Handel - Messiah / Kirkby · Van Evera · Cable · Bowman · Cornwell · D. Thomas · Parrott [Import]

George Frideric Handel (Artist), Andrew Parrott (Artist), Emma Kirkby (Artist), James Bowman (Artist), Taverner Choir & Players (Artist), Emily Van Evera (Artist), Margaret Cable (Artist), Joseph Cornwell (Artist), David Thomas (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 4, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Classics Imports
• ASIN: B000002SSL
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,299 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Kirkby, Emma

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Messiah: Part The First: Sinfony - Grave - Allegro moderato

2. Messiah: Part The First: Accompagnato - Comfort ye my people (tenor)

3. Messiah: Part The First: Air - Ev'ry valley shall be exalted (tenor)

4. Messiah: Part The First: Chorus - And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed

5. Messiah: Part The First: Accompagnato - Thus saith the Lord of Hosts (bass)

6. Messiah: Part The First: Air - But who may abide the day of His coming (countertenor)

7. Messiah: Part The First: Chorus - And he shall purify

8. Messiah: Part The First: Recitative - Behold, a virgin shall conceive (alto)

9. Messiah: Part The First: Air (alto) and Chorus - O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion

10. Messiah: Part The First: Accompagnato - For behold, darkness shall cover the earth (bass)

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Messiah: Part The Second: Accompagnato - All they that see Him, laugh Hime to scorn (tenor)

2. Messiah: Part The Second: Chorus - He trusted in God

3. Messiah: Part The Second: Accompagnato - Thy rebuke hath broken His heart (tenor)

4. Messiah: Part The Second: Arioso - Behold, and see if there be any sorrow (tenor)

5. Messiah: Part The Second: Accompagnato - He was cut off out of the land of the living (soprano ll)

6. Messiah: Part The Second: Air - But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell (soprano ll)

7. Messiah: Part The Second: Chorus - Lift up your heads, O ye gates

8. Messiah: Part The Second: Recitative - Unto which of the angels (tenor)

9. Messiah: Part The Second: Chorus - Let all the angles of God worship Him

10. Messiah: Part The Second: Air - Thou art gone up on high (countertenor)

See all 27 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully clear and powerful performance - joyful!, August 17, 2002

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handel - Messiah / Kirkby · Van Evera · Cable · Bowman · Cornwell · D. Thomas · Parrott (Audio CD)

In December of 1980 I was part of a performance of Messiah for Handel conference here in Ann Arbor. Scholars came from all over the world to present papers on this work and we performed the piece with a very small chamber orchestra, soloists, and a chorus of about 24 singers. It caused quite a stir, but it was very fun to do.

There is scholarly precendent for such small forces. And in fact the massed armies style in vogue in the 1960s and even today was a 19th century cultural phenomenon. But we all know how much fun such a large ensemble can also be. The really neat thing is that this chorus does not sound small. What it sounds is clear and supple. You can hear the counterpoint and that is the point of this kind of music, isn't it?

Large groups can never have the clarity and fluidity of line that can be achieved with what amounts to a chamber ensemble. It bothers some (but not me) that the voices used even for the soloists aren't operatic in the style of the last two centuries. Well, Handel was an EARLY 18th century composer and the operatic voice was quite different then. Still strong, still flexible, but filling a hall that seated 5,000 wasn't necessary and didn't exist.

Anyway, scholarship or no, this is a wonderful performance based on what is known about a performance of this work in 1753. It is full of life and the soloists are terrific. I especially love Emma Kirkby for all kinds of reasons, one of them being she was the soprano soloist for the 1980 performance here in Ann Arbor. The style here is quite declamatory and more operatic than, say, the Hogwood recording from 1980 (although certainly not Verdi). There also seems to be an emphasis on using English vowels rather than Italianate singing vowels. You should also note that both the soprano, Emma Kirkby, and the bass, David Thomas, on this recording were also on the very different Hogwood 1980 recording.

The choruses are very clear if not as sharply defined or as pointilistic as other early music recordings. For example, the last chorus "Worthy is the Lamb" and the great fuguge "Amen" are full of power, drama, and majesty, however, the some of the effects of the entrances from the different sections that happen right on top of each other don't quite pop out here as they might have. But this is a small point. No single version of this work can include every possible interpretation. The work is too rich and the artists must make choices.

It is also interesting to note the selection of the soloists. Here we have two sopranos (with Kirkby taking different numbers than on Hogwood)and alto AND a counter tenor as well as a tenor and bass. Handel himself often switched around the numbers given to the soloists, and this recording is no different. For example, the solo before the last chorus "If God be for us" (here, "If God is for us") is sung by the alto Margaret Cable (whom I think is really a mezzo-soprano) and is often done by the soprano. And the usual alto, tenor "O Death, Where is They Sting" is here done superbly by the counter-tenor James Bowman and the Tenor Joseph Cornwell.

You should have this in your collection for its beauty and for its contrast to the "traditional" large ensemble performances. I hugely enjoy this version.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best, February 9, 2004

By 

Michael (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handel - Messiah / Kirkby · Van Evera · Cable · Bowman · Cornwell · D. Thomas · Parrott (Audio CD)

Of more than a dozen Messiah recordings I've accumulated, this one remains hands-down THE BEST. The smaller choir delivers huge, clear sound without the muddiness or weight so common in performances by larger groups (e.g. MTC). The soloists are uniformly the *least* pretentious I've heard sing this piece - they allow Handel's simple embellishments to come through purely without distracting us with their own. "Clean" is the best descriptor that I can think of for this recording, and it's fitting given the work's simple, innocent subject.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done, May 15, 2002

By 

Robert Sherman (Gaithrsburg MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handel - Messiah / Kirkby · Van Evera · Cable · Bowman · Cornwell · D. Thomas · Parrott (Audio CD)

While I prefer small-scale modern-instrument performances, this is probably the best of the allegedly-historical instrument recordings. Parrott's conducting is quite good, the chorus and orch do well. Soprano Emma Kirkby is distinctive and particularly fine, although not quite up to the level of Lynne Dawson with Christophers.

This one belongs in everyone's Messiah collection.