| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
K.617 |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
K617243 |
| EAN
NUMBER: |
3383510002434 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
2:22:49 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
2012? |
| CD
RELEASE
DATE: |
MARCH
26,
2013 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
BENOÎT
HALLER |
| ORCHESTRA: |
LA
CHAPELLE
RHÉNANE |
| CHOIR: |
LA
CHAPELLE
RHÉNANE |
| SOPRANO: |
TANYA
ASPELMEIER,
AURORE
BUCHER, STÉPHANIE RÉVIDAT |
| ALTO: |
JULIEN
FREYMUTH,
ALLESANDRO GIANGRANDE, KATHRIN
HILDEBRANDT |
| TENOR: |
HENNING
KAISER,
SÉBASTIEN OBRECHT, FRANÇOIS
ROUGIER |
| BARITONE: |
EKKEHARD
ABELE,
MANFRED BITTNER, MATTHIEU
LÉCROART |
|
|
|
DISC ONE
1. Symphony
3:15
2. Comfort ye my
people Sebastien
Obrecht 3:06
3. Ev'ry valley shall be
exalted Sebastien
Obrecht 3:13
4. And the glory of the
Lord
3:13
5. Thus saith the Lord of
hosts Ekkehard
Abele 1:20
6. But who may abide the day of His
coming? Julien
Freymuth 4:29
7. And he shall purify
2:28
8. Behold, a virgin shall
conceive Alessandro
Giangrande and Kathrin
Hildebrandt 5:56
9. For behold, darkness shall cover the
earth Manfred
Bittner 2:23
10. The people that walked in
darkness Manfred
Bittner 3:29
11. For unto us a Child is
born
3:42
12. Pifa
3:00
13. There were shepherds abiding in the
field Tanya
Aspelmeier 1:15
14. And suddenly there was with
angel Tanya
Aspelmeier 0:16
15. Glory to God in the
highest
1:50
16. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion Stéphanie
Révidat 4:15
17. Then shall the eyes of the blind be
open'd Kathrin
Hildebrandt and Aurore
Bucher 5:52
18. His yoke is easy, His burthen is
light 2:08
19. Behold the lamb of
God
3:16
20. He was despised
Alessandro Giangrande
9:55
21. Surely, He hath borne our
griefs
1:35
22. And with His stripes we are
healed
1:56
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DISC TWO
1. All we like sheep have gone
astray
3:34
2. All they that see Him, laugh Him to
scorn François
Rougier 0:42
3. He trusted in God
2:11
4. Thy rebuke hath broken His
heart Henning
Kaiser 1:39
5. Behold, and see if there be any
sorrow Henning
Kaiser 1:50
6. He was cut off out of the land of the
living François
Rougier 0:18
7. But thou didst not leave His soul in
hell Henning
Kaiser 2:16
8. Lift up your heads
2:53
9. Unto which of the angels said He at
any time Sebastien
Obrecht 1:44
10. Thou art gone up on
high Julien
Freymuth 3:04
11. The Lord gave the
word
1:07
12. How beautiful are the feet of
them Stéphanie
Révidat 2:11
13. Their sound is gone out into all
lands
1:24
14. Why do the nations so furiously rage
together Ekkehard
Abele 2:36
15. Let us break their bonds
asunder
1:57
16. He that dwelleth in
heaven François
Rougier 2:16
17. Hallelujah
4:43
18. I know that my Redeemer
liveth Aurore
Bucher 6:13
19. Since by man came
death
1:55
20. Behold, I tell you a
mystery Matthieu
Lécroart 0:33
21. The trumpet shall
sound Matthieu
Lécroart 8:45
22. Then shall be brought to
pass Alessandro
Giangrande, Kathrin Hildebrandt, and
Henning Kaiser
1:17
23. But thanks be to
God
1:50
24. If God be for us who can be against
us? Tanya
Aspelmeier 4:52
25. Worthy is the lamb that was
slain 8:44
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SITE RATING: 8/10
SITE
REVIEW: One of the
interesting things about listening to and
reviewing so many releases of Handel's Messiah
is to hear how the same piece - a baroque
oratorio - can take on such different
flavors and aspects in the hands of different
conductors and artists. Beyond tonal
color and tempos, which can alter the shape of
a single song, often the choice of a musical
director can shape an entire performance from
beginning to end. Such is the case with
this production under the direction of Benoît
Haller - a tenor who formed la Chapelle Rhénane in
order to perform chamber editions of European
works. Haller, coming from a singing
background, has shaped this Messiah
with a singer's, rather than a musical
director's, sensibilities. This is shown
in the tempos, which are more generous and
free form than baroque tradition usually calls
for; to the use of multiple soloists, all
pulled from la Chapelle Rhénane's ranks,
rather than from outside sources. These
choices have made this a relaxed, luxuriant Messiah,
sounding very sun-dappled and easy, as if the
entire performance were taking place at a
wine-tasting vineyard, instead of a more
formal gathering. The orchestra
occasionally takes liberties with note values,
which certainly caught my ear, and the
soloists (which are too numerous for me to
summarize the qualities of each one) tending
towards more ornamentation with the slower
tempos. And the choir and orchestra, being
smaller in numbers, have more distinctive
individuality than other recordings I've
heard, with soloistic timbres popping out,
rather than a unified blend. But I don't
mind - where with other recordings and groups
this might be a liability, here, the entire
performance caught my ear, and made me
listen harder. This is one of those
uniquely stylized Messiah's which will
polarize listeners, baroque purists will
either hate it for it's disuse of light, swift
tempos, or embrace it's small-scale
individuality. I give it credit for
simply having it's own personality, standing
apart from the run-of-the-mill performance,
and daring listeners to experience Messiah
in a subtly different light.
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