Customer Reviews

Handel: Messiah (highlights), HWV56

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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.

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.