Gillian Keith, Daniel Taylor, Tom Randle, Sumner Thompson, Handel and Haydn Society, Harry Christophers - Handel: Messiah (2014) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Sinfony
02. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Accompagnato. Comfort Ye, My People
03. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Air. Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exalted.
04. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Chorus. And the Glory of the Lord Shall Be Revealed
05. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Accompagnato. Thus Saith the Lord of Hosts
06. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Air. But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming
07. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Chorus. And He Shall Purify
08. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Recitative. Behold a Virgin Shall Conceive, and Bear a Son
09. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Air and Chorus. O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion
10. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Accompagnato. For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth
11. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Air. The People that Walked in Darkness Have Seen a Great Light
12. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Chorus. For Unto Us a Child is Born
13. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Pastoral Symphony (Pifa)
14. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Recitative. There Were Shepherds - Accompagnato. And Lo, the Angel of the Lord Came Upon Them - Recitative. And The Angel Said Unto Them Fear Not
15. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Accompagnato. And Suddenly There Was With the Angel - Chorus. Glory to God in the Highest
16. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Air. Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion
17. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Recitative. Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind be Opened
18. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Air. He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd
19. Messiah HWV 56, Part I Chorus. His Yoke is Easy and His Burden is Light
20. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. Behold the Lamb of God
21. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Air. He was Despised and Rejected of Men
22. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs
23. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. And With His Stripes We Are Healed
24. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray
25. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Accompagnato. All They That See Him Laugh Him to Scorn
26. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. He Trusted in God That He Would Deliver Him
27. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Accompagnato. Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart
28. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Arioso. Behold and See if There Be Any Sorrow
29. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Accompagnato. He Was Cut off Out of the Land of the Living
30. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Air. But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul in Hell
31. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. Lift Up Your Heads
32. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Recitative. Unto Which of the Angels - Chorus. Let All the Angels of God Worship Him
33. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Air. Thou Art Gone Up on High
34. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. The Lord Gave the Word
35. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Air. How Beautiful Are the Feet of Them That Preach
36. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. Their Sound is Gone Out Into All Lands
37. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Air. Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage Together
38. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder - Recitative. He That Dwelleth in Heaven
39. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