Search - George Frederick Handel, John Eliot Gardiner, Charles Brett :: Händel: Messiah

The best known Messiah ?

Bill King | Reno, Nv., United States | 10/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1982 Phillips _Messiah_ by Sir John Gardiner is still very often recomended as the best. But keep in mind that no version is generaly recognized as definative so it's wise to sample before purchase. With that in mind, I'm happy to say that right now (Oct 2004) you can hear all the tracks over on Amazon's page for another boxset of this same recording.



Actually there's three, this two disk Phillips version, an older three disk version (the identical recording but with the same tracks spread over three disks and therefore higher priced), and a one disk 'highlights'.



Search Gardiner Handel Messiah to jump to the three disk page, Sample from disk two _The Lord gave the word_, and _Why do the nations?..._ This will demonstrate how every part of the staged ensemble can be discerned with clarity, in either chorus or aria.



Precision playing is a Gardiner trademark. Note his style is stately rather than devotional; the presentation is dramatic and energetic, rather than emotional. As a result I found this recording of lasting appeal, and never got tired of it over all these years."

Still A Good Messiah Recording!!!

A. Craig | Grand Junction,CO | 11/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is a reissue of Phillips 411041 which is a Three Disc set. Universal Classics which includes Decca who now ownsPhillips decided to make this recording a little bit more affordable by issuing it on Two CDs It is still one of the best"Original Instrument" "Messiah" recordings on the market today.This in an ever growing field of Messiah recordings. Enjoy."

Direct, immediate, and moving

Eric A. Isaacson | San Diego, CA USA | 12/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some believe Handel's "Messiah" is best performed by massive choirs accompanied by gigantic orchestras playing modern instruments. I do not. Those performances, whatever their overpowering grandiosity, end up being ponderous and remote. They simply lack the immediacy, intimacy, and direct emotive power of this smaller ensemble accompanied by period instruments.



Gardiner's recording of the "Messiah" is, far and away, my favorite. It is clear and crisp. The tempo and instrumentation are lively. The vocals are close, personal, and genuinely moving.



This is what the "Messiah" should be. The layers of pomposity afflicting so many grandiose recordings have been stripped away, leaving an immediate sound and starkly human story with which the listener connects directly.



The soloists all are wonderful. I suppose that some modern ears, unaccustomed to the sound of a counter-tenor, may find Charles Brett's voice a little off-putting at first. I have grown to love it.



But I particularly like the use of the boy soprano, Saul Quirke, who tells us of "shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" when "lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid."



Sore afraid indeed! No other recording of this passage that I have heard so effectively communicates the terror these shepherds must have felt. I connect with them as human beings, and I share their relief as Saul Quirke's clear, innocent, unaffected voice reassures them: "Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." The boy soprano then accomplishes a perfect segue: "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heav'nly host, praising God, and saying . . . ."



"Glory to God in the highest," the chorus comes in, "and peace on earth, good will towards men." With this recording, I can I feel I'm there with the shepherds, in the cold of night, sharing their amazement and wonder. Thanks to the small size of the choir, perhaps, it feels as though the angelic host is directly addressing me, a human mortal.



Truly, no other performance of the "Messiah" puts me there, smack dab in the middle of the action, like this one does. My other recordings of the "Messiah" gather dust. This one gets played again and again - always fresh, vibrant, and moving.



Eric Alan Isaacson



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