Customer Reviews

Handel: Messiah (1751 version)

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

 

 

'THIS IS NOT SACRED' JENNENS SAID, TO WHICH HANDEL AGREED;
I SIMPLY WANT TO CHARM MY PUBLIC AND HELP THOSE THAT ARE IN NEED!
'Handel's most popular and joyous oratorio, a work of unfailing melodic invention and dramatic expressiveness, has become a British national institution, regularly performed by all manner of choirs and orchestras. This new recording (January,2006) provides the ONLY re-construction of Handel's unique London performances in 1751,when he used BOY TREBLE VOICES not only for the choruses but for the arias as well. It is both a celebration of the British chapel choir tradition and a window onto a particular time and place in the history of HANDEL'S own PERFORMANCES of his masterpiece.'

It seems like I, personally, have waited all my life to hear the Messiah performed in this manner. I only hope that Handel somehow can also hear this absolutely magnificent rendition of this oratorio. Because of the use of the treble voices in the soprano and the male alto voices one can FINALLY hear the inner parts of the choral numbers. Thus,the balance of the voice parts is maintained. When I first heard the chorus enter in Part 1 with "And the glory of the Lord" it was like heaven opened up, and God appeared!!! Just fabulous sound!!!!!The entrances are clean and the diction thruout is quite easy to understand.

Higginbottom's tempi are upbeat and bouncy; "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" really rocked!!!!I loved it! One has to remember that strictly speaking Handel did not write this to be a sacred composition and it actually was performed only once in a consecrated building. Rather his purpose was to delight and charm his listeners. As a writer in the Dublin Journal wrote after the first performance: "Words are wanting to express the exquisite Delight it afforded to the admiring crowded audience....."

I found it very refreshing to hear the boy sopranos take over some of the solos: "He Shall Feed His Flock Like A Shepherd" etc. All 3 young boys were excellent; I especially liked the voice of Otta Jones; it was clear and bell-like. It was interesting to hear the "Rejoice Greatly..." sung by a Tenor and what a great tenor he is!!!!Toby Spence has a wonderfully resonant voice as does the bass soloist,Eamonn Dougin,who delivers his songs with energy and drama. As with all the British singers, the diction is perfection.

I was mildly disappointed in Iestyn Davie's interpretation of some of his solos,especially "He was despised...." It seemed to me that he sang it in kind of a 'pop' style, and I kept hearing internally the voice of Michael Chance, and the way he sang the Messiah solos in Marriners' 250th anniversary disc. Of course, this is a personal bias on my part, and therefore can be refuted by almost anyone. However, Davies sings with much feeling and has a lovely voice,so it does not in any way detract from the excellence of the recording. There are certainly numerous interpretations of the Messiah ( I have a half a dozen), but each of us determines for outselves what we prefer, and there's nothing wrong with liking all of them!!!!This is just another perspective!!After all, Handel, himself added and subtracted and altered, but the essentials remained.

I tend to avoid buying several different versions of the same work, but with works like "Messiah" there are a variety of different versions by the composer and also wide differences in style and forces among the recordings available. So I have several recordings of this ever-popular piece.

Like Higginbottom's New College recording of Bach's St. John Passion, this performance uses boys as soloists for the soprano parts (except that "Rejoice greatly" is sung by the tenor). It's modeled after an actual performance that Handel did, in 1751 when he apparently had the good fortune to find some trebles who could, in the words of conductor Higginbottom in his notes, "step up to the plate". These three trebles certainly do. They are great and their pure and innocent voices tend to enhance the sincerity of the arias. I couldn't decide which one I liked best. At first, I wondered if an aria like "I know that my redeemer liveth" could be convincingly done by a treble. It took just a few seconds to dispel any doubts.

The tenor and countertenor are also very satisfying.

This issue comes squarely into competition with my previous favorite, that of Hogwood from almost twenty-five years ago, using somewhat similar forces (a boys choir and nominally the same orchestra). But I think these soloists are better. Hogwood's choir is perhaps marginally better in its treble section, but if anything, Higginbottom's pace is or seems even brisker than that of Hogwood, making this a joyous and exhilirating experience.

When I worked at a record store in the mid-'80s, I always put on the Hogwood recording for customers who wanted recommendations and once the first chorus came on, they were almost always sold--unless they did not like English cathedral choirs' sound. Unless you for some reason dislike the sound of the treble voice (and these boys are some of the finest I have ever heard), or if you do not like "historically informed performances", i.e original instruments and small-scale forces, you will be thrilled with this recording.

