| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
CAPRICCIO |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
60068-2 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
845221004471 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
75:45,
44:56 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1994 |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
JANUARY
1, 1995 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
PETER
MARSCHIK |
| ORCHESTRA: |
ACADEMY
OF LONDON |
| CHOIR: |
VIENNA
BOYS' CHOIR |
| SOPRANO: |
MAX
EMMANUEL CENCIC |
| COUNTERTENOR: |
CHARLES
HUMPHRIES |
| TENOR: |
IVAN
SHARPE |
| BASS: |
ROBERT
TORDAY |
|
|
| AUDIO
SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
OTHER
RELEASES |
|
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|
DISC ONE
1. Part 1. Sinfonia (Grave -
Allegro moderato)
2. Part 1. No. 1. Accompagnato. Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people
3. Part 1. No. 2. Aria. Ev'ry valley
shall be exalted
4. Part 1. No. 3. Chorus. And the glory
of the Lord shall be revealed
5. Part 1. No. 4. Accompagnato. Thus
saith the Lord of Hosts
6. Part 1. No. 5. Aria. But who may
abide the day of his coming
7. Part 1. No. 6. Chorus. And he shall
purify
8. Part 1. No. 7. Recitative. Behold, a
virgin shall conceive
9. Part 1. No. 10. Accompagnato. For
behold, darkness shall cover
10. Part 1. No. 11. Aria. The people
that walked in darkness
11. Part 1. No. 12. Chorus. For unto us
a Child is born
12. Part 1. No. 13. Pifa (Pastoral
Symphony) (Larghetto e mezzo piano)
13. Part 1. No. 14. Recitative. There
were shepherds abiding
14. Part 1. No. 14. Accompagnato. And
lo, the angel of the Lord
15. Part 1. No. 14. Recitative. And the
angel said unto them
16. Part 1. No. 14. Accompagnato. And
suddenly there was
17. Part 1. No. 15. Chorus. Glory to God
in the highest
18. Part 1. No. 16. Aria. Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion
19. Part 1. No. 17. Recitative. Then
shall the eyes of the blind
20. Part 1. No. 18. Duet. He shall feed
his flock
21. Part 1. No. 19. Chorus. His yoke is
easy, his burthen is light
22. Part 2. No. 20. Chorus. Behold the
Lamb of God
23. Part 2. No. 21. Aria. He was
despised
24. Part 2. No. 22. Chorus. Surely, he
hath borne our griefs
25. Part 2. No. 23. Chorus. And with his
stripes we are healed
26. Part 2. No. 24. Chorus. All we like
sheep have gone astray
27. Part 2. No. 25. Accompagnato. All
they that see him
28. Part 2. No. 26. Chorus. He trusted
in God
29. Part 2. No. 29. Accompagnato.
He was cut off out of the land
30. Part 2. No. 30. Aria. But thou didst
not leave his soul in hell
31. Part 2. No. 31. Chorus. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates
|
DISC TWO
1. Part 2. No. 34. Aria. Thou
art gone up on high
2. Part 2. No. 35. Chorus. The Lord gave
the word
3. Part 2. No. 36. Aria. How beautiful
are the feet
4. Part 2. No. 37. Chorus. Their sound
is gone out
5. Part 2. No. 38. Aria. Why do the
nations
6. Part 2. No. 39. Chorus. Let us break
their bonds assunder
7. Part 2. No. 40. Recitative. He that
dwelleth in heaven
8. Part 2. No. 41. Aria. Thou shalt
break them
9. Part 2. No. 42. Chorus. Hallelujah
10. Part 3. No. 43. Aria. I know that my
Redeemer liveth
11. Part 3. No. 44. Chorus. Since by man
came death
12. Part 3. No. 45. Accompagnato.
Behold, I tell you a mystery
13. Part 3. No. 46. Aria. The trumpet
shall sound
14. Part 3. No. 47. Recitative. Then
shall be brought to pass
15. Part 3. No. 48. Duet. O death, where
is thy sting?
16. Part 3. No. 49. Chorus. But thanks
be to God
17. Part 3. No. 50. Aria. If God be for
us
18. Part 3. No. 51. Chorus. Worthy is
the Lamb that was slain - Amen
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SITE RATING: 6/10
SITE
REVIEW: This
performance of Messiah, conducted by Peter
Marschik and performed by the choir and
soloists of the Vienna Boys Choir, was
originally released on the Cappricio label,
and has since been licensed by Laserlight and
other budget labels at significantly reduced
prices. I purchased the Laserlight edition
while exploring several different Messiahs.
This recording has a couple of pluses,
especially in the expressive soloists: the
fiery tenor Ivan Sharpe does a magnificent job
with "Comfort Ye My People" and "Every Valley
Shall Be Exalted" and the boy soprano Max
Emmanuel Cencic is glorious on "There Were
Shepherds Abiding" while Countertenor Charles
Humphries is also fine, if not absolutely
proficient, on his solos. This performance is
definitely worth hearing for the soloists.
The troubles I have with this particular
Messiah are the unaccountably slow tempos set
on some of the choruses: "And He Shall Purify"
and "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" seem
unnecessarily languid, stripping them of any
sense of joy or rejoicing, and paling in
comparison to other Messiahs. The other big
problem with this recording is the Vienna
Boys' Choir, which is surprisingly ragged and
dis-unified on most of their choruses. There
is little precision or style in their singing,
which leads me to believe this recording was
put together with little rehearsal. There are
a couple of moments as well where the choir
goes noticeably out of tune. Not a first
choice for a Messiah, but worth hearing
for the tender, expressive soloists. ~ BDW
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