Handel: Messiah (highlights), HWV56

George Frederick Handel (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), William Warfield (Performer), Russell Oberlin (Performer), Adele Addison (Performer), David Lloyd (Performer), Westminster Choir (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: William Warfield, Russell Oberlin, Adele Addison, David Lloyd, Westminster Choir
• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: George Frederick Handel
• Audio CD (January 10, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000025TT
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,336 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good quality recording of a classic, 1956 performance, December 10, 2000

By 

David E. Levine (Peekskill , NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handel: Messiah (highlights), HWV56 (Audio CD)

This is not the CD to get if you want a highlights CD of the Messiah but it is a great CD for the specific performance. The recording is nearly 45 years old but sounds great. I think other CDs have better selections of what should be included and I have one such CD in my collection. I also have this entire performance in vinyl from which these highlights were selected. The reason to buy this CD is because of the performances. The soloists are very good and the great counter tenor, Russell Oberlin does a beautiful rendition of "Rejoice Greatly," and "He Shall Feed His Flock." William Warfield is an imposing bass voice and does a wonderful "The Trumpet Shall Sound" but the bass solo "Why Do the Nations Rage" is not one of the selections here. Quite frankly, I would recommend that you buy the entire recording of this performance but, if you choose this CD, you will still hear wonderful performances. Like I say, I already have this in vinyl but if I did not, I would have done better to buy the entire performance on CD rather than this abridgement. If you are not interested in the specific performance but want a good highlights album, there are ones with better chosen selections out there.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Way off the mark, and Lenny knew it, September 10, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Handel: Messiah (highlights), HWV56 (Audio CD)

Bernstein conducted this traditional British-style performance before historical interpretations caught hold. Since he didn't like that style but knew that it was much closer to reality than this dinosaur, he gave up Messiah as far as I know, saving is attention for Haydn's choral works, which he conducted superbly. This reading isn't bloated or draggy, but it's jsut way off the mark.