In its way, this is similar to Robert King's fine recording of Bach's Mass in B Minor, another work I love to hear in differing versions.

Though Naxos is a "budget label", this recording comes with notes, texts, and photos. So much for the major labels' excuses that they cannot afford to provide those in mid-priced releases.

Do not miss it, and it is half the price of Hogwood's recording.

I had some doubts about this Messiah before I opened it and started playing it. My doubts disappeared almost immediately and never reappeared. This is, simply put, a sensational recording of Handel's best-loved oratorio. And it has the added attraction of being the version he prepared for a 1751 London performance in which the soprano parts were taken by boy trebles. The performers here are the Choir of New College, Oxford, the Academy of Ancient Music, three solo trebles, countertenor Iestyn Davies, tenor Toby Spence and bass Eamonn Dougan all under the direction of New College's long-time music director, Edward Higginbottom.

I'm not enough of a scholar of the various performing editions of 'Messiah' to be able to cite chapter and verse about how this version might differ from others. Suffice it to say that Handel didn't actually leave a definitive version and over the many years that I've heard (or sung) performances of the work, there have often been slight differences. It did not take me long to become very fond of the three solo trebles (Henry Jenkinson, Otta Jones and Robert Brooks) in their solo outings. I was taken by every single treble solo. A friend of mine says he thinks that 'He shall feed his flock' is the loveliest thing Handel ever wrote; I don't know that I'd necessarily agree with him, but I must say that Davies and Jones do a superb job with it.

As for the choir, it is magnificent. Obviously their sound is that of the English cathedral tradition and there are some who don't much care for it; I, on the other hand, admire it wholeheartedly. Higginbottom uses fairly quick tempi and the choir handles those flying sixteenths (in, for instance, 'For unto us a Child is given') with exceedingly clean technique. The choir consists of only eighteen singers, so the choral sound is light and clear, unlike those huge choruses we used to hear when I was a boy -- I remember Malcolm Sargent's recording with the Huddersfield choir that was wonderful but always felt like a steam locomotive trying to get up to speed.

Sound is marvelous. No one would be paupered by this two-CD set as it is budget-priced. It's truly worth a strong recommendation.

Scott Morrison

I bought a copy of this during the Christmas season in 2006 along with the Jacobs version on SACD. I've delayed commenting until now in hopes that repeated listening would trigger something more than a lukewarm response. That hasn't happened. There's nothing actively irritating here. Everything is very neatly executed. The Academy is simply one of the best ensembles to have ever tackled the score on record. The choral singing is technically good, but under engergized. The "Oxbridge" sound is better represented elsewhere, including the AAM's earlier effort with the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, under Hogwood (L'Oiseau-Lyre).

The soloists are a mixed bag. The treble soloists authentic to the 1751 version sing the music well enough - although I don't care much for their tone - but they can't begin to approach the quality of the great soprano soloists that have committed their interpretations to disc. Sticking to historically informed performances, Dawson and Auger (to name only two) have sung with star quality and an emotional understanding that is beyond the depth of the boys recorded here. Toby Spence is a good tenor whose rather stiff "Every valley" fails to show him in the best light. Eamonn Dougan sings well enough, but I can't get excited over his vocal personalty, in contrast to Alastair Miles (Cleobury) and John Tomlinson (Pinnock). Iestyn Davies is the best of the group. His "He was despised" is well sung and reminds us in its intensity that Handel's alto soloist for the Dublin premiere, the "notorious" Susannah Cibber, was more what would be called a "music hall" singer than opera star, whose emotional singing conpensated for slender vocal resources.

Naxos sound is bright and well focused. At budget prices, this is a decent enough recording - certainly better than Naxos own budget offering with the Scholars Baroque Ensemble. It is not competitive with the full-priced Hogwood mentioned above, despite some bland singing from Judith Nelson (and David Thomas pronunciation of "incorrupTIBle" in "The trumpet shall sound"). Better yet, go for Cleobury's Argo set featuring the full throated King's College Choir, outstanding soloists (particularly Lynne Dawson), and playing by the Brandenburg Consort on a par with the AAM.

A year ago, I got to hear the New College Choir twice on an England pilgrimage, at New College Chapel and at Christ Church Spitalfields. So when I heard that they had a new recording out of Messiah . . . with treble soloists . . . recorded shortly after my visit . . . well, I bought that right up.

