| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
THE
BARBIROLLI SOCIETY / BBC
|
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
SJB
1086-87
|
| EAN
NUMBER: |
5060181660870
|
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
2:07:58
|
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1964
|
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
NOVEMBER
18, 2016
|
| CONDUCTOR: |
SIR
JOHN BARBIROLLI
|
| ORCHESTRA: |
HALLE
ORCHESTRA
|
| CHOIR: |
SHEFFIELD
PHILHARMONIC CHORUS
|
| SOPRANO: |
ELIZABETH
HARWOOD
|
| ALTO: |
MARJORIE
THOMAS
|
| TENOR: |
GERALD
ENGLISH
|
| BASS: |
KIM
BORG
|
|
| AUDIO SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
OTHER
RELEASES |
NONE
|
NONE
|
NONE
|
|
DISC ONE
Part 1
1. Overture/Sinfonia: Grave - Allegro
moderato 5:14
2. Recitative: Comfort ye, My
people 3:31
3. Air: Ev'ry valley shall be
exited 3:57
4. Chorus: And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed 3:17
5. Recitative: Thus saith the Lord of
Hosts 1:58
6. Air: But who may abide the day of His
coming? 4:39
7. Recitative: Behold a virgin shall
conceive 0:42
8. Air and Chorus: O thou that tellest
good tidings to Zion
6:37
9. Recitative: For behold, darkness shall
cover the earth 3:40
10. Air: The people that walked in
darkness 3:58
11. Chorus: For unto us a child is
born 4:28
12. Pastoral Symphony
3:26
13. Recitative: There were shepherds
abiding in the fields
2:03
14. Chorus: Glory to God in the
Highest 2:03
15. Air: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion 4:43
16. Recitative: Then shall the eyes of the
blind be open'd 0:42
17. Air: He shall feed his
flock 6:08
18. Chorus: His yoke is easy, his Burthen
is light 2:20
|
DISC TWO
Part 2
1. Chorus: Behold the lamb of
God 3:40
2. Air: He was despised
5:41
3. Chorus: Surely He hath borne our
griefs 3:00
4. Chorus: All we like sheep have gone
astray 4:55
5. Recitative: All they that see
Him 0:48
6. Chorus: He trusted in
God 2:14
7. Recitative: Thy rebuke hath broken His
heart 2:31
8. Air: Behold, and see, if there be any
sorrow 1:41
9. Recitative: He was cut off out of the
land 0:17
10. Air: But Thou did'st not leave his
soul in hell 2:13
11. Chorus: Lift up your heads, 0 ye
gates 3:26
12. Chorus: The Lord gave the
word 1:23
13. Air: How beautiful are the
feet 2:59
14. Air: Why do the nations so furiously
rage together 2:47
15. Chorus: Let us break their bonds
asunder 1:53
16. Recitative: He that dwelleth in
heaven 0:18
17. Air: Thou shalt break them with a rod
of iron 2:13
18. Chorus: Hallelujah!
3:55
PART 3
19. I Air: I know that my Redeemer
liveth 7:27
20. Chorus: Since by man came
death 2:22
21. Recitative: Behold, I tell you a
mystery 0:35
22. Air: The trumpet shall
sound 4:17
23. Chorus: Worthy is the lamb that was
slain 3:31
24. Amen 3:50
|
|
SITE RATING: 6/10
SITE
REVIEW: An
historic live recording which the BBC
captured on its December 6, 1964
performance, and currently available in full
on YouTube,
this first-ever CD release, commissioned by
The
Barbirolli Society admirably
demonstrates how far Messiah
performances have evolved in performance
practice over the past several
decades. Every tempo is slower,
grander, and richer; lines are longer,
stretched out to what would be considered
today indulgent lengths, and yet, nothing
feels turgid or over-long - rather, this is
a luscious Messiah, reveling in each
moment. That's not to say that it's a
first choice for a collection - the live
sound is rather dim and compressed,
especially the choral numbers, which sound
positively muddy. And the performance
of the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus is
thick and slab-like, utterly devoid of the
lightness and clarity afforded by modern
choral practices. The soloists are
captured better - tenor Gerald English is
quite splendid, giving an heroic
performance. Bass Kim Borg, a famous
Finnish performer, is also affecting,
sounding positively Wagnerian here, but
dripping with passion. Marjorie
Thomas, who I've seen listed as both a
mezzo-soprano and contralto, is powerful,
but sounds out of her element on the
melismas, giving far too much weight to each
one. Soprano Elizabeth Harwood is
wonderful - beautifully expressive and
alternately tender and striking. The
Hallé Orchestra is similarly excellent, with
Sir Barbirolli giving a heart-felt, tender
reading. It's good to have this
performance available again - not only for
its peek into historic performance
practices, but for a few wonderful moments
worth hearing.
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