “Serenade to Music” and “Flos Campi” is also very highly prized. All four discs of his Vaughan Williams choral music performances were later collected and reissued as a set.
A recording of his I especially value (not a part of that set) is of Vaughan Williams’ opera “Hugh the Drover.” “Hugh” is chock-full of folk melodies, both genuine and imitation, of a variety that fans of the composer will recognize and adore. It’s also the rare opera to actually feature a prize fight!
This pugilistic interlude aside, there is a spirit of nostalgia and romance that permeates the score, and Best conveys it to perfection. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to opera die-hards who believe Verdi is the begin-all and end-all of the art form, but there’s a kind of twilit magic at play here that at times positively glows. I’ll be taking this with me today to keep me company during my Monday afternoon wildlife center food deliveries, an apt choice for farm and country.
Best was also a formidable bass, who sang such operatic roles as Wotan, Scarpia, and Mozart’s Commendatore. He died on Saturday, aged only 68 years. That’s often only middle-age for someone in his profession.
I didn’t mention Corp earlier, since I intend to honor him later this week on the next installment of “Sweetness and Light” (to be streamed on KWAX Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT). Corp too left many delightful recordings, including four discs of British Light Music that served to spark my interest in the genre. However, since Fate’s hammer has fallen twice, I am taking the opportunity to express, albeit briefly, my appreciation and gratitude for him, as well. Corp was 74 years-old.
R.I.P.
Best conducts Villa-Lobos, “Missa São Sebastião”
Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade to Music”
Corp conducts Armstrong Gibbs’ “At Dusk”
