Customer Reviews

Handel: Messiah

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

 

 

While no work with as varied a performance history as The Messiah can be called definitive, this one comes close. First, the size and scale of the chamber orchestra and chorus is ideal; they sing and play with a precision that creates an impact of much larger forces. Second, the soloists are all one could ask. The men are particularly good, (it's nice to hear a real bass sing this music!) and the under-recorded Judith Blegen is a joy to hear. Third, the sound on this 1981 recording is simply the best I've heard- open, detailed, but never bright, with a wonderful sense of space around the performers. Don't hesitate.

Of my more than 30 Messiahs, this is the one I'd take without hesitation to the proverbial desert island. Westenberg and his forces have clearly studied the best of what went before -- Shaw, Davis, Mackerras -- and built on them. The orchestra, the chorus, Westenberg's conception, and the recorded sound are all as good as it gets, from the very first note of the overture.

Soprano Judith Blegen is unusually powerful and uses larger dynamics than her competitors, and she does it superbly. Her baroque taste is impeccable, as is her technique; hers is a Messiah perspective everyone should hear, particularly those who insist on thin reedy sound as proof of "authenticity". Tenor John Aler is better recorded than on his other effort with Andrew Davis, and is neck-and-neck with Philip Langridge for best Messiah tenor ever. Bass John Cheek has a large dark sound, fine technique, and great sincerity. Only the alto is forgettable.

This is a work of love, and I love it. There are other recordings that are better here, better there. But overall, none of them come close to this.

This is the best Messiah in sound quality. It's astonishing that sound quality like this could be done in the early 80's... I would have to say better than Decca in the 60's!

As for the performance, it's just as astounding! This is chamber forces here (chorus and orch.), but the recording engineering makes it sound larger than life! It's big band Handel with ornaments without being pretentious.

The most important thing about this Messiah after the sound quality is the diction and singing of the chorus and soloists. Their words jump out of the orchestra at you with such ease, you don't strain any kind of muscle fibre to understand! It's something I've never experienced in any Messiah.

It is one for the desert island! WOW!

I make no claims of being an expert on Baroque music; I love this recording simply because it is stunningly, hauntingly beautiful. If you want to know specifics about tempo, period authenticity, etc., I'm afraid I can't help you much, but if (like I was) you are just looking for a full recording of Handel's Messiah that is powerful, beautiful, and moving, I can tell you that this is it. I have listened to several other recordings, and none has moved me as much as this one. Every emotion shines through brilliantly, stirring in the listener (or in me at least) responses of anticipation, exultation, sorrow, and joy.

Something else that even a non-music-expert such as I would find important is the sense of balance. In so many other recordings it seems that the soloists, the choir, and the instruments are competing; this version, however, employs everyone perfectly, allowing the music to be heard and appreciated while not overpowering the vocalists.

In short, this is a recording that can be appreciated by the untrained ear because it clearly has as its goal the full expression of Handel's work of beauty and genius, and at that it succeeds incomparably.

I am a bit of an audiophile and bought this CD because people said that the sound quality was superb. They weren't kidding. I played this for the first time through my McIntosh system with Monitor Audio speakers and was practically brought to tears. The audio clarity is unsurpassed. I highly recommend this CD. This work clearly glorifies God and His Christ!

Full disclosure: this was my first recording of Messiah, and as a poor college student, I bought it because it was cheap, and I wanted a recording to follow along with on my score. The tempi and feel matched what my own choral conductor (Dr. Talley of the USNA Men's Glee Club) directed. So I may have some bias associated with preferring the familiar over the superior.

I now have three other recordings of Messiah (Academy of St. Martins, Trevor Pinnock, and the Parrot version arranged by Mozart). This one remains my favorite. There are other recordings with better recording quality, with tighter choirs or better soloists. Every other recording I've heard, though, has at least one significant flaw - frenzied or sedate choruses, a soloist with a 'unique' interpretation or voice. Usually it's just one soloist that I simply can't stand. This recording is for me the golden mean of Messiah recordings. Consistently good soloists, good choir, good interpretation, decent recording quality.

So why four stars, not five? The sound quality, though good for the day, still has substantial shortcomings in the louder choruses. At the loudest parts, a faint bit of static can be heard, as though the dynamic range of the recording system were not quite enough to deal with the volume of sound. Otherwise, it's a very pleasant listen.

This recording is a bargain, and not the kind you listen to once and thereafter let it sit on your shelf. As for the omitted parts, each of the four years I sang Messiah at USNA, the 'set list' was different, and as I understand, this is rather a common practice. Having participated in what one reviewer has called an unpardonable musical sin, perhaps I am inured to its gravity.

C. Fox

This is a Messiah of distinct high peaks and low valleys. First, the weaknesses: In general, the soloist work here is decidedly mediocre. Judith Blegen has a a beautiful voice but lacks baroque expressive qualities. The alto, Ciesinski, seems to have been selected for her resemblance to the original alto, Mrs. Cibber, who was supposedly a weak singer. The pair can't hold a candle to the female singers in my favorite Messiah, Lynne Dawson and Catherine Denley on Harry Christophers' Hyperion version. The tenor here, John Aler, tries mightily but has been bested by more recent tenors such as Phillip Langridge or John Mark Ainsley. Tempi in the arias are often slow compared to more recent "authentic" performances--sometimes annoyingly so.

