| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
WASHINGTON
NATIONAL CATHEDRAL |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
WNC
0801 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
884501033992 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
136:31 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
2007 |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
NOVEMBER
10, 2009 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
MICHAEL
MCCARTHY |
| ORCHESTRA: |
BAROQUE
ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
WASHINGTON
CATHEDRAL CHOIR |
| SOPRANO: |
SUSAN
LEWIS KAVINSKI |
| MEZZO
SOPRANO: |
YVETTE
SMITH |
| TENOR: |
RUFUS
MÜLLER |
| BASS: |
NATHAN
BERG |
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DISC ONE
PART THE FIRST
1 Sinfony
(Overture) 3:23
2 Accompagrrato: Tenor
Comfort ye 2:50
3 Air: Tenor Ev'ry
valley 3:17
4 Chorus And the glory
of the Lord 2:42
5 Accompagnato: Bass
Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of
Hosts 1:33
6 Air: Alto But who
may abide the day of His
coming 4:24
7 Chorus And He shall
purify 2:40
8 Recitative: Alto
Behold, a virgin shall
conceive 0:23
9 Air: Alto and Chorus
O thou that tellest good tidings to
Zion 5:16
10 Accompagnato: Bass
For behold, darkness shall cover the
earth 2:13
11 Air: Bass The
people that walked in
darkness 3:36
12 Chorus For unto us
a Child is born 4:19
13 Pifa (Pastoral
Symphony) 0:59
14 Recitative: Soprano
There were shepherds abiding in the
field 0:16
15 Accompagnato:
Soprano And lo, the angel of the Lord
came upon them 0:21
16 Recitative: Soprano
And the angel said unto
them 0:41
17 Accompagnato:
Soprano And suddenly there was with the
angel 0:18
18 Chorus Glory to God
in the highest 2:06
19 Air: Soprano
Rejoice greatly 4:38
20 Recitative: Alto
Then shall the eyes of the blind be
open'd 0:31
21 Air: Alto and
Soprano He shall feed His
flock 5:18
22 Chorus His yoke is
easy, and His burthen is
light 2:33
PART THE SECOND
23 Chorus Behold the
Lamb of God 3:02
24 Air: Alto He was
despised 10:10
25 Chorus Surely, He
hath borne our griefs
1:42
26 Chorus And with His
stripes we are healed
1:38
27 Chorus All we like
sheep have gone astray
4:03
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DISC TWO
1
Accompagnato:
Tenor All they that see Him laugh Him to
scorn 0:47
2 Chorus He trusted in
God that He would deliver
Him 2:12
3 Accompagnato: Tenor
Thy rebuke hath broken His
heart 1:46
4 Arioso: Tenor
Behold, and see 1:34
5 Accompagnato: Tenor
He was cut off out of the land of the
living 0:19
6 Air: Tenor But Thou
didst not leave His soul in
hell 2:15
7 Chorus Lift up your
heads, O ye gates 3:04
8 Recitative: Tenor
Unto which of the angels said He at any
time 0:14
9 Chorus Let all the
angels of God worship
Him 1:25
10 Air: Alto Thou art
gone up on high 3:21
11 Chorus The Lord
gave the word 1:08
12 Air: Soprano How
beautiful are the feet
2:11
13 Chorus Their sound
is gone out into all
lands 1:14
14 Air: Bass Why do
the nations so furiously rage
together? 2:48
15 Chorus Let us break
their bonds asunder
1:41
16 Recitative: Tenor
He that dwelleth in
heaven 0: 12
17 Air: Tenor Thou
shalt break them with a rod of
iron 2:04
18 Chorus
Hallelujah! 4:08
PART THE THIRD
19 Air: Soprano I know
that my Redeemer
liveth 5:53
20 Chorus Since by man
came death 2:10
21 Accompagnato: Bass
Behold, I tell you a
mystery o:35
22 Air: Bass The
trumpet shall sound
4:11
23 Recitative: Alto
Then shall be brought to
pass 0:20
24 Duet: Alto, Tenor O
death, where is thy
sting? 1:05
25 Chorus But thanks
be to God 2:05
26 Air: Soprano If God
be for us, who can be against
us? 4:55
27 Chorus Worthy is
the Lamb that was slain/Amen
8:02
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SITE RATING: 8/10
SITE
REVIEW: This recording my Michael McCarthy
and the forces at the Washington National
Cathedral is a strong entry into the Messiah
oeuvre, with powerful, forceful readings of
most of the arias and choruses, eschewing
most of the lightness that has come to
define the baroque revival movement.
McCarthy leads the men and women of
the Cathedral Choir and Baroque Orchestra in
a style that can be described as
declamatory; each piece is a forceful
statement; one of the more intriguing
exceptions to this rule is in the final
"Amen" chorus, which McCarthy lends a more
pastoral mood to - he saves the full force
of the statement to the very end, choosing
to perform most of the chorus with a smooth
serenity that belies most of what has gone
before. The soloists are fine, again,
not of the strictly baroque school, with
heavier readings and slower melismas than
most modern recordings - part of that must
be attributed to the live setting, which
seems to rely more on natural accoustics
than electronic enhancements; tenor Rufus
Müller has a young, bright tone that I
didn't find particularly effective here, but
he's certainly adept at the technical
requirements; alto Yvette Smith was the weak
link among all the soloists, with constant
breathing issues breaking up the melismas,
and a heavier tone than Handel's piece
requires. Otherwise, this is a fine,
live recording, with a testimonial
earnestness that sets it apart from other Messiahs.
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