1. Sinfony 3:04
2. Accompagnato. "Comfort Ye, My
People" 2:39
3. Air. "Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exalted."
3:10
4. "And the Glory of the Lord Shall Be
Revealed" 2:52
5. Accompagnato. "Thus Saith the Lord of
Hosts" 1:20
6. Part I: Air. "But Who May Abide the Day
of His Coming?" 4:20
7. Chorus. "And He Shall Purify" 2:29
8. Recitative. "Behold a Virgin Shall
Conceive, and Bear a Son" 0:27
9. Air and Chorus. "O Thou that Tellest
Good Tidings to Zion" 4:55
10. Accompagnato. "For Behold, Darkness
Shall Cover the Earth" 2:15
11. Air. "The People that Walked in
Darkness Have Seen a Great Light" 3:01
12. Chorus. "For Unto Us a Child is Born"
3:52
13. Pastoral Symphony (Pifa) 2:38
14. Recitative. "There Were Shepherds" -
Accompagnato. "And Lo, the Angel of the
Lord Came Upon Them" - Recitative. "And
The Angel Said Unto Them: Fear Not" 1:04
15. Accompagnato. "And Suddenly There Was
With the Angel" - Chorus. "Glory to God in
the Highest" 2:08
16. Air. "Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of
Zion" 4:11
17. Recitative. "Then Shall the Eyes of
the Blind be Opened" 0:30
18. Air. "He Shall Feed His Flock Like a
Shepherd" 4:58
19. Chorus. "His Yoke is Easy and His
Burden is Light" 2:13
20. Chorus. "Behold the Lamb of God" 2:44
21. Air. "He was Despised and Rejected of
Men" 9:41
22. Chorus. "Surely He Hath Borne Our
Griefs" 1:46
23. Chorus. "And With His Stripes We Are
Healed" 1:44
24. Chorus. "All We Like Sheep Have Gone
Astray" 3:58
DISC TWO
1. Accompagnato. "All They That See
Him Laugh Him to Scorn" 0:46
2. Chorus. "He Trusted in God That He
Would Deliver Him" 2:12
3. Accompagnato. "Thy Rebuke Hath Broken
His Heart" 1:49
4. Arioso. "Behold and See if There Be Any
Sorrow" 1:14
5. Accompagnato. "He Was Cut off Out of
the Land of the Living" 0:15
6. Air. "But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul
in Hell" 2:07
7. Chorus. "Lift Up Your Heads" 2:50
8. Recitative. "Unto Which of the Angels"
- Chorus. "Let All the Angels of God
Worship Him" 1:35
9. Air. "Thou Art Gone Up on High" 3:10
10. Chorus. "The Lord Gave the Word" 1:00
11. Air. "How Beautiful Are the Feet of
Them That Preach" 2:03
12. Chorus. "Their Sound is Gone Out Into
All Lands" 1:19
13. Air. "Why Do the Nations So Furiously
Rage Together?" 2:39
14. Chorus. "Let Us Break Their Bonds
Asunder" - Recitative. "He That Dwelleth
in Heaven" 1:53
15. Air. "Thou Shalt Break Them With a Rod
of Iron" 2:00
16. Chorus. "Hallelujah!" 3:54
17. Air. "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth"
5:28
18. Chorus. "Since by Man Came Death" 2:02
19. Accompagnato. "Behold, I Tell You a
Mystery" 0:34
20. Air. "The Trumpet Shall Sound" 8:25
21. Recitative. "Then Shall Be Brought to
Pass" 0:16
22. Duet. "O Death, Where is Thy Sting?"
1:02
23. Chorus. "But Thanks Be to God Who
Giveth Us the Victory" 2:03
24. Air. "If God Be for Us, Who Can Be
Against US?" 4:44
25. Chorus. "Worthy is the Lamb That Was
Slain" 3:06
26. Chorus. "Amen" 4:24
SITE RATING: 6/10
SITE
REVIEW:
Having heard many styles of performances
over the past several years, it's always
interesting to me to hear how trends develop
and spread throughout various eras.
And although I cannot be certain, this
latest release by the Handel + Haydn
Society, under the direction of the renowned
Harry Christophers, is another link in what
appears to be a decided turn towards more
Romantic-style Messiahs, breaking
with a decades-long Baroque trend, which
began in the late Seventies. Not to
say that this is a complete turnaround;
we're not talking about a glacial Scherchen
performance, but Christopher's latest Messiah
is a far cry from his light touch evidenced
on this, his fourth recording of this
score. Everything is more deliberate,
and yes, slower than what I'm accustomed
to. And the performance difference
isn't limited to the tempos alone - the
performers, without exception, completely
eschew the clean "white" Baroque sound,
embracing richer tones, heavy vibratos, and
grander, more extravagant readings of their
arias and choruses. I cannot honestly
say that I'm a fan of any of the soloists
here - Daniel Taylor, Tom Randle, and Sumner
Thompson all possess tones which are far too
throaty and ripe for my tastes - and while
soprano Gillian Keith claims a cleaner,
brighter tone, it has hints of brittleness
which left me cool. Christophers seems
to have encouraged more excessive
ornamentation in each of the soloists
melismas, giving everything an affected,
self-conscious air. There are
certainly bright moments throughout - the
Handel + Haydn society play very well, the
recorded sound is clean and brilliant, and
there are moments that dance - a wonderful
"For Unto Us A Child Is Born" sprung out, as
well as a finely delineated "Since By Man
Came Death" with its alternately grave and
brilliant sections nicely juxtaposed.
But on the whole, this recording, with its
era-defying performance, sounds as if it
belongs to a time fifty years past,
appearing uneasily in the the 21st Century.
