Customer Reviews

Handel - Messiah

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

 

 

The harpsichord is used in this recording albeit discretely (with reference to the previous review - a clavecin is in fact a harpsichord) and Jacobs makes very imaginative use of the organ. The use by Jacobs of the lute as a continuo instrument is also incredibly effective. The soloists are uniformly excellent and the choir is spectacular. Whilst not as devotional as the recent Harnoncourt recording (my all time favourite), the combination of English choral excellence, German orchestral brilliance and Flemish flair in the conducting make for a winning recipe. Don't miss it.

Rene Jacobs was bound to get around to Messiah sooner or later and here it is. The soloists are all excellent, ornamenting the music tastefully if in a rather mannered fashion and without being very memorable. The chorus and orchestra are also excellent, but their work is the most affected by Jacobs' idiosyncracies. He has them interpolate trills at many cadential moments when one simply wants to get on with it and the fussy staccato articulation of the text in some of the choruses will be annoying to some. Surely this is due to Jacobs wanting to put his own personal stamp on the work (God knows it has been recorded almost to death), but in its own way it is entertaining and the overall music-making is joyful and life-affirming. I wouldn't recommend this as a first version, but if one already has a number of versions of Messiah and wants to hear a different take on a familiar work splendidly performed, this should fit the bill nicely.

There is an alchemy in this recording that if extremely rare to find outside of a concert hall. Even though the tempi are usual and it is more "baroquey" than my tastes run, this is one of the most magical recording I have come across. I wish I could give it more than five stars.

If you want a 2nd version of the Messiah which is not a typical war horse with a full symphony backing, this

is the version for you. It has a wonderful delicacy in soloists, chorus and orchestra. The audio is excellent

so in the chorus's the words are still distinct and the timbre of the instruments is also pronounced. An

excellent addition to my library.

I own this recording in the hybrid SACD version and have commented on it under that version. Since most prospective purchasers will be looking for the "redbook" CD version, I wanted to add my two cents worth here.

Having lived with and listened to this recording for sometime, I find it more of a disappointment than I did initially. Orchestral and choral forces are very good indeed, and the soloists are an OK lot. Soloists in particular are outclassed in other period performances (Cleobury being one example) but that is a personal take.

Two things about this performance raise my hackles: 1) Jacobs mannered conducting that employs lightened staccato effects in some choral climaxes. Listen to "For unto us" for example. The effect is irritatingly prissy. 2)The use of harp and lute in the continuo. While adding color to the proceedings, I prefer the less distracting harpsichord and organ support of other historically informed performances. In the present case the result is fussy and mannered.

There is also an egregious example of why ornamentation and flourishes are better in moderation in the context of repeated listening. Just before the invigorating rush of the final choral trilogy that ends Part III, Jacobs includes an organ interlude that "noodles" on the minor key of the final aria that immediately precedes it. It might work in live performance where the inspiration of the moment seizes both the performer and the audience. Laid down for posterity it prompts the question "why"? In the final "Amen" the jangling of the lute in the instrumental interlude sounds more like Vivaldi's Venice than Georgian England.

I suspect the SACD version shows off the recording quality to it's best effect. Even so, it lacks the transparency of Harmonia Mundi's best efforts.

Seasoned collectors may be interested in this version as different take on this warhorse. Buyers with less experience in the period performance area would do better with the work of Cleobury (Argo), Gardiner (Philips), Hogwood (Decca/L'Oiseau Lyre), and Pinnock (DG Archiv).

This recording is clear and beautiful. The Tennor part is stunning and the orchestra precise. Thank you for this my darling wife! A wonderful birthday present!

Handel continually revised Messiah--sometimes to make improvements, sometimes to suit individual performers or occasions. This recording recreates the version of 1750, which included revisions inspired by a new member of his cast, the alto castrato Gaetano Guadagni. Handel composed three new arias for Guadagni: "But who may abide the day of his coming," "Thou art gone upon high" (both previously assigned to bass or soprano), and "How beautiful are the feet." All of them are more florid than their predecessors, and the soloists here add a bit of ornamentation to some of the other arias as well, reflecting the conductor's view of Messiah as "a work of `entertainment'" as well as emotional impact. The Clare College Choir is excellent. Fanfare's reviewer calls these discs "sharply recorded, exquisitely presented and scrupulously detailed . . . , replete with Jacobs's trademark swiftness and precision."

We are blessed with many fine recordings of Messiah, including this one. It is the only recording that I know of the 1750 version. It joins my other favorites--the John Butt performance of the 1742 Dublin premiere Messiah - George Frideric Handel, Dublin Version 1742, the Marriner performance of the 1743 London version Handel - Messiah / Ameling · A. Reynolds · Langridge · Howell · Marriner, and the pathbreaking Hogwood performance of the 1754 Foundling Hospital version Handel - Messiah / Nelson, Kirkby, Watkinson, Elliott, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood.

