| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
RESONUS CLASSICS
|
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
RES10219
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| UPC
NUMBER: |
5060262791264
|
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
68:28, 73.47
|
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
2017
|
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
2018
|
| CONDUCTOR: |
DAVID HILL
|
| ORCHESTRA: |
THE NORWEGIAN WIND
ENSEMBLE
|
| CHOIR: |
BBC SINGERS
|
| SOPRANO: |
SUSANNA HURRELL
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| MEZZO-SOPRANO: |
REBECCA AFONWY JONES
|
| TENOR: |
SAMUEL BODEN
|
| BASS: |
JAMES PLATT
|
|
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DISC ONE
1. Sinfonia
3:09
2. Comfort ye
3:02
3. Ev’ry valley shall be
exalted
3:17
4. And the glory of the
Lord
2:43
5. Thus saith the Lord
1:20
6. But who may abide
3:39
7. And He shall purify
2:31
8. Behold a virgin shall
conceive
0:22
9. O thou that tellest good
tidings
5:22
10. For behold
2:21
11. The people that walked in
darkness
3:22
12. For unto us a child is
born
3:49
13. Pifa (Pastoral
Symphony)
2:57
14. There were shepherds – And lo! – And
the angel said unto them – And
suddenly
1:30
15. Glory to God
1:58
16. Rejoice greatly
6:18
17. Then shall the eyes of the
blind
0:21
18. He shall feed His
flock
4:37
19. His yoke is easy
2:22
20. Behold the lamb of
God
2:28
21. He was despised
10:51
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DISC TWO
22. Surely He hath borne our
griefs 1:58
23. And with His stripes
1:53
24. All we like sheep
3:53
25. All they that see
Him 0:47
26. He trusted in God
2:23
27. Thy rebuke hath broken his
heart
1:47
28. Behold and see
1:24
29. He was cut off
0:14
30. But thou didst not
leave 2:03
31. Lift up your
heads
3:11
32. Unto which of the
angels
0:16
33. Let all the angels of
God
1:29
34. Thou art gone up on
high
3:09
35. The Lord gave the
word
1:08
36. How beautiful are the
feet
3:25
37. Their sound is gone
out
1:09
38. Why do the nations
2:46
39. Let us break their
bonds
1:50
40. He that dwelleth in
heaven
0:10
41. Thou shalt break
them
2:00
42. Hallelujah
3:53
43. I know that my redeemer
liveth
5:53
44. Since by man came
death
1:58
45. Behold, I tell you a
mystery
0:34
46. The trumpet shall
sound
8:42
47. Then shall be
brought
0:14
48. O death where is thy
s 0:56
49. But thanks be to God
2:05
50. If God be for us
4:57
51. Worthy is the lamb
3:26
52. Amen
3:58
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|
SITE RATING: 7/10
SITE
REVIEW: Yet another
re-scored orchestration of Handel's Messiah,
this time for wind orchestra, the arrangement
was composed by Stian Aareskjold, a member of
the Norwegian Wind Ensemble, who play on this
recording. Joined by the BBC singers
under the direction of David Hill, this
performance has a gentle, pastoral mood,
accentuated by the soft winds, creating an
intimate chamber-like experience. Tenor
Samuel Boden fits right in with his light,
delicate performance and pleasing
timbre. James Platt gives more weight to
his full-throated arias, but he never
overpowers the NWE, although I'm not convinced
by his somewhat unwieldy reading and tremulous
melismas. Mezzo-soprano Rebecca
Afonwy-Jones has a rich, fruity sound, and
sounds more technically proficient than
emotionally invested in her arias.
Soprano Susanna Hurrell is very bird-like,
with a bright forward tone, and I can't say
that her performance was 'world-class' - it is
good, but a bit brittle and lacking
finesse. The BBC Singers bring their
substantial polish to the performance, with
crisp diction and rich English vowels.
The recorded sound is a bit soft - they sound
distant in the mix, but perhaps that is an
attempt to blend their more robust choral
sound with the lighter-toned
accompaniment. Hill's tempos are
moderate, never breaking a sweat, and sounding
a bit too controlled for my tastes. But
I very much enjoy the wind arrangement by
Aareskjold, and believe that, along with
similar variations by Dr.
Denis Wright and J.
Lubbock, this mini-movement of Messiah
re-scorings is a worthwhile, refreshing
listen.
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