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SITE RATING:  8/10 SITE REVIEW:  Richard Bonynge's 1969 Messiah is curious for several reasons, not the least being the amount of ornamentation encouraged by all the soloists; it's as if Vincenzo Bellini had taken up his pen and tried re-arranging Messiah in the same manner as Mozart.  Certainly a different approach, and one that is certain to engender discussion.  From my point of view, it's simply a different way of looking at Messiah, which is, if not always successful from an artistic point of view, is almost always interesting; since if Messiah were simply carbon-copied from one performance to the next, it would wither and die.  But there are some very good things evident in this recording as well, from the bright, dancing tempos, to the wonderfully sensitive playing by the English Chamber Orchestra, to the solid singing of the Ambrosian Chorus.  The soloists, apart from the unusually high amount of ornamentation, are also quite good, the only large distraction being contralto Hughette Tourangeau's French accent, which often flattens the English vowels.  Joan Sutherland is glorious - in her prime here, and singing with the lovely bell-like tones which she built her formidable reputation upon.  This is a perfectly adequate Messiah, the only major sticking point being the excessive ornamentation, but otherwise, beautifully performed, and a high point of the 1960s Messiah cycles.

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