Judith review - Parry's oratorio deserves an outing more than once a century

Royal Festival Hall, LondonIn its first UK hearing for many decades, conductor William Vann ensured that the dramatic oratorio's longueurs were outweighed by its strengths. The Old Testament story of Judith, who saved the Israelites by seducing enemy general Holofernes and then hacking off his head, has inspired dozens of paintings, from Caravaggio's amateur surgeon, frowning in concentration as she severs the jugular, to Klimt's joyous, gold-plated temptress. Composers haven't been so often or ...