Listeners need to be aware that Jacobs' approach is not to everyone's taste. The Classics Today review concludes, "Ultimately the overtly dramatic gestures come across as contrived and obvious rather than well-integrated and ingratiating." Jacobs' well-known (and sometimes unfortunate) tendency to fiddle with Handel's scores is most evident in several bars of noodling by the organ that he adds between "If God be for us" and the final "Worthy is the Lamb/Amen" chorus. Slightly annoying, and certainly quite unnecessary, but not a spoiler for me.

Handel - Messiah is a recording under the direction of Rene Jacobs who leads Freiburger Barockorchester on this Harmonia Mundi s.a. recording from 2006. The booklet is so nice and a work of art with a beautiful painting with Jesus and Mary. The booklet contains 67 pages and contains liner-notes by Ruth Smith and Pierre Degott (translated into English by Charles Johnston). The lyrics are available in English, French and German. It also contains small biographies of the director and performers. Highly recommended indeed. 5/5.

Released in 2006, Jacobs' Messiah has received mixed reviews from critics. And rightly so - it is not a reading that will appeal to all, especially those that prefer a particularly religious rendition of Handel's most famous oratorio. But let us not forget how the Messiah even came into being. It was the rapid decline in the popularity of opera seria in England that left Handel is financial (and artistic) peril in the late 1730.. Not a particularly religious man, Handel was forced to turn his attentions to setting religious text to music. While always sensitive to the text proper, Handel was primarily interested in making music dramas. And the Messiah was no exception. Indeed, not only was the original quite thrilling, but his expanded and enlivened version for a 1750 performance in London - with more embellishments , a mixed choir, and a part for the famed castrato singer Gaetano Guadagni - was clearly intended with the secular in mind. It is for these very reasons I find Jacobs fiercely theatrical Messiah so appealing, even if his colorful operatic view may not supplant for some the more religiously oriented performances of Pinnock or Suzuki, not to mention more recent performances of the original, all male, version, such as from Higginbottom. Still, it is quite thrilling and always enlivened in the most tasteful, most appropriate manner.

Of course, all the ingredients for a great Messiah are here. The five soloists are phenomenal. Kerstin Avermo has the perfect instrument for the soprano's various contributions, sounding rich and full but still appropriately angelic. In tenor Kobie van Rensberg Jacobs has a wonderful voice actor. His "Comfort Ye" is as warm and pure as any while "All they that see Him laugh him to scorn" is so violent that even the most seasoned Handelian must sit up and take notice. Where some find Neal Davies a bit over-the-top, I only find his contributions rightly exciting, especially in "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts" and in "Why do the nations so furiously rage together," where the text is obviously impassioned. Patricia Bardon's rich, dark tone makes memorable "He was despised and rejected of men," even if she does not possess the most agile instrument. However, best of all is countertenor Lawrence Zazzo, whose tone is simply spectacular throughout his entire range, full, rich, and idiomatic.

The Choir of Clare College is scarcely less fine. Their collective tone is perfect; however, because of their small number - less than thirty - diction is sometimes compromised, which means keeping the booklet close at hand for some of the more densely fugal passages, such as "He trusted in God." But for the most part, the choir is nothing short of outstanding. The justly famous "Glory to God" is sensational and the choir navigates the quick tempo in "All we like sheep have gone astray" perfectly, capturing Handel's brilliant "wandering" melodic lines before the aptly chilling choral conclusion.

However, as with any Jacobs' performance, there are some strange moments that will give any listener pause. The odd dynamic tinkerings in the "Hallelujah" chorus wear on repeated listenings while "Let us break our bonds asunder" is unnecessarily fast. He sometimes elongates semiquaviers, exaggerates dynamics, and takes liberties here and there. But these are small quips when most of Jacobs' choices are so fantastic. The pastoral symphony is simply outstanding; you can feel the shepherd's nervous excitement when the angels suddenly appear. Indeed, the entirety of Part the First is brimming with energy. As such, Handel's sudden transition into Part the Second is particularly felt, Jacobs fully justifying the slow tempo choice in "He was despised and rejected." Of course, it does not hurt that Jacobs is leading the Freiburg Baroque, which follows Jacobs every whim perfectly. "Part II All They that see Him Laugh Him to Scorn" begins nastily while "All we sheep have gone astray" has an indescribably wonderful, and appropriately, empty quality to the aimless wandering melodic line. Jacobs' continuo has and unending reserve of color, due in no small part to the presence of the harp and lute in addition to the more traditional lower voices. Trumpets blaze in "The trumpet shall sound" and the final chorus is one of the best on disc.

At the end of the day, Jacobs' approach to this music may seem overly stylized to some, but it is probably closer to what Handel intended for the 1750 version of the score than any of the more "traditional" interpretations. Indeed, it was Charles Jennens, the librettist, who stated the Messiah was intended as "fine entertainment." Jacobs' is as entertaining as he is enlightening. And, if anything, any conductor that can make this music sound fresh, exciting, and remind us how important Handel's contribution truly is deserves his success. Recommended.