| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
THE
CLASSICS RECORD LIBRARY |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
SRL
4572 |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
N/A |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
3 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
UNKNOWN |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
1957? |
| RELEASE
DATE: |
1958 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
THOMPSON
STONE |
| ORCHESTRA: |
THE
ZIMBLER SINFONETTA |
| CHOIR: |
THE
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY OF
BOSTON |
| SOPRANO: |
ADELE
ADDISON |
| CONTRALTO: |
LORNA
SYDNEY |
| TENOR: |
DAVID
LLOYD
|
| BASS: |
DONALD
GRAMM |
|
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| AUDIO SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
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DISC ONE
SIDE ONE
1. Sinfornia
2. Comfort ye
3. Every valley
4. And the glory of the Lord
5. Thus saith the Lord
6. But who may abide
SIDE TWO
1. Behold! A virgin shall conceive
2. O thou that tellest good tidings
3. O thou that tellest (chorus)
4. For behold, darkenss shall cover
5. The people that walked in darkness
6. For unto us a child is born
7. Sinfonia Pastorale
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DISC TWO
SIDE THREE
1. There were shepherds
2. And lo! the angel of the Lord
3. And the angel said unto them
4. And suddenly there was with the angel
5. Glory to God in the highest
6. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
7. Then shall the eyes of the blind
8. He shall feed His flock
9. Come unto Him
10. His yoke is easy and his burden is
light
SIDE FOUR
1. Behold the Lamb of God
2. He was despised
3. Surely He hath borne our griefs
4. All we like sheep have gone astray
5. All they that see Him laugh Him to
scorn
6. He trusted in God that He would deliver
7. Thy rebuke hath broken His heart
8. Behold and see if there be any sorrow
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DISC THREE
SIDE FIVE
1. He was cut off from the land of the
living
2. But Thou didst not leave His soul in
hell
3. Lift up your heads, O ye gates
4. How beautiful are the feet
5. Why do the nations so furously rage
6. He that dwelleth in Heaven
7. Thou shalt break them
8. Hallelujah!
SIDE SIX
1. I know that my Redeemer liveth
2. Behold, I tell you a mystery
3. The trumpet shall sound
4. Worthy is the Lamb
5. Amen |
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SITE RATING: 8/10
SITE
REVIEW: Distributed
during the late 1950s through the Classics
Records Library (a division of the
Book-of-the-Month Club), this generally
excellent recording, with Boston conductor
Thompson Stone leading the Handel and Haydn
Society of Boston Chorus and Zimbler
Sinfonetta chamber orchestra revels in its
Victorian-era splendor with grand tempi,
long melodic lines, and dense sonorities.
Despite listing itself as a chamber ensemble,
the Zimbler Sinfonetta sounds as full as a
full symphony orchestra here, and play with
tremendous richness and passion. Tenor
David Lloyd has a superb, rich tone which
blends perfectly with the Romantic
sensibilities on display, although his quick
vibrato made me smile a bit with its near
serio-comic tinge of melodrama. The Handel and Haydn Society
of Boston (still going strong at this
writing) sing with great vigor and strength,
with that hammer-like strength
which typifies choral singing from this
era, it can be thrilling in powerful moments
(such as the commanding "Glory to God"), and
shimmer with beauty on the adagios; but also
carries a bluntness and weight during the more
emphatic choruses that seems entirely at odds
with modern Baroque interpretations. Bass
Donald Gramm is one of the best basses I've
heard in any Messiah - he seems entirely
at ease singing the difficult melismas, and
has a tone that I found extraordinarily fine
and commanding. Contralto Lorna Sydney,
an Australian native who was imprisoned by the
Nazi regime during WWII, sings with intense
pathos, and soprano Adele Addison sing with a
rich, warm tone that's quite bewitching.
In sum, this Messiah is one of the best
of the era - warm, full of feeling, and
utterly professional - and is a hopeful
candidate to one day be rescued from its
relative obscurity.
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