| RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
REDISCOVERY |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
RD
114/115 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
UNKNOWN |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
2:15:24 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
195? |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
UNKNOWN |
| CONDUCTOR: |
WALTER
GOEHR |
| ORCHESTRA: |
ORCHESTRA
OF THE HANDEL SOCIETY, LONDON |
| CHOIR: |
CHORUS
OF THE HANDEL SOCIETY, LONDON |
| SOPRANO: |
MATTIWILDA
DOBBS |
| CONTRALTO: |
GRACE
HOFFMAN |
| TENOR: |
LÉOPOLD
SIMONEAU |
| BASS: |
HEINZ
REHFUSS |
|
CD & MP3 DOWNLOAD
AVAILABLE
FOR
PURCHASE
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REDISCOVERY
MUSIC |
| AUDIO SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
OTHER
RELEASES |
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DISC ONE
01 Messiah - sinfonia
02 Messiah - comfort ye
03 Messiah - ev'ry valley
04 Messiah - and the glory of the lord
05 Messiah - thus saith the lord
06 Messiah - but who may abide
07 Messiah - and he shall purify
08 Messiah - behond a virgin shall
conceive - o thou that tellest
09 Messiah - for behold darkness shall
cover the earth
10 Messiah - the people that walked in
darkness
11 Messiah - for unto us a child is born
12 Messiah - symphonie pastorale
13 Messiah - there were shepherds abiding
in the fields - glory to
god
14 Messiah - rejoice greatly o daughter of
zion
15 Messiah - then shall the eyes of the
blind be opened
16 Messiah - he shall feed his flock
17 Messiah - his yoke is easy
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DISC TWO
01 Messiah - behold the lamb of god -
he was despised
02 Messiah - surely he hath born our
griefs - and with his stripes
03 Messiah - all they that see him
04 Messiah - he trusted in god
05 Messiah - they rebuke hath broken his
heart
06 Messiah - behold and see
07 Messiah - he was cut off - but thou
didst not leave his soul in
hell
08 Messiah - lift up your heads
09 Messiah - the lord gave the word
10 Messiah - how beautiful are the feet of
them
11 Messiah - their sound is gone out
12 Messiah - why do the nations
13 Messiah - let us break their bonds
14 Messiah - he that dwelleth in heaven
15 Messiah - thou shalt break them
16 Messiah - hallelujah!
17 Messiah - i know that my redeemer
liveth
18 Messiah - since by man came death
19 Messiah - behold i tell you a mystery
20 Messiah - the trumpet shall sound
21 Messiah - worthy is the lamb
22 Messiah - amen
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SITE RATING: 5/10
SITE
REVIEW: ReDiscovery
Music, an online store that specializes in
finding and reissuing obscure (sometimes
deservedly-so) classical recordings (click
here to see the previously-reviewed
release by Kurt Von Baum), has released a
second Messiah,
one that is seemingly as mysterious as their
other issues. Original released by the
Musical Masterpiece Society, and credited to
The Chorus and Orchestra of The Handel
Society, London, and conducted by Water Goehr
in 1958 (according to a Canadian
Encyclopedia), it appears as if this early Messiah is
again a perpetrator of its own myths.
The Handel Society, London, does indeed
exist, but traces it's origins to the late
1970s, and the accents of the choir is
distinctly un-English. Based on
research, it appears that the Choir and
orchestra are actually the Netherlands
Philharmonic, which Goehr recorded other
pieces with during the same period. As
to the recording, it's merely adequate; the
orchestra and choir give what can only be
described as "sturdy" performances, more
lumbering than graceful, with the orchestra
occasionally going out of tune (a trait which
the choir sometimes shares). Tenor
Léopold Simoneau is very pleasant, while bass
Heinz Rehfuss is tremendous - giving a
powerfully driving performance, although for
some reason his vocal is recorded with more
echo than seems necessary. Alto Grace Hoffman
sounds a bit wilted in her arias, with a
wobbly vibrato and flushed tone. Goehr
seems to slow down the tempi even further to
accommodate her past-its-prime talents,
chugging through "But Who May Abide" like an
wheezing locomotive. Although this recording
was apparently advertised as the Mozart
arrangement, it's not quite; there is an
audible tuba playing during some moments, as
well as other noticeable differences.
The sound, although listed as stereo, is
clearly mono, and is quite thick and dense -
with occasional distortion noticeable in the
upper ranges. As with ReDiscovery's
previous release, I found the mystery behind
this Messiah
to be more compelling than the actual
recording.
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