| RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
MADACY
ENTERTAINMENT |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
HMX-2-0420 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
056775042028 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
39:41,
41:26 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1995 |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
SEPTEMBER
15, 1998 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
ANDREW
LANE |
| ORCHESTRA: |
ORLANDO
POPS ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
ORLANDO
POPS CHORUS? |
| SOPRANO: |
HEIDI
HOLCOMBE |
| CONTRALTO: |
MARGUERITE
KRULL |
| TENOR: |
WILLIAM
ADAMS |
| BASS: |
JUSTIN
WHITE |
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DISC ONE
1. Sinfony Overture - 3:34
2. Co[m]fort Ye - 2:54
3. Every Valley - 3:17
4. And The Glory of the Lord Shall Be
Revealed - 3:02
5. Thus Saith The Lord - 1:24
6. But who My Abide The Day of His Coming
4:33
7. Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive - :24
8. O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To
Zion - 5:34
9. For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover The
Earth - 3:45
10. The People That Walked In Darkness -
3:45
11. For Unto Us A Child Is Born 3:50
12. Pifa (Pastoral Symphony) - 1:17
13. There Were Shepherds Abiding In The
Field - :15
14. And Lo, The Angel of the Lord - :23
15. And The Angel Said Unto Them - :42
16. And Suddenly There Was With The
Angel/Glory To God - 2:14
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DISC TWO
1. Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter Of
Zion - 4:30
2. Then Shall The Eyes of the Blind be
Opened - :24
3. And He Shall Feed His Flock Like A
Shepherd - 5:38
4. Behold The Lamb Of God - 2:57
5. Thou Art Gone Up On High - 3:05
6. He That Dwelleth In Heaven - :14
7. Thou Shalt Break Them - 2:11
8. Hallelujah - 3:34
9. I Know That My Redeemer Liveth - 5:25
10. Since By Man Came Death 1:52
11. Behold I Tell You A Mystery / The
Trumpet(s) Shall Sound - 4:24
12. Worthy Is The Lamb / Amen [Chorus] -
6:56
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SITE RATING: 0/10
SITE
REVIEW: Madacy
Entertainment, the purveyors of cheap,
disposable, music-for-the-masses, muddied the
waters of their already bloated Messiah
output with this Orlando Pops recording,
which, in appearance, is nearly-identical to
the omnipresent Susskind
Messiah . In fact,
outwardly this release appears so nearly
identical to the Susskind release, that for a
long time I thought it was the same
performance. And despite the fact that
several deluded individuals are attempting to
sell this album for upwards of $100.00 in
some online marketplaces - it is in reality a
severely truncated, cheaply-produced and
indifferently performed set. Whether its the
horrifically tacky hot-pink and blue
silk-screened nativity scene imprinted on the
CDs (which looks like something out of Dante's
Inferno, rather than the birth of the Christ
child), or the ineptly-proofed track listing
which is riddled with errors, the shoddiness
and disdain Madacy shows for
their product is astounding.
As to the performance, Madacy makes the
statement on the packaging that this is a
"Christmas" (read: half of the oratorio has
been cut out) version of Messiah for
Chamber Choir and Orchestra, so despite the
statement that this is the Orlando Pops, it's
more like the Orlando string quartet with
harpsichord, accompanied with a 20-voice Choir
(in a nice touch, each of the Choir members
are listed by name). So it's a very
small ensemble, recorded very closely, leaving
little room for ambiance - the entire
recording has a piercing, harsh tone to the
sound which is somewhat painful to listen to.
Tenor William Adams similarly cuts
through the speakers with his strident, bright
tone, which, although in tune, sounds rote and
muscled. The chamber choir is top-heavy
in its sound and disunified. Bass Justin
White has a resplendent tone, but is unequal
to the technical requirements of the melismas.
Alto Marguerite Krull sounds dull and
disinterested, and worst of all, soprano Heidi
Holcombe is horrific - alternately piercing
and fluttery her manic delivery has the effect
of sounding shrill and somewhat demented.
Conductor Andrew Lane's direction is
totally mechanical - a painful
going-through-the-motions effort that defies
any attempt to impart life or meaning to this
immortal work. In short, this is easily
one of the worst Messiahs to ever hit the
market. A sad and pathetic performance
and release.
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