| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
SIGNUM
CLASSICS |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
SIGCD074 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
635212007426 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
56:56,
70:01 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1988 |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
APRIL
25, 2006 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
SIR
CHARLES MACKERRAS |
| ORCHESTRA: |
ROYAL
PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
THE
HUDDERSFIELD CHORAL SOCIETY |
| SOPRANO: |
FELICITY
LOTT |
| CONTRALTO: |
FELICITY
PALMER |
| TENOR: |
PHILIP
LANGRIDGE |
| BASS: |
ROBERT
LLOYD |
|
|
|
DISC ONE
1. Part 1. Overture
2. Part 1. Allegro moderato
3. Part 1. Recitative. Comfort ye
4. Part 1. Aria. Every Valley
5. Part 1. Chorus. And the Glory of the
Lord
6. Part 1. Recitative. Thus saith the Lord
7. Part 1. Aria. But who may abide
8. Part 1. Chorus. And He shall purify
9. Part 1. Recitative. Behold! A Virgin
10. Part 1. Aria. O thou that tellest good
tidings to Zion
11. Part 1. Recitative. For behold,
darkness shall cover the earth
12. Part 1. Aria. The people that walked
in darkness
13. Part 1. Chorus. For unto us a Child is
born
14. Part 1. Pastoral Symphony /
Recitative. There were shepherds
15. Part 1. Accompagnato. And lo!, the
Angel
16. Part 1. Recitative. And the Angel said
unto them
17. Part 1. Accompagnato. And suddenly
there was with the Angel
18. Part 1. Chorus. Glory to God
19. Part 1. Aria. Rejoice greatly
20. Part 1. Recitative. Then shall the
eyes of the blind
21. Part 1. Aria. He shall feed His flock
/ Aria. Come unto him
22. Part 1. Chorus. His yoke is easy
|
DISC TWO
1. Part 2. Chorus. Behold the Lamb of
God
2. Part 2. Aria. He was despised
3. Part 2. Chorus. Surely, He hath borne
our griefs
4. Part 2. Chorus. And with his Stripes
5. Part 2. Chorus. All we like sheep have
gone astray
6. Part 2. Recitative. All they that see
Him
7. Part 2. Chorus. He trusted in God
8. Part 2. Recitative. Thy rebuke hath
broken His heart
9. Part 2. Aria. Behold, and see
10. Part 2. Recitative. He was cut off
11. Part 2. Aria. But Thou didst not leave
12. Part 2. Chorus. Lift up your heads
13. Part 2. Chorus. The Lord gave the Word
14. Part 2. Aria. How beautiful are the
feet of them
15. Part 2. Aria. Why do the nations
16. Part 2. Chorus. Let us break their
bonds asunder
17. Part 2. Aria. Thou shalt break them
18. Part 2. Chorus. Hallelujah!
19. Part 3. Aria. I know that my Redeemer
liveth
20. Part 3. Chorus. Since by man came
death
21. Part 3. Recitative. Behold, I tell you
a mystery
22. Part 3. Aria. The trumpet shall sound
23. Part 3. Chorus. Worthy is the Lamb
24. Part 3. Chorus. Amen
|
|
SITE RATING: 7/10
SITE
REVIEW: Mackerras's
1988 recording of the Mozart arr. of Messiah
is a strange, many-headed beast. It can
be viewed on one hand as a "traditional"
recording of Messiah - with the Mozartian
German transcribed into English, a harpsichord
continuo added throughout, and Mozart's vocal
re-assignments re-RE-assigned to their Handel
origins. In fact, about the only thing
retained in this Mozart arrangement is the
added horn parts, which add weight and depth
to the orchestral forces, otherwise, this can
almost be ascribed as the "Ebenezer Prout
edition of Mozart's arrangement of Handel's Messiah".
When compared with Mackerras's 1974
Messiah, this one sounds much less
vital. Eschewing the Teutonic feeling of
his earlier recording, this one sounds
relatively bloodless and safe, with tempos and
playing that are much more moderate, and yet
also much less arresting. The
Huddersfield Choral Society sings warmly, but
without passion, the Royal Philharmonic plays
much the same, with long, sweeping phrases,
and little electricity. The largest
stumbling block are the soloists; tenor Philip
Langridge sounds a bit demented in his solos,
using far too much vibrato and nearly shaking
right out of his melismas; bass Robert Lloyd's
tone is very swallowed, while the "dueling
Felicitys" alto Felicity Palmer's and soprano
Felicity Lott's rich tones are both too fruity
for my tastes. It's a good recording
overall, but after hearing Mackerras's earlier
recording, this one pales in comparison.
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