Customer Reviews

Handel: Messiah [Highlights]

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

 

 

I own nearly thirty Messiah recordings, and this one, a highlights disc with Frederick Burgomaster conducting, is one of the most unusual. Despite containing 31 tracks, the producers decided to omit the entire third section of Messiah, so you won't find such famous numbers as "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" or "Worthy Is The Lamb" or the "Amen" chorus. Nor will you hear the well known Pastoral Symphony or Overture, or even the opening tenor aria "Comfort Ye" or "Every Valley" - it's as if the recording engineer forgot to push the "record" button when the performance had started, and then ran out of tape two-thirds of the way through. Despite these rather glaring omissions, the listener does get a meaty chunk of parts I and II of Messiah, but should you buy it?

The Christ Church Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, Indianapolis lead off the proceedings with "And The Glory of the Lord" and a couple of things are immediately apparent: the recorded sound is somewhat distant, not immediate, and the chorus, who struggle with pitch throughout, sound dis-unified, with operatic tenors and thundering basses overpowering the poor, over-matched trebles. The Bass recitative, "Thus Saith the Lord" is similarly under-miked, and the bass, Stanley Irwin sounds throaty and forced - this must be a live performance by the distant sound. There are three trebles listed, but there is no identifiers for each track, so it's impossible to tell who sings what - but they sing beautifully - clear, mellow tones, with just a little ornamentation. The choir does less well, struggling through the melismas and going noticeably flat during several passages.

The program continues, with few hits and many misses throughout - so, although I generally enjoy the presence of trebles in other Messiahs, this one has enough flaws in the recorded sound, performances, and enough omissions in the track listing to recommend passing this Messiah by.