And all fans of Handel's Messiah may want to do the same. For this is the only modern account of Handel's 1751 London performances, in which, among other things, he used boy trebles instead of female sopranos for soloists. I've known for some time that Handel conducted Messiah this way. And I wondered when the hey would someone record it that way. Finally someone has.

And the solos are a definite improvement over the usual performance. Virtually all recordings of Messiah use solo voices that are IMHO overly operatic, often to the point of being tedious. The solos in this new CD, especially the treble solos, do not have that shortcoming and are much more engaging. I can say these are by far the best Messiah solos I've ever heard.

Now I'm not as impressed with the choruses. They are excellent, of course, but almost discordant at times. Perhaps, the mikes were misplaced. It's a matter of taste I'm sure, but the choruses in King's College's 1994 version are superior I think (although the solos in the New College CD are better as I said).

Also be aware that in efforts to be authentic, the performance is at a faster pace than the usual. Sometimes, it seems they are in a hurry. If you prefer a slower deliberate dramatic pace, that may be off-putting. Personally, I liked it once I got used to it. And the pace often has an urgent, sometimes joyous quality that's appropriate.

In any case, this new New College CD is probably the most authentic version of Messiah out there. And the solos are a cut above any other version I've heard. So any lover of Messiah will find this CD worthwhile, even if it doesn't become their favorite version. (FWIW, I'm not sure which is my favorite version yet.)

By the way, a note from the CD booklet: "The use of a castrato for the alto arias was neither a part of this tradition nor an option for our own time." And for that, we are all thankful. :)

I've never met a Messiah recording that I didn't like, and this is one of the more interesting ones, but it isn't anywhere near as rich and full as
Christopher Hogwood's. In many places, it seems poorly mixed, as the tenors or orchestra are almost inaudible.

If I could only have one all-male version of Messiah, it would be Hogwood's, but, since I am beginning a collection (6 CD sets, 2 vintage LP sets), this is a great addition.

If you're looking for a warm, authentic version of The Messiah, this is it and at a great price. I've been a fan of Handel's Messiah since singing portions of it in my high school chorus. It's an extraordinary, inspired piece of music. Recently, I've been searching for a complete version and done a lot of comparison listening. This one by the Academy of Ancient Music is by far one of the two best I've heard, the other being another version also released in 2006. Both are done in the original arrangements, based on Handel's notes. There was no definitive version, as Handel arranged each performance according to the available talent. This recording reproduces the performance from 1751, with a 24 piece orchestra and a small all-male choir, featuring exquisitely talented male sopranos, in this case boys. (The original soprano parts were sung by castratos - ouch! - which thankfully isn't possible anymore.) Compare this to the version by the London Symphony Orchestra and you'll hear a world of difference. This one is light, joyous, a celebration; the latter is heavy, wooden, and plodding. And when most full versions cost $40 or more, this one is a steal. I find myself listening to it far outside of the Christmas season for the sheer beauty of it.

I often search for a new recording of Messiah at Christmas and, after trying the sound bytes available through Amazon, this is the version I purchased this year. This 2007 production from England is a reconstruction of Handel's 1751 London performance where he used only male voices; a treble choir of boys sing the female parts and a countertenor -- Iestyn Davies -- sings the alto solos. Edward Higginbottom, director of the New College Choir since 1976, directs the Academy of Ancient Music and massed goings on that include some other soloists from Great Britain you've probably never heard of.

The boys choir is a marvel in this recording. If you didn't know they were trebles and you heard it on the radio, you might fooled into believing these were sopranos. The enunciation of the 34-member choir is uniformly remarkable, also. The alto solos delivered by Davies are beautifully sung; he has the most pleasing male alto voice I've heard, at least in this recording. Compared to the likes of David Daniels or Andreas Scholl, he actually sounds like a bel canto female. His principal shortcoming can be enunciation. The dichotomy of his magisterial singing is best exemplified in the Part 1 aria, "He shall feed his flock" where his tone, vibrato and breath control redefine loveliness. However, without reading the text, I could not decipher a single word of his English. This is strange, indeed, for a native English speaker. Elsewhere, such as in "He was depised," his voicing and enunciation are perfect. Go figure.

The other soloists vary from exceptional to average. Trebles Henry Jenkinson, Otta Jones (especially) and Robert Brooks are all very good trading off the soprano solos. Bass Eamonn Dougan is pretty good most of the time and tenor Toby Spence varies from adequate to good. These are all young, England-trained early music singers and my comments on their relative efficacy in their roles is in comparison to other soloists I've heard sing Messiah.

