Messiah

Maestro McCreesh's 1996 effort is a strong contender among the PI (period instrument) crowd. The orchestra doesn't screech, the chorus has weight, decent diction and color and the soloists have fine voices particularly the sopranos and the contralto.McCreesh appears to see the Messiah as drama or perhaps as opera. For example, contralto Bernarda Fink's desire for us feel her pain in "He was despised..." is over the top and distracting. The apparent intent of the players to strive for effect and to shade every word robs the performance of genuine sincerity-this is a work of spiritual expression after all. Nevertheless I enjoyed the performance for what it was and the interpretative approach will appeal to many.

This work is beautifully presented with a sensitivity to the baroque period from which it comes. The conducting, the voices, and the period instruments all give the work life and energy.

I have listened to various recordings of Handel's Messiah all my life and enjoyed them all in different ways. This recording is head and shoulders above anything I have heard before. The orchestra is crisp and incisive, the soloists have wonderful voices AND good taste, and the tempos are fresh and exciting. So many other performances are marred by bad strings, mushy choral ensemble work, romantic soloists or dull, uninspired, feeble tempos.I guess you can always debate about interpretation of one or another of the movements but for me, this recording is the new standard by which all others will be judged.

This is a brilliant recording of the "Foundling Hospital Version". Paul McCreesh's tempi are characteristically extreme, with no better example of how well they work than the opening accompagnato (beautifully largo) followed by a zippy "Ev'ry valley".The soloists are all top-notch, and the sound of the band, soloists and chorus on this recording are all superlative.I'm a bit of a nerd, and probably have a few too many recordings of Messiah. This is still my favourite.

Anyone can enjoy Messiah's amazing music. Handel just overflows with good tunes throughout. This is an "authentic" group that I had not heard about (not reviewed in the couple books I have), but they do as good a job, or better, than some more famous names. Very well done--I am glad to add it to my collection of Messiah performances that do the music justice.

fabulous recording with detail and energy. small ensemble recording at its best, excellent soloists and crisp choral singing, all in all a pleasure

There are 2 disks (volume 1 and volume 2). I received volume 1 only. If you magnify the image description, you will discover that it is only volume 1. Not the complete Messiah.

Super!

Great seller the item was as good as new

Perfect.

Un Messie désincarné. Ou est la spiritualité propre à l'oeuvre ?A force d'épurer ces oeuvres en deviennent cliniques. Cela reste beau mais sans véritable âme !

小編成を感じさせないオーケストラ、合唱の上手さ(パロット旧盤の貧相さとは大違いである)、テキスト(もちろん聖書の事)を十分に読み込んだ上で、マクリーシュのちょっと無茶なテンポ設定にも動じず見事に歌い切ったソリスト達の卓越した力量…もう…ホントに完璧!涙が出てきそうなくらいの名演です。普通は歌手に無理させないようなテンポにする(それが小編成《メサイア》を退屈なものにする)と思うが、マクリーシュはゆったり歌わせる所は更に遅く(第二部の冒頭《世の罪を除きたもう神の子羊》の天国的な美しさを聴け!) 、速い所は更に速く(《リジョイス》のドロテア・ロシュマンの喉のコロコロとよく回る事!)、メリハリ(強弱も硬軟も)を付けているので全く聴き飽きず、どんどん聖書の世界へと引き込まれます。それが非常に効果的で、第二部の《彼は侮られ》のベルナルダ・フィンクの素晴らしい歌唱に結実している…私は《メサイア》は20セット以上持ってますが、白眉の出来!(ショルティ盤のフォンオッターも素晴らしいが)その後の合唱が、かなりハイテンポでコントラストが素晴らしい。このディスクには、実は、そういう計算され尽くした仕掛けが…例えば、旧約の世界を締め括る《ピーファ》を切らず、そのままソプラノに繋げたり…それが、これ見よがしではなく、さりげなく仕掛けられている。モンテヴェルディ《聖母マリアの晩課》しかりマクリーシュの手腕は見事…ピリオド演奏界のショルティとでも言うべき才能です。

Priced as a give away, I was not shocked to find the recording had exceedingly unusual (generally very slow) tempi. There are so many different approaches to this work. What did disappoint was the fact that it only included one of the two listed discs. I checked very carefully that it was complete on the website but the reality was different. It is very cheap and I will not be instructing solicitors over this but feel quite mislead.