Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

Gareth is a doctor, born in London, who now lives and works in Ayrshire, Scotland, and his vision is to bring to the secular stage a musical about the Easter story that is more faithful to the Biblical account than Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. He spent nearly four years writing it, and now it's available on two CDs, running time is a total of an hour and 23 minutes. Gareth himself admits that it needs to be scored for orchestra and rock band; on this recording it is mainly piano and keyboards, with some guitars and other strings, with vocals being handled by a group of soloists and chorus. Although this 2CD set has been properly and professionally recorded, the soloists and choir are competent rather than outstanding; were it to be made available with a full music score, to enable choirs and other groups of singers to use it, much in the way that Roger Jones has done with his many works over the last 30 years, it could have value as a resource, but sadly, in absolute performance terms, it's difficult to recommend it as it stands.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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