| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
453028
|
| UPC
NUMBER: |
08945302829 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
2:37:41 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1972 |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
NOVEMBER
6, 2002 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
KARL
RICHTER |
| ORCHESTRA: |
LONDON
PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
JOHN
ALLDIS CHOIR |
| SOPRANO: |
HELEN
DONATH |
| CONTRALTO: |
ANNA
REYNOLDS |
| TENOR: |
STUART
BURROWS |
| BASS: |
DONALD
MCINTYRE |
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DISC ONE
1. Symphony (Grave-Allegro Moderato)
2. Accompagnato (Tenor): Comfort Ye My
People
3. Aria (Tenor): Ev'ry Valley Shall Be
Exalted
4. Chorus: And The Glory Of The Lord Shall
Be Revealed
5. Accompagnato (Bass): Thus Saith The
Lord Of Hosts
6. Aria (Bass): But Who May Abide The Day
Of His Coming
7. Chorus: And He Shall Purify
8. Recitative (Contralto): Behold, A
Virgin Shall Conceive/Aria (Contralto): O
Thou That Tellest Good
9. Chorus: O AThou That Tellest Good
Tidings
10. Accompagnato (Bass): For Behold,
Darkness Shall Cover
11. Aria (Bass): The People That Walked In
Darkness
12. Chorus: For Unto Us A Child Is Born
13. Pifa (Pastoral Symphony)
14. Recitative (Soprano): There Were
Shepherds Abiding In The Fields
15. Chorus: Glory To God In The Highest
16. Aria (Soprano): Rejoice Greatly, O
Daughter Of Zion
17. Recitative (Contralto): Then Shall The
Eyes Of The Blind /Duet: (Contralto,
Soprano): He Shall Feed
18. Chorus: His Yoke Is Easy, His Burthen
Is Light
19. Chorus: Behold The Lamb Of God
20. Aria (Contralto): He Was Despised
21. Chorus: Surely, He Hath Borne Our
Griefs
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DISC TWO
1. Chorus: And With His Stripes We
Are Healed
2. Chorus: All We Like Sheep Have Gone
Astray
3. Accompagnato (Tenor): All They That See
Him
4. Chorus: He Trusted In God
5. Accompagnato (Tenor): Thy Rebuke Hath
Broken His Heart
6. Arioso (Tenor): Behold, And See If
There Be Any Sorrow
7. Accompagnato (Tenor): He Was Cut Off
Out Of The Land/ Aria (Tenor): But Thou
Didst Not leave His So
8. Chorus: Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates
9. Recitative (Tenor): Unto Which Of The
Angels/Chorus: Let All The Angels Of God
Worship Him
10. Aria (Contralto): Thou Are Gone Up On
High
11. Chorus: The Lord Gave The Word
12. Aria (Soprano): How Beautiful Are The
Feet
13. Arioso (Tenor): Their Sound Is Gone
Out
14. Aria (Bass): Why Do The Nations So
Furiously Rage
15. Chorus: Let Us Break Their Bonds
Asunder
16. Recitative (Tenor): He That Dwelleth
In Heaven/Aria (Tenor): Thou Shalt Break
Them
17. Chorus: Hallelujah
18. Chorus: Since By Man Came Death
19. Accompagnato (Bass): Behold, I Tell
You A Mystery/Aria (Bass): The Trumpet
Shall Sound
20. Recitative (Contralto): Then Shall Be
Brought To Pass/Duet (Contralto, Tenor): O
Death, Where Is Thy Sting?
21. Aria (Soprano): If God Be For Us
22. Chorus: Worthy Is The Lamb That Was
Slain
23. Chorus: Amen
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SITE RATING: 5/10
SITE
REVIEW: A lot of old
school Messiah enthusiasts love this
performance of Messiah, with it's heavy,
square, Germanic Romanticism and grand tempos,
but to my ears, Richter's interpretation
misses the point. The message of Messiah
is all about the promise of deliverance from
sin - a promised Savior who will come and save
His people. Even in such supposedly
thick passages as "The People That Walked In
Darkness" with its minor-key composition, is a
song of redeeming joy - "they have seen a
great light." But in Richter's hands, Messiah
becomes a Catholic-like Mass - all
chest-thumping Dies Irae and little to
celebrate. I found the heaviness and
dreariness of the tempos, as well as the
similarly weightiness of the soloists,
oppressive and dark. This of course was
still the "style" that Messiah
was being performed in 1972, when this was
recorded, so some allowances must be made, but
to my ears, Richter's Messiah doesn't
capture the grandness of Beecham's or the
bright hope of Marriner's
1970s recording; it simply sounds old and
dusty. The choir and orchestra sound
grand, occasionally lifting out of the gloom
(with a sprightly "Glory To God") and special
mention I'll give to Helen Donath, who is the
(only) soloistic bright spot in an otherwise
depressing Messiah.
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