Now for the highs: Since this was recorded in 1981, Handel studies have advanced, but even so, Westenberg's scholarship still impresses. He uses that knowledge to produce what may be the best ever booklet accompanying Messiah recordings, where he explains compositional details of each piece, and his interpretive approach to each one. Some of these ideas don't hold up--I'm not convinced by Westenberg's argument for assigning "But who may abide.." to the bass; and he decides that there should be no pause between the end of many pieces and the beginning of others. But many interpretive choices are excellent: Westenburg picks what might be termed a "medium-small" choir (29), not as small as many recent period recordings, but much smaller than old-style Huddersfield masses. And this Musica Sacra choir is skilled! The choruses, and the precision with which they're handled, is the main reason to own this Messiah. With this sized choir the choruses have a good deal of "weight" without losing to much clarity. And, as opposed to the arias, Westenberg takes the choruses rather briskly.

Caution: The BMG 24/96-bit "High Performance" remastering process used here will expose stereo systems of less than high-quality (like mine). If you lack good speakers, you may want to think twice about this recording. If you've got a good system, on the other hand, the remastering here may be a definite plus.

(If I could I'd give this 3.5 stars, but the soloist quality just prevents me from giving 4.)

Who in world is Westenburg????? He is not well known by common fans (not the case of Pinnock, Mcreesh, Hogwood, Christie, Colin Davis, Gardiner ... all of them gave great readings of Messiah). So I was surprised to see rave reviews of this release. In Spanish Westenburg must be called a "don nadie", that is nobody knows him, it seems. But a "don nadie", if studies with patience a work and previous recordings, really can succeed in a very competitive field like Messiah recordings. So I went to the CD shop and discover this release is cheaper than full price ones. And with a nice boklet, with full text and explanatory notes number by number. All this predisposed me to find out a revelatory disc and gave a try.
Part one is a real success. Westenburg approach is middle-of-the-road between modern practices and period ones. All the modern instruments and traditional voices (no boys or countertenors) warmth and some vibrato but not excesive, clear lines, very well judged tempos and some appropiate embellishments. Well, I thought, it is a revelatory disc. Well produced, good sound, great interpretation. So I went on, well disposed to buy one of the greatests achievements recording industry gives to us sometimes: A hidden gem, offered to us by an unknown choir master.
Part 2 begins with a very solemn and rather perfunctory "Behold the Lamb". Too slow for my taste, but well sung and played. In a great Messiah recording you can forgive some little mistakes: no worry, be happy.

And then ... "He was despised". Very good 1st section ... until ... THE THREE NEXT CHORUSES BEGIN !!!!! THERE IS A SERIOUS CUT, INDEED THEY ARE OMITTED !!!!, IN THE "STORMY" MIDDLE SECTION IN "HE WAS DESPISED" AND ALL THE DA CAPO. This is not a small fault. Remember MESSIAH IS A LENT WORK, NOT A TRULY CHRISTMAS ONE, AND "HE WAS DESPISED" IS THE TRULY HEART OF MESSIAH. IT'S THE CORE OF THE MESSAGE OF THE ORATORIO, NO SURPRISE IT IS LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

I THINK NOBODY CAN ACCEPT A CUT LIKE THIS. That's why I put 1 *.
The logic of the cut seems to be to have space to allocate the three choruses together in 1st CD. They, I think, are not written "attaca" (to be played without pause), they could have been split in 2 and divided between the 2 CDs.
Nowadays, well aware of Baroque conventions and scores, nobody would cut anything of Messiah. And 1981 is not 1950, for at that time HIP was beggining: Hogwood was recorded, Marriner too (shares many features of HIP), Colin Davis, even Richter, old fashioned as he was, did NOT think for a second to cut a note (and he is a bit slower). Ohh You will say Colin Davis INDEED MADE A CUT in "He was despided": Yes, the instrumental rittornello at the beggining of the da capo is omitted, so you hear after the "stormy" central passage the alto words, and the aria goes on. Perhaps this was intended to make an interesting musical parallelism with "the trumpet shall sound": both are the 2 really long "da capo" arias, but in "the trumpet shall sound" already there is a kind of "cut" in the same place (by Handel?). So it does not compare with this obvious miscalculation.
IT'S NOT JUST A MINUTES AMONG MANY ONES JUST CUT. IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT IN THE WORK. REMEMBER MESSIAH IS NOT ONLY ALLELUJAH OR THE CHRISTMAS SECTION. IT'S LIKE TOSCA WITHOUT THE SPOKEN "E AVANTI LUI TREMABA TUTA ROMA"
DON'T BUY THIS, PLEASE. GIVE IT TO AN ENEMY.