Customer Reviews

Handel: Messiah

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I grew up hearing this rendition of Handel's Messiah, so I admit I may be biased; however, since my youth I have heard many other recordings and this 1959 Ormandy recording remains my favorite by far!

Some say that the Ormandy rendition is technically inferior to comparatively modern recordings which place more emphasis on period instruments, historical reproduction, etc. I would counter that the Ormandy recording is about the Messiah instead of being just another performance of Handel's Messiah. The tempos--slower than those of more recent recording--give additional meaning to this sacred work and lead the listener to reflect on the religious significance of the work instead of solely considering the technical aspects of its performance. It is from this perspective that the Ormandy recording is perhaps the most artful of all Messiah recordings, as well as the standard against which many others are compared.

The universal complaint regarding the Ormandy recording is that it is not a complete recording. Several segments (principally airs and recitatives) were omitted because of space limitations. In 1995, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, under the direction of Sir David Willcocks, released a second, complete recording of the Messiah. This recording is no doubt more technically accurate than the Ormandy recording, yet still is not as widely regarded or as well known.

I own both Mormon Tabernacle Choir Messiah recordings, but if I had to choose one, it would definitely be the Ormandy version. I couldn't recommend it more highly!

I began searching for the best Messiah many years ago. I received my first copy of this version as a gift and over the years I have come to realize the manner of presentation, along with the meticulous attention to detail, can only lead one to believe that Handel himself would feel this to be the best. No flamboyancy. No dramatic interpretation. Simply the best recording of the Messiah.

I also grew up with this recording (on LP) and I also loved it, until I realized what was missing. I had taken it for granted because of the misleading liner notes that it was customary to omit certain numbers. I soon found out otherwise, though, and I discovered that the numbers omitted here are every bit as inspired as the rest of the oratorio.

The other great fault that I find with this recording is that it uses the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as bland a chorus as ever became famous. (The soloists are excellent, but that can also be said of the ones in several other "Messiah" albums.)

I had no idea of what I was really missing until I discovered the Robert Shaw Chorale's 1966 recording, which I heard for the first time in 1974. It has everything that the Ormandy recording does not; instead of heavy, ponderous conducting and a chorus of two hundred singers, it utilizes lively conducting and a chamber chorus, as well as brilliant soloists. With this recording, and with his 1984 remake on Telarc with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus, Shaw established himself as the twentieth century's definitive conductor of "Messiah". Both Shaw versions are now on CD.

Ormandy's recording has much nostalgic meaning for many people, but it cuts as much as forty-five minutes from the two-and-a-half hour score, and can't even begin to compare with Shaw's two magnificent complete recordings. "Messiah" lovers deserve better than a mutilated version of the work.

I suspect many Americans learned the music of Messiah when this was first released something like 40 years ago. Yes, its missing about half of the music, and yes, it isn't played on period instruments or orchestration and is missing most of even the most standard Baroque ornamentation, but it nevertheless sounds wonderful and in ways more robust than some of the more urtext performances available. And Eileen Farrell simply sings rings around almost all of the more accurate but comparatively bloodless soprano competition. The other soloists are fine, and the chorus and orchestra are energetic.

Like many others here, this recording was my first exposure to Handel's Messiah. I thought it was rather strange for a Baroque piece, but kept listening to it to resurrect the Christmas cheer every year.

Then I listened to John Eliot Gardiner's rendition, and I finally understood what I was missing.

Unlike Gardiner's version, this version lacks the lightness of step and vigor of Handel. Instead, it's a muddy, leaden, over-dramatic mess. The microphones seem to be set quite a ways from a HUGE choir and orchestra, creating a foggy, booming atmosphere.

From other reviews here, it sounds like many people like this simply because of fond memories from their childhood. If you don't have those memories and know even a little bit about classical music, DON'T get this version. Get a version that actually treats it like the Baroque masterpiece that it is.

Let's face it, many people have written about the technicality of this cd. Like many I heard this rendition when it first came out..I loved it. Then I got busy with life and the record got lost or broken and I didn't think much about it. Recently I have hungered for this recording and was pleased to find it available. However, reading some of the reviews I became curious as to whether there was one out there I might like better. After all it had been over thirty years since I heard it. I'v heard others that I liked well enough but they never measured up. Maybe my memory was enhancing the experience of the sound of this particular one. No--the minute heard it I new what the difference is. This recording makes you FEEL what this music is about. Take all the other arguments and put them aside and just listen to this and you will know. You will feel what Handel is saying in this piece. You will feel tears and joy. I felt them when I was young and it is the same experience now as I am older. The others are lovely but this has feeling. It makes a difference.

OK. So it's an analog recording. It's worth getting, though. Most MESSIAHS are dull, dreary things that plod along between the hit tunes. Ormandy is an absolute master of tempo, building the music (and especially the hits) to convey how the stretti should be played. The tempo isn't really stringendo, but follows the meaning behind the words with a cunning brilliance that makes one want to stand during all of the choruses. In short, if you want a DDD CD, buy something inferior. If you want the definitive take on MESSIAH, give this a chance. I should say, by the way, that I don't normally much care for Ormandy's work. In this recording, though, he has redeemed himself

Although there are more technically perfect performances, this is a true classic. There is an emotional and spiritual power in this performance that I have not found in any other recording, including this group's more recent CD of Messiah.

Still in print after 50 years? Thank heavens. Our decades old CD got damaged. Thought we'd have to play our nearly worn out vinyl version.

If Handel had been alive in 1959, he'd have teamed up Ormandy, his orchestra, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as his absolute dream team. And been proud of the result.

No one remembers the soloists anymore. Too bad, they were brilliant here. But everyone remembers Ormandy in the golden years of the Philadelphia Orchestra for good reason. They were the best in the world. The MTC was then, and remains today about as good as a large choir gets. There is nothing like them in full voice.

It's analog, incomplete, and not the baroque style. If that's what you're after, look elsewhere. But if you want the core of the Messiah played sensitively and sung brilliantly by the best of the best, buy this one.

This is the first recording I had of Messiah and the basis for all other versions I heard since then. I now own recordings by the Robert Shaw Chorale (my favorite), the Atlanta Symphony with Shaw (my next favorite), Neville Marriner, the BBC Philharmonic with Harry Christophers doing Mozart's arrangement, and the huge Sir Thomas Beecham recording. Most of the newer recordings seem to use the faster Baroque tempi, which is fine, but, after hearing so many of them, I really enjoy some of the older recordings using slower, more Romantic tempi like Beecham's and Ormandy's.

David Cunningham's voice has a bit of an edge on it, and he is my least favorite tenor in these recordings. I think William Warfield is in the same class as Giorgio Tozzi with Beecham, and Thomas Paul and Richard Stillwell with Shaw. He is lyrical and handles the faster passages nicely.

I would not suggest this recording over the Shaw ones, but it is nice to go back to the bigger sound and slower paces once in a while.