| RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
METROPOLITAN
OPERA GUILD, LTD. / BMG MUSIC |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
MET
208-CD |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
N/A |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
1 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
71:28 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
VARIOUS |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
1989 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
TREVOR
PINNOCK, VARIOUS |
| ORCHESTRA: |
THE
ENGLISH CONCERT, VARIOUS |
| CHOIR: |
THE
ENGLISH CONCERT CHOIR |
| SOPRANO: |
EILEEN
FARRELL, ANNA CASE, ELEANOR
STEBER |
| MEZZO-SOPRANO: |
MAGARET
MATZENAUER, MARIAN ANDERSON,
JUDITH RASKIN, JOAN SUTHERLAND |
| TENOR: |
RICHARD
CROOKS, STUART BURROWS, JON
VICKERS |
| BASS: |
GIORGIO
TOZZI, DAVID BISPHAM, HERBERT
WITHERSPOON |
|
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| AUDIO SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
OTHER
RELEASES |
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DISC ONE
1. Comfort ye, my people (3:22) / R.
Crooks
2. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted (3:25) /
S. Burrows
3. O thou that tellest good things to Zion
(4:26) / L. Homer
4. The people that walked in darkness
(4:50) / G. Tozzi
5. There were shepherds ... (2:05) / E.
Farrell
6. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
(4:30) / A. Case
7. Then shall the eyes of the blind ...
(3:46) / M. Marzenauer
8. Come unto Him (4:08) / J. Gadski
9. He was despised (4:38) / M. Anderson
10. Thy rebuke hath broken his heart ... ;
... He was cut off ... (10:47) / J.
Vickers
11. How beautiful are the feet (2:37) / J.
Raskin
12. Why do the nations (4:21) / D. Bispham
13. I know that my redeemer liveth (6:48)
/ E. Steber
14. The trumpet shall sound (3:38) / H.
Witherspoon
15. If God be for us (4:50) / J.
Sutherland
16. Hallelujah (3:56) / T. Pinnock
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SITE RATING: 6/10
SITE
REVIEW: This
promotional item, offered by the Metropolitan
Opera Guild, gathers a cross-section of
talents who have graced the MET stage over a
span of years ranging from 1909 to 1988.
Being a MET release, this Messiah
collection naturally focuses on the solo arias
from Handel's oratorio, and, while the
performances are universally of high quality,
the vast range of recording quality, as well
as the over-the-top talents of most of the
performers will limit its appeal to collectors
and opera lovers only. Several of the
performances are from other available
recordings, with the 1984
Davis, 1959
Beecham, 1958
Ormandy, 1966 Shaw,
1961 Boult, and 1988 Pinnock Messiahs
all being excerpted. Most interesting to
collectors will be the very early recordings
present, with Johanna Gadski's 1916 "Come Unto
Him", Louise Homer's 1919 "O thou that
tellest good things to Zion", Anna Case's 1922
"Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion" David
Bispham's 1911 "Why Do The Nations," and the
earliest, Herbert Witherspoon's 1909 "The
Trumpet Shall Sound" all making appearances in
relatively good sound. Other rarities
include Richard Crook's 1942 "Comfort ye, my
people", Marian Anderson's 1930 "He was
despised", and Margaret Matzenauer's 1925
"Then shall the eyes of the blind... He shall
feed his flock". Unlike the similar Collector's
Messiah put out several years
after this collection, A Met Messiah
I found to be enjoyable both for the
historical nature of the performances,
together with the high quality of the
performances themselves; and there are enough
unique tracks included to entice even those
who have all of the previously-released tracks
on other Messiahs.
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