BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Michael Seal - Bliss: Miracle in the Gorbals, F. 6 & Metamorphic Variations, F. 122 (2025)
FLAC (tracks), Lossless +Booklet | 1:19:44 | 308 Mb
Genre: Classical
FLAC (tracks), Lossless +Booklet | 1:19:44 | 308 Mb
Genre: Classical
Perhaps now overshadowed by his earlier ballet Checkmate, Miracle in the Gorbals was a tremendous hit for Bliss and the Sadler’s Wells Ballet company. First performed in 1944, it was repeated in every season through to 1950. Based on a scenario by Michael Benthall (inspired by Jerome K. Jerome and Dostoyevsky), the ballet features the appearance of a Christ-like figure amid Glasgow’s most infamous slum. This mysterious Stranger performs a miracle, reviving the Girl Suicide, who in despair had earlier thrown herself into the Clyde. The locals rejoice, but an Official (Benthall had in mind a priest) is jealous and, after a failed attempt to cast doubt on the virtue of the Stranger via the local Prostitute, has him slashed to death by a razor gang. Bliss’s score employs a wide range of styles and harmonic language, and also exploits Leitmotifs for the principal characters.