SITE REVIEW:  A unique Messiah in the canon; director John Lubbock has re-orchestrated the oratorio for winds, much like Dr. Denis Wright's arrangement of Messiah for brass with the Black Dyke Band, this recording is unique in its flavor.  The winds-only orchestration gives the work a delicate, pastoral flavor, which, while not as dramatic as Wright's, is very pretty and worth hearing.  The performance varies however; first the good: the Orchestra of St. John's carries the day with the new orchestration - their playing is light and cheerful, the flutes and woodwinds perfectly balanced and unified.  Tenor Christopher Turner is very good - heroic and brightly-toned.  The OSJ Voices are not as unified in sound - individual voices tear out of the fabric of sound, especially one startlingly bright tenor who appears to think he's the soloist.  But other issues, such as clashing vibratos are omnipresent.  Bass Božidar Smiljanić is heroically operatic in his role, with a razor-sharp tone.  I'm not a fan of counter-tenor Roderick Morris - he sounds all wrong here; fluttery and bucolic, with wide vowels and with an aged vibrato.  Soprano Nardus Williams suffers similar issues - a quavery vibrato, dark tone, and lack of emotional connection with the material.  The oratorio is severely cut - I would have enjoyed hearing the wind orchestrations applied to a full reading, but as it is, I still recommend it to collectors for it's uniqueness and finer points.  Additionally, there is an accompanying DVD, which may be ordered directly from the OSJ website.