Customer Reviews

Handel - Messiah (Complete) (3 CD Set) / Hunt, J. Williams, Spence, Minter, J. Thomas, W. Parker, PBO, McGegan

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nicholas McGegan has conducted some excellent Handel recordings in the past and is something of a specialist in this repertoire. However, his recording of "Messiah" leaves something to be desired. There is a lack of feeling that pervades the entire piece -- everyone does a thoroughly professional job, but it ends up sounding like just that: a JOB.

It's really a pity, because McGegan goes further in his scholarship than do other conductors by including nearly all the variants which Handel wrote through the years for different performances of the oratorio. So we get not only the 4/4 version of "Rejoice greatly" but the lilting 12/8 version as well (which I prefer). There are four versions of "But who may abide" and "How beautiful are the feet of them," three of "Thou art gone up on high" and a soprano version of "He was despised." The list goes on.

The performance itself, however, simply cannot compete with other recordings. The choir has a light, pleasant sound but is placed too far back, and the sound as recorded is boxy with very little "air" around the voices. All the soloists are capable and unoffensive, but uninspired as well. Only Lorraine Hunt really comes to life singing the alternate soprano version of "He was despised," giving a reading both luminous and heart-breaking.

If you are looking for a really fine period-instrument recording, I can recommend three: John Eliot Gardiner's, Trevor Pinnock's (with superb soloists in Arleen Auger and Anne Sofie von Otter) and Paul McCreesh's more recent version with one of the strongest line-ups of soloists I've heard in a long time. Also worth looking into is Richard Westenberg's recording with Musica Sacra, easy to overlook. It contains the 12/8 version of "Rejoice" and the soprano/alto duet version of "How beautiful are the feet" and the following chorus, "Break forth into joy." The soprano soloist is the marvelous Judith Blegen, one of the best. Compared to these four recordings, McGegan's is an also-ran. Buy it for the scholarship and the extra music, but get another version to hear an actual performance of "Messiah."

Very polished "no-nonsense" performance in the period style. Some will appreciate the unmannered way in which it is performed others will interpret this as being a bit dull. If you want a "complete" set in terms of it's various versions this is the performance to get. (It is available on THREE cd's which includes variations which can be programmed into your CD player) As a performance it's icy cool . As a recording the sound is very dry lacking in bloom.

I purchased a copy of this shortly after its release for an opportunity to hear the variants included. Having satisfied my curiosity, I've pretty much relegated it to the shelf. It's one of those recordings I respect without much enthusiasm. The much lamented Lorraine Hunt is the standout soloist. William Parker's baritone is well suited to the high lying tessitura of the bass part and his tone is nicely plush - and poignant given that he passed away not long after the recording from effects of a long illness. The other soloists are thoroughly professional. I have never cared much for the sound of the UC Berkeley Chorus in this or the other Handel oratorios McGegan recorded with them. There's nothing wrong with the choral voices as such, but I think glee club every time I hear them. The booklet makes much of the recording's engineering but the results are dry and lifeless. The conducting is pretty good, but I think the final "Amen" is a miscalculation. After the vigor of the penultimate chorus, the slow and soft singing is like stepping into mud. There are better historically informed performances available, but this is a unique opportunity to hear both Handel's original ideas, second thoughts, and response to necessity - like the secco recitatives substituted in Dublin because of singer limitations (for example, Who may abide). I've read elsewhere those those bits were lost to posterity, but that's a question for the musicologists.

I bought this recording of Handel's Messiah based on a recommendation made by a friend of mine, but I was a little disappointed when I heard it. In my humble opinion, the soloists are far from being great, although they do a fine job in almost all recitatives and arias. The choir has a beautiful sound but is very very weak: is it possible that we are talking about 40 people? The good point about this recording is, that it is REALLY complete: different versions of the same arias, recitatives and choruses, which lets you reconstruct Handel's original performances. Still, I would say: go for other renderings of this work if you are not interested in having 4 versions of the same arias (although I must say, it's really interesting to know them all).

