| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
WARNER
CLASSICS
& JAZZ |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
2564
69282-2 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
825646928224 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
2:12:03 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1996 |
| CD
RELEASE
DATE: |
APRIL
6,
2009 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
YEHUDI
MENUHIN |
| ORCHESTRA: |
LITHUANIAN
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
KAUNAS
STATE
CHORUS |
| SOPRANO: |
SUSAN
ROBERTS |
| MEZZO-SOPRANO: |
LILIANA
BIZINECHE-EISINGER |
| TENOR: |
ALGIRDAS
JANUTAS |
| BASS: |
BENNO
SCHOLLUM |
|
|
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DISC ONE
Part One
01 No.l Sinfony
(Overture) 3.05
02 No.2 Recitative: Comfort ye my people
tenor 2.37
03 No. 3 Air: Ev'ry valley shall be
exalted tenor 3.00
04 No.4 Chorus: And the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed
2.31
05 No.5 Recitative: Thus saith the Lord
bass 1.30
06 No.6 Air: But who may abide the day
of his coming alto
3.44
07 No.7 Chorus: And he shall purify the
sons of Levi 2.24
08 No.8 Recitative: Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son
alto 0.26
09 No.9 Air: O thou that tellest good
tidings to Zion alto
3.30
10 No.9 Chorus: O thou that tellest good
tidings to Zion 1.34
11 No. 10 Recitative: For behold,
darkness shall cover the earth
bass 2.14
12 No. 11 Air: The people that walked in
darkness have seen a great light
bass 3.06
13 No. 12 Chorus: For unto us a child is
born 4.04
14 No. 13 Pifa (Pastoral
Symphony) 2.55
15 No. 14a Recitative: There were
shepherds abiding in the field
soprano 0.18
16 No. 14b Recitative: And lo, the angel
ofthe Lord came upon them
soprano 0.20
17 No. 15 Recitative: And the angel said
unto them: Fear not
soprano 0.38
18 No. 16 Recitative: And suddenly there
was with the angel a
multitude 0.15
of the heav'nly host soprano
19 No. 17 Chorus: Glory to God in the
highest 1.54
20 No.18 Air: Rejoice greatly, o
daughter of Zion
soprano 4.23
21 No. 19 Recitative: Then shall the
eyes of the blind be opened
alto 0.26
22 No.20 Air: He shall feed his flock
like a shepherd soprano,
alto 4.50
23 No.21 Chorus: His yoke is
easy 2.25
Part Two
24 No.22 Chorus: Behold the Lamb of God,
that taketh away the sin of the
world 2.26
25 No.23 Air: He was despised and
rejected of men alto
8.05
26 No.24 Chorus: Surely he hath borne
our griefs and carried our
sorrows 1.31
27 No.25 Chorus: And with his stripes we
are healed 1.54
28 No.26 Chorus: All we like sheep have
gone astray 3.39
|
DISC TWO
01 No.27 Recitative: All they
that see him laugh him to scorn
tenor 0.42
02 No.28 Chorus: He trusted in God that
he would deliver him
2.23
03 No.29 Recitative: Thy rebuke hath
broken his heart tenor
2.00
04 No.30 Air: Behold, and see if there
be any sorrow like unto his sorrow
tenor 1.16
05 No.31 Recitative: He was cut off out
of the land of the living
tenor 0.17
06 No.32 Air: But thou didst not leave
his soul in hell tenor
1.55
07 No.33 Chorus: Lift up your heads, o
ye gates 2.56
08 No.34 Recitative: Unto which of the
angels said he at any time
tenor 0.18
09 No.35 Chorus: Let all the angels of
God worship him 1.25
10 No.36 Air: Thou art gone up on high,
thou hast led captivity captive
alto 3.12
11 No.37 Chorus: The Lord gave the word:
great was the company of the
preachers 1.10
12 No.38 Air: How beautiful are the feet
of them that preach the gospel of peace
soprano 2.11
13 No.39 Chorus: Their sound is gone out
into all lands 1.27
14 No.40 Air: Why do the nations so
furiously rage together
bass 2.58
15 No.41 Chorus: Let us break their
bonds asunder 1.52
16 No.42 Recitative: He that dwelleth in
heaven shall laugh them to scorn
tenor 0.12
17 No.43 Air: Thou shalt break them with
a rod of iron tenor
1.51
18 No.44 Chorus:
Hallelujah 3.38
Part Three • TroisiPme Partie • Dritter
Teil
19 No.45 Air: I know that my Redeemer
liveth soprano 5.40
20 No.46 Chorus: Since by man came
death 2.09
21 No.47 Recitative: Behold, I tell you
a mystery bass 0.28
22 No.48 Air: The trumpet shall sound
bass 5.56
23 No.49 Recitative: Then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is
written alto 0.15
24 No.50 Duet: O death, where is thy
sting? alto, tenor
0.48
25 No.51 Chorus: But thanks be to God,
who giveth us the
victory 1.49
26 No.52 Air: If God be for us, who can
be against us? soprano
4.40
27 No.53 Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain 3.21
28 [No.53 Chorus:]
Amen 3.48
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SITE RATING: 5/10
SITE
REVIEW: Out of all the
the Messiah
reissues that Erato undertook in 2009, this
1998 recording conducted by virtuoso violinist
Yehudi Menuhin is by far the weakest; some of
the blame is Menuhin's, whose tempos can race
faster than seems necessary or appropriate on
many of the movements; but the larger fault is
the choice of male soloists, tenor Algirdas
Janutas, and bass Benno Schollum, neither of
whom seem up to the challenge of this
particular piece. Janutas is harsh and
strident in his tone, and seems to actually
strain in most of his arias, while Schollum
struggles visibly with the technical demands
of the piece, muscling his way through
the melismas and lacking any sense of purpose
in his arias. The rest of the forces
perform with admirable grace, with the Kaunas
State Chorus and Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
both excellent, rising to the quick-paced
demands of Menuhin with exceptional tone and
style; and the female soloists, soprano Susan
Roberts and mezzo-soprano Liliana
Bizineche-Eisinger giving beautiful, sensitive
readings with great warmth and expression.
This particular performance was captured
live at the Reingau Musik Festival, and the
recorded sound is fine enough, however, with
two such glaring faults in the male soloists,
and with the uneven tempos throughout, I
cannot recommend this recording.
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