As early music performances go of this score, Higginbottom treads a moderate line in tempo, volume and storytelling. He eschews the theatricality and sometimes blazing speed of Paul McCreesh's performance on Archiv Handel - Messiah / Röschmann, Gritton, Fink , C. Daniels, N. Davies; McCreeshwith style more akin with period performance recordings from Christophers Handel: Messiah [Includes Bonus CD], Pinnock Handel - Messiah / Augér, von Otter, Chance, Crook, Tomlinson, English Concert, Pinnockor Suzuki Handel: Messiah. An early music pratitioner, Higginbottom ensures the singers use vibrato and ornaments sparingly. If you prefer a more traditional big band, romantically-inclined or religious performance, you probably won't find much satisfaction in this account. If you like period performance, early music, or clarity in enunciation and voicing, you will find much to like here.

Naxos is due plaudits for its packaging. Instead of directing you to their Web site to download an oversized PDF of the text -- as is often the case in their Schubert lieder recordings -- the full text is included in the 16-page booklet. It also includes a couple pages of discussion on the 1751 performance in English and German, a note from Higginbottom in same, and English bios (and photos) of the soloists, condctor, orchestra and New College Choir, a listing of all the singers, and the full text. This is exceptional value and, with good modern digital sound, is a good buy for anyone coming new to the music or wanting an alternate to what they usually hear. Aside from some average solo singing, this is a superior job from Naxos and a lasting memento for any Messiah acolyte.

Some years ago I heard a version -- or part of one -- of the Messiah on the radio that was done by a men's and boys' chorus instead of men's and women's, and I immediately liked it. I didn't think about it much, though, because I already had a version that was pretty good, but it was on records. So I began looking for a version on CD, and couldn't find one with boys doing the treble, so I've bought a couple of standard versions of it. I particularly liked the one directed by Sir Colin Davis.

But then I chanced on this one -- here was the idea of using boys instead of women again, and the samples on Amazon sounded similar to what I remembered from that radio version I'd heard several years ago. [I like the boys' voices because they tend to be purer, less "screechy", than women singing the soprano parts. Call me a sexist, but I think it's true. The women on the Colin Davis recording were the least "screechy". That's one of the things that drew me to it.]

So anyway, this is the 4th version of Messiah that I've owned, and it will be the final. WOW!

One thing that many directors of classical music forget is that, back at the time this music was composed, this music wasn't "classical": it was hip! It was their rock and roll. They wanted the slow parts to be emotional and beautiful, and the fast parts to be lively. This version fits that bill. I got it the day that I was getting my motorcycle ready for spring and I played it in the garage while I was working. It's the first Messiah that I have been able to sing along with as I would any other record -- and with the same enthusiasm! [I listen to everything from baroque to some pretty lively Christian rock and roll, and blue grass and cajun...]

It's not that it's artificially jazzed up: it's just done with what I believe the original enthusiasm and passion would have been like. These folks sounded like they were having an absolute ball performing this, and it was infectious. [Not to mention the quality of the performances is outstanding.]

The closest thing I can compare it to is a Tony Bennett concert I went to many years ago: the ultimate pro having a ball, and drawing the audience in as only a pro who's also enjoying himself can do.

I have heard several performances of this work, or of excerpts of it (highlights). I loved the glory of it, the musical "equivalent" of a beautiful church soaring upwards with stone arches and stained glass windows. A record my parents had mentioned that Handel had a vision of Heaven opened and Jesus sitting at the right hand of God when he completed the Hallelujah chorus (he had the gift of being able to "hear" the music by looking at the sheet music).

So, obviously I love this oratorio. This version caught my eye one day, because it was a rare performance of his 1751 version. Though I was hesitant, I decided I'd get it because of its, well, historical significance.

I have just listened to the entire oratorio. I was moved to tears at times. The 1751 version used only male voices (hence my hesitation, as the only performance I'd heard where a man sang the alto parts was disappointing--the voice was too thin). THIS performance "blew me away". The countertenor had a wonderful voice as full and rich as an alto, and the three boys who sang treble were perfect. The enunciation was great, with "t" audible but not interruptive. The instruments were those of the period, played by musicians who make a career of playing them, so the nuances of playing them were not overlooked: the result was that it sounded like music from the 1700's. The "flutter" that is done on the harpsichord was also done with the voices, and each note was done purely (not blended together) and at perfect pitch. All together, it is a beautiful rendition of beautiful music, and it comes to life as you listen.