This CD set is the most complete all versions of arias, choruses etc., and by simply programming your cd player, you can "recreate" various performances. Novel as it may seem it is not enough for me to recommend this set. I believe the Messiah should be really heartwarming, however McGegan create a really thin, cool sound. The orchestra and chorus lacks body -- a very small chamber choir doesn't help either. An interesting scholarly exercise. For those who really want a period performance should consider the excellent set by John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Chorus.

This recording of Handel's Messiah is not only my favorite of the oratorio --- it is my favorite baroque music CD of all. The recording is super clear, the performance is professional and uncluttered, and the interpretation is simply elegant. Sure, history buffs out there might like the extra tracks to investigate the various revisions Handel went through. Personally, I rarely use them. But I do find the vocal interpretations to be easily digested without the normal bravado which accompanies soloists who like to go "over-the-top". If you want a Messiah you can sing along to, or if you want to practice with your own choir --- this is the recording for you. Furthermore, I find McGegan has done an excellent job of finding the somber and reverent Handel among all the glitzy copies of this piece. No, this Hallelujah Chorus won't blow you away like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's version, but the softer, gentler moments are beautifully presented here with true baroque intonation and phrasing. For me, this performance sounds much more authentic and true to Handel's original score than others on period or reproduction instruments. Because of the 3 CD format, the performance isn't hammered and quick stamped like other 2 CD sets. You can actually play it on 3 successive evenings as was originally intended. The slower tempos allow the harmonies of the instruments to correctly marry with unrushed vocal solos. The Messiah is not about how loud you can blow into a valve-less horn or how duck-like you can make your oboes squawk; it's about whether or not the pastorale can transport you to heaven, ... and this one does !

I know half a dozen or so HIP readings of "Messiah' and have attended one or two, but none as misguided as McGegan's totally bloodless one -- there is absolutely no emotional affect. You cannot tell if the text is describing fear, awe, exaltation, prophetic warning, or devotion before God. Every number is reduced to a quick jog-trot, the singers briskly going about their business. I bought this set for the solos by Lorraine Hunt, the greatest Handel singer of our time before her premature death, but even she clamps down emotionally, clearly there's a musicological point being made, and McGegan is there to act as authenticity cop first and musician second.

His point seems misguided to begin with. The Baroque, in music, art, and architecture, exemplified expanded emotions, in the wake of the Counter-Reformation, which attracted worshipers back to Catholicism by florid emotional renditions of Christianity that ordinary people could relate to. This point is not in dispute, and when you add Handel's mastery of Italian opera, itself a highly emotional form, what excuse is there for sounding lobotomized? It's sad that McGegan decided so stubbornly to bleach out "Messiah," because he has vocal soloists who are far above average, with real excellence that extends beyond Hunt to the bass and countertenor; only the somewhat gargly, warbly tenor lets down the team, but even he is good. Just as outstanding is the choir from Berkeley, who can handle "He shall purify" at top speed with ease.

I don't believe that "Messiah" should go at top speed, but that's another matter. My negative reaction doesn't have to do with HIP practice but with this particular instance, which is bloodless and therefore out of the running.

I've never heard of Handel Messiah until I heard it being played in my supervisor's office. The music moved me like never before. Every song took me to a place of experiencing a sense of peace and calmness. I liked it so much that my boss purchased it for me as a Christmas present and I am so glad he did! I treasure this collection because it is a true MASTERPIECE. I have a spiritual experience every time I listen to it. If you are a classical music enthusiast (or not) and are debating whether or not you should buy this, think no more--buy this musical collection and you will be so glad you did.

McGegan and rather his engineers do not feel the depth of the work. Unfortunately enough, because his name "sells" the disc, and people will be disappointed under the xmas tree.
The completeness of it is stunning. A precise "higlight" CD containing all the alternative versions elsewhere unavailable would have been eloquent, however, would have made the complete one unsalable. There exists a single highlight CD, which is a trade-off between the ideal and a neglectible.

I enjoyed listening to the UC Berkeley orchestra in this Masterpiece of Handel. I recommend this to the erudite and scholared men/women of the world who appreciate Classical music.