| RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
OEHMS
CLASSICS
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| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
OC884
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| UPC
NUMBER: |
4260034868847
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| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
1
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| RUNNING TIME: |
54:18
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| YEAR
RECORDED: |
2013?
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| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
OCTOBER
29, 2013
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| CONDUCTOR: |
MICHAEL
HOFSTETTER
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| ORCHESTRA: |
NEUMEYER
CONSORT
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| CHOIR: |
BAROCK
VOKAL, MAINZ
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| SOPRANO: |
N/A
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| CONTRALTO: |
N/A
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| TENOR: |
N/A
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| BASS: |
N/A
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| AUDIO SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
OTHER
RELEASES |
CLICK HERE
FOR AUDIO SAMPLES
(WILL OPEN IN NEW WINDOW)
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NONE
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NONE
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DISC ONE
1. Sinfonia 00:02:48
2. Part I: And the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed 00:02:31
3. Part I: And He shall purify
00:02:21
4. Part I: For unto a child is born
00:03:54
5. Part I: Glory to God in the
highest 00:01:51
6. Part I: His yoke is easy, his
burthen is light 00:02:18
7. Part II: Behold the Lamb of God
00:02:44
8. Part II: Surely, He hath borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows
00:01:41
9. Part II: And with His stripes we
are healed 00:01:49
10. Part II: All we like sheep have gone
astray 00:03:45
11. Part II: He trusted in God that He
would deliver Him 00:02:13
12. Part II: Lift up your heads, O ye
gates 00:03:02
13. Part II: Let all the angels of God
worship Him 00:01:25
14. Part II: The Lord gave the word
00:01:07
15. Part II: How beautiful are the feet
00:03:23
16. Part II: Let us break their bonds
asunder 00:01:47
17. Part II: Hallelujah 00:05:32
18. Part III: O death, where is thy sting
00:01:20
19. Part III: But thanks be to God
00:02:14
20. Part III: Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain 00:03:13
21. Part III: Amen 00:03:20
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SITE RATING: 8/10
SITE
REVIEW: This new
"choral highlights" CD from director Michael
Hofstetter and the Nuemeyer Consort is
easily the cheeriest, most florid reading
I've heard from any conductor since Richard
Bonynge's 1969 Messiah.
Bursting with joie de vivre, both
the orchestra and chorus (the resplendent
Barok Vokal, Mainz) give a performance much
more in the style of a Bellini opera than a
strictly baroque Handellian reading.
They freely indulge in unapologetically
curly ornamentation throughout, which has
both its adherents and detractors among
baroque purists. If you're up for
hearing such an interpretation, you will
find much to enjoy here - not only for the
richly idiosyncratic performance, but for
the effervescent tone which the combined
forces adopt - it's literally as if they're
singing and playing with pure joy. The
baroque choir is tiny - only one or two
voices per part - which lends itself to a
clean, highly-defined sound, but conversely
lacks power on the more majestic
choruses. And it needs to be said that
the choice of making this a "happy" Messiah
has its own drawbacks, most notably in the
outright avoidance of some of the more
lovely, somber moments, instead
reveling exclusively in the brighter
choruses, which perfectly suit the bubbly
take on the material. For my part,
it's a little tiring hearing such a
relentlessly upbeat program; I prefer having
some variety from moment to moment - some
emotional ebbs and flows - it's a bit like
having a chatty person talk your ear off
when you really just want to be alone.
But if you're in the mood for a determinedly
cheerful, highly professional and polished
selection of choruses, you should definitely
check this out.
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