The unpredictable Sir Thomas Beecham triumphs with one of the most cohesively satisfying versions of this ambitious opus on record, recorded live in 1959. Abetted by a splendid, if overly dominant chorus, Beecham's Royal Philharmonic is in its finest form, notwithstanding a few tentative brass entrances and misaligned chords. Tenor Richard Lewis sings well, although his forthright, stentorian delivery won't erase memories of Leopold Simoneau's more stylish and subtle &Sanctus& for Munch (RCA). Moreover, the full glory of Berlioz's spatial scoring is best experienced in stereo. Still, BBC offers immense sonic improvement over previous &underground& issues for this landmark performance of a work otherwise unrecorded by Beecham, and fits snugly onto a single disc.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com