| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
HARMONIA
MUNDI |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
901928.29 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
794881817726 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
120:18 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
2006 |
| CD
RELEASE
DATE: |
OCTOBER
10,
2006 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
RENE
JACOBS |
| ORCHESTRA: |
FREIBURGER
BAROCKORCHESTER |
| CHOIR: |
THE
CHOIR
OF CLAIRE COLLEGE |
| SOPRANO: |
KERSTIN
AVEMO |
| ALTO: |
PATRICIA
BARDON |
| COUNTERTENOR: |
LAWRENCE
ZAZZO |
| TENOR: |
KOBIE
VAN
RENSBURG |
| BASS: |
NEAL
DAVIES |
|
|
|
DISC ONE
1. Sinfony
2. Accompagnato. Comfort ye, my people,
saith your God
3. Air. Every valley shall be exalted
4. Chorus. And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed
5. Accompagnato. Thus saith the Lord of
Hosts
6. Air. But who may abide the day of His
coming?
7. Chorus. And He shall purify the sons of
Levi
8. Chorus. Behold, a virgin shall concieve
/ No. 9. Air & Chorus. O thou that
tellest good tidings
9. Accompagnato. For behold, darkness
shall cover the earth
10. Air. The people that walked in
darkness
11. Chorus. For unto us a child is born
12. Sinfonia pastorale (Pifa) / No. 14a.
Recitative. There were shepherds abiding
in th
13. Chorus. Glory to God in the highest
14. Air. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion
15. Recitative. Then shall the eyes of the
blind be opened / No. 20. Air. He shall
feed
16. Chorus. His yoke is easy, and His
burthen is light
17. Chorus. Behold the lamb of God
18. Air. He was despised and rejected of
men
19. Chorus. Surely He hath borne our
griefs
20. Chorus. And with His stripes we are
healed
21. Chorus. All we like sheep have gone
astray
|
DISC TWO
1. Accompagnato. All they that see
Him laugh Him to scorn
2. Chorus. He trusted in God that He would
deliver Him
3. Accompagnato. Thy rebuke hath broken
His heart
4. Arioso. Behold and see if there be any
sorrow
5. Accompagnato. He was cut off out of the
land of the living / No. 32. Air. But Thou
6. Chorus. Lift up your heads, O ye gates
7. Recitative. Unto which of the angels
said He at any time
8. Chorus. Let all the angels of God
worship Him
9. Air. Thou art gone up on high
10. Chorus. The Lord gave the world
11. Air. How beautiful are the feet of
them
12. Chorus. Their sound is gone out into
all lands
13. Air. Why do the nations so furiously
rage together
14. Chorus. Let us break their bonds
asunder
15. Recitative. He that dwelleth in heaven
shall laugh them to scorn / No. 43. Air.
Tho
16. Chorus. Hallelujah!
17. Air. I know that my redeemer liveth
18. Chorus. Since by man came death
19. Accompagnato. Behold, I tell you a
mystery / No. 48. Air. The trumpet shall
sound
20. Recitative. Then shall be brought /
No. 50. Duet. O Death, where is thy sting?
21. Chorus. But thanks be to God who
giveth us the victory
22. Air. If God be for us, who can be
against us?
23. Chorus. Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain / No. 54. Chorus. Amen
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SITE RATING: 8/10
SITE
REVIEW: A dynamic,
exciting Messiah
from René Jacobs from 2006, this release from
Harmonia Mundi was undoubtedly considered one
of their premiere recordings that year,
receiving deluxe packaging and dueling CD/SACD
releases. Everyone here is at the top of
their game, with electrifying performances
from The Freiburger Barockorchester (playing
period instruments), soloists Kerstin Avemo,
Patricia Bardon, Lawrence Zazzo (just listen
to his remarkable virtuoso run at "But Who May
Abide The Day Of His Coming") Kobie van
Rensburg, and a thunderous performance by bass
Neal Davies. The Choir of Claire College
bring a fresh youthful cleanness to the
choruses, and René Jacobs keeps everything
moving at an breathless, highly-kinetic pace.
There's a clenched-teeth fierceness to
this Messiah
that I'd not heard on other releases, and it
creates a marked tension between all of the
performers - an almost one-up-manship attitude
that makes this a not-altogether comfortable
listening experience - so much audible effort
is being put into every movement, that I found
myself waiting to see if it all
self-destructed before the end of the
recording. Fascinating (and a little
exhausting) to listen to; ultimately, one of
those Messiahs
that seem preoccupied with achieving style
over emotional substance.
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