RECORDINGS |
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LABEL: |
AVIE |
CATALOG
NUMBER: |
2208 |
UPC
NUMBER: |
822252220827 |
NUMBER OF DISCS: |
3
[2CD+1DVD] |
RUNNING TIME: |
2:12:00 |
YEAR
RECORDED: |
2010 |
CD
RELEASE
DATE: |
NOVEMBER
9,
2010 |
CONDUCTOR: |
JEANETTE
SORRELL |
ORCHESTRA: |
APOLLO'S
FIRE
BAROQUE ORCHESTRA |
CHOIR: |
APOLLO'S
FIRE |
SOPRANO: |
AMANDA
FORSYTHE |
CONTRALTO: |
ELIZABETH
SHAMMASH |
TENOR: |
ROSS
HAUCK |
TENOR: |
IAN
HONEYMAN |
BARITONE: |
JEFFREY
STRAUSS |
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DISC ONE
1. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56:
Part 1. Sinfony
2. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Comfort ye
3. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Ev'ry valley
4. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
And the glory of the Lord
5. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Thus saith the Lord
6. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
But who may abide
7. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
And He shall purify
8. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive
9. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1. O
thou that tellest
10. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
For behold, darkness
11. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
The people that walked in darkness
12. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
For unto us a child is born
13. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Pifa
14. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
There were shepherds
15. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
And the angel said unto them
16. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
And suddenly
17. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Glory to God
18. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Rejoice greatly
19. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
Then shall the eyes of the blind
20. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd
21. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 1.
His yoke is easy
22. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
Behold the Lamb of God
23. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
He was despised
24. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part
2. Surely, He hath borne our griefs
25. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
And with His stripes
26. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
All we like sheep
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DISC TWO
1. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56:
Part 2. All they that see Him
2. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2. He
trusted in God
3. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart
4. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
Behold, and see
5. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2. He
was cut off
6. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
But thou didst not leave
7. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
Thou art gone up on high
8. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
The Lord gave the word
9. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
How beautiful are the feet
10. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
Why do the nations
11. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
Let us break their bonds
12. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
He that dwelleth in heaven
13. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 2.
Hallelujah
14. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3. I
know that my Redeemer liveth
15. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3.
Since by man came death
16. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3.
Behold, I tell you a mystery
17. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3.
The trumpet shall sound
18. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3.
Then shall be brought to pass
19. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3. O
Death, where is thy sting?
20. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3.
But thanks be to God
21. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3.
If God be for us
22. Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56: Part 3.
Worthy is the Lamb
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SITE RATING: 9/10
SITE
REVIEW: At first I
mistook this release as a reissue of Sorrell's
1995 Messiah, which was
also with the baroque group Apollo's Fire, but
was pleased to discover that this was a
brand-new interpretation,
which performance is so far above the
previous set, that it's almost as if an
entirely different ensemble is
performing. Apollo's Fire, the
Chicago-based baroque chamber ensemble, have
mastered the clean, polished sound that is
favored by modern music scholars, but even
more impressive, Sorrell has managed to infuse
a great deal of emotional content into the
performance. The chamber orchestra plays
with highly-delineated precision, while the
soloists and chorus sing with intense feeling,
approaching technical perfection. Among
the soloists, Amanda Forsythe is a standout,
with beautifully lyrical, unique
ornamentation, a gorgeous tone, and passionate
nuances. Contralto Elizabeth Shammash
possesses a rich, dark tone, full of pathos
and drama; tenor Ross Hauck sings with a pure,
angelic tone, while baritone Jeffrey Strauss
brings a pleasant burr to his arias. Tenor Ian
Honeyman, who doesn't make an appearance until
the second disc, is the weakest link; despite
possessing an enviable tone, his
scenery-chewing recitatives veer into the
melodramatic, and seem of a different piece
than the rest of the performance. The
Choir sings with a clean "white" sound, but
without sounding sterile and robotic, bringing
great warmth and compassion to the choruses.
Comparing it to Sorrell's previous Messiah,
it's clear that in the sixteen-year interval
between the two recordings, she has shaped
Apollo's Fire into a world-class organization.
The DVD portion of the set is short, running
only about 30 minutes. It's divided into
two parts: the first, and longest segment,
features Jeanette Sorrell discussing her love
and understanding of select movements of Messiah,
and features several filmed concert segments
showing a couple of the soloists and several
excerpts of different choruses. The
second part of the DVD is self-promotional -
it features the director and several members
of Apollo's fire plugging their own
organization - with Sorrell discussing how she
hand-picks each member for their emotional
creativity, and the members discussing how
free and empowering being a part of Apollo's
Fire is. Sorrell is omnipresent in the
program - writing, narrating, and appearing
throughout, and her unique persona (which I
would classify as a hybrid of Stevie Nicks and Shari Lewis), grew on
me, although the opening shot of her leaning
up against a stone arch intoning scripture
made me wonder if this was going to be a
modern-day Monty Python moment. She is
obviously a passionate, highly expressive
director; has managed to surround herself with
the cream of Chicago's baroque singers and
instrumentalists, and this Messiah
is so much more accomplished than the previous
disc, that I can easily recommend it.
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