SITE RATING: 4/10
SITE
REVIEW: One of the
more
ear-catching, but misguided Messiahs
I've ever experienced, Edward Polochick and
the combined forces here certainly present a
"different" sounding performance, although
whether listeners will appreciate its
eccentricities is debatable. Recorded
two years previously, Naxos has belatedly
added it to their catalog, even though they
have several other recordings extant.
The extreme ornamentation which Polochick has
added to the piece is abundantly evident on
the opening Sinfonia, which at times I didn't
recognize as Handel's! Tenor Nicholas
Phan then gives an extremely fruity reading of
"Comfort Ye" and "Every Valley" - and his
delivery was oddly like listening to the Bert
Lahr's Cowardly Lion from The Wizard Of Oz,
with a miles-wide vibrato at times sounding
like a parody of itself. But the odd
interpretation doesn't end there; the Concert
Artists of Baltimore Symphonic Chorale give a
resoundingly brutal delivery of "And The Glory
Of The Lord" - pounding syllables as if they
were hammering on Vulcan's forge. But
the entire performance has a heavy, strident,
and unpleasant harshness to it - the
performers giving richly melodramatic
interpretation that sounds overwrought and
occasionally manic. Among
the soloists, I give high marks to alto
Diana Moore, who has a rich, creamy tone,
and bass Sidney Outlaw also has a
tremendously appealing tone and restrains
himself from undue vocal trickery.
Soprano Jennifer O'Loughlin has a lovely
flute-like tone which I found quite
appealing, unless she's forced into hystrionic
acrobatics. The Baltimore Chorale
suffers through their forced interpretation
of the choruses, often drifting into
disunified timbres and oversinging. It's clear
that Mr. Polochick has attempted to inject
some dramatic "meat" into the performance, but
the idiosyncratic meshing of flowery
ornamentation and heavy, unending beats
struggle against each other - like two
different performances fighting to be "king of
the hill." It's interesting, but
wrong-headed. It's a shame, since the
forces here are unquestioningly talented, and
are obviously giving their all - but the
result is all effort, and small
inspiration.
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