March 2021 Classical Record Reviews
Dame Ethyl Smyth: The Prison Sarah Brailey, soprano; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone; Experiential Orchestra and Chorus, James Blachly, cond. Chandos CHSA 5279 (CD). 2020. Blanton Alspaugh, prod.; Brandon Johnson, John Newton, engs. Performance ****½ Sonics ****½ Dame Ethel Smyth didn’t call The Prison an oratorio, but it resembles Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. Her musical idiom…