In many ways a missing link between Mendelssohns Elijah and Elgars The Dream of Gerontius, The Prodigal Son, one of just two oratorios by Sir Arthur Sullivan, was a staple in the choral repertory from its first performance at the Three Choirs Festival of 1869 until the First World War put an end to a worldmusical or otherwisewhere innocence was acceptable. A relatively early work, the oratorio tells the storyfrom the Gospel of Saint Lukein a style that is at once endearing and dramatic. Commissioned in anticipatory thanksgiving for the conclusion of hostilities, the Boer War Te DeumSullivans last completed workhad to wait two years for the outbreak of peace to allow its posthumous performance, and what a crowd-pleaser it turned out to be: as Sullivans own hymn tune Onward, Christian soldiers rang out, the columnist of The Daily Telegraph reported how the Te Deum was brought up from exquisite tenderness to a pitch of dignity and strengthpraise indeed justified for a work which enthralls singer and listener alike. While some may consider Sullivan without the WSG on a level with a Chinese takeaway without the MSG, Hyperions pioneering recordings continue to go some way to prove the worth of his solo compositions. Ronald Corp and his New London Orchestra have also recorded Sullivans epic secular cantata The Golden Legend to critical acclaim.