| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
EMI
CLASSICS |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
69449 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
724356944923 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
152:05 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1967 |
| CD
RELEASE
DATE: |
OCTOBER
3,
2000 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
CHARLES
MACKERRAS |
| ORCHESTRA: |
ENGLISH
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
AMBROSIAN
SINGERS |
| SOPRANO: |
ELIZABETH
HARWOOD |
| MEZZO-SOPRANO: |
JANET
BAKER |
| ALTO: |
PAUL
ESSWOOD |
| TENOR: |
ROBERT
TEAR |
| BASS: |
RAIMUND
HERINCX |
|
|
|
DISC ONE
1. Sinfonia
2. Arioso: Comfort ye!
3. Ev'ry valley
4. Chœur: And the glory of the Lord
5. Récitatif: Thus saith the Lord
6. Aria: But who may abide
7. Chœur: And he shall purify
8. Récitatif: Behold, a virgin shall
conceive
9. Aria & chœur: O thou that tellest
10. Récitatif arioso: For, behold!
Darkness shall cover the earth
11. Aria: The people that walked in
darkness
12. Chœur: For unto us a Child is born
13. Pita (Symphonie pastorale)
14. Récitatif: There were shepherds
15. Récitatif: And Lo! The angel
16. "And the angel said"
17. "And suddenly there was with the
angel"
18. "Glory to God"
19. "Rejoice greatly"
20. "Then shall the eyes"
21. "He shall feed His flock"
22. "His yoke is easy"
23. "Behold the Lamb of God"
24. "He was despised"
25. "Surely, He hath borne our griefs"
|
DISC TWO
1. "And with His stripes"
2. "All we like sheep"
3. "All trusted in God"
4. "He trusted in God"
5. "Thy rebuke hath broken His heart"
6. "Behold, and see"
7. "He was cut off"
8. "But thou didst not leave"
9. "Lift up your heads"
10. "Unto which of the angels"
11. "Let all the angels of God"
12. "Thou art gone up on high"
13. "The Lord gave the word"
14. "Their sound is gone out"
15. "Why do the nations"
16. "Let us break their bonds"
17. "He that dwelleth in heaven"
18. "Thou shalt break them"
19. "Hallelujah!"
20. " I know that my Redeemer liveth"
21. "Since by man came death"
22. "By man came also the resurrection"
23. "Even so in Christ"
24. "Behold, I tell you a mystery"
25. "The trumpet shall sound"
26. "Then shall be brought to pass"
27. "O death, where is thy sting?"
28. "But thanks be to God"
29. "If God be for us"
30. "Worthy is the Lamb"
31. "Amen"
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SITE RATING: 4/10
SITE
REVIEW: Charles
Mackerras's first recorded attempt at Handel's
Messiah
(pretentiously using the French title Le Messie,
even though it's a straightforward
English-language performance) was an
ignominious affair, lacking all of the spark
and power which he was able to bring to his 1974 Der Messias.
Mackerras is very much of the times
here, with modern instruments, larger
forces, and moderate speeds. The
response from this listener? Meh. None of the
soloists lit a fire under me, with several
instances of overly-ornate ornamentation, wide
vibratos, and more emphasis on showing off
their so-called vocal prowess than any actual
investment in the text. Although
Mackerras shows some promise in interpretation
- his tempos have a "bounce" to them them
which is not entirely unaffected, he tends to
blaze too hotly, and the forces under him
follow suit. The fact that bass Raimund
Herincx adds flourishes to his melismas
should be enough to warn off most listeners.
Soprano Elizabeth Harwood manages to cut
through the vocal balony and deliver a
beautiful, brightly-toned performance, that
can occasionally sound strident. The Ambrosian
Singers make a strangely "faceless"
performance, with everyone singing quite
heavily, with more force than seems necessary,
a criticism which applies to the entire
recording - Mackerras leads this Messiah
with an oddly heavy hand, and it left me
feeling that a lighter touch would have
benefitted this project immensely. Out
of print in general circulation as of this
writing, Archiv Music produces an "on-demand"
CD-R set, or it's available more affordably as
an mp3 download, but considering the blunt,
brazen sound of this Messiah, it's not an
essential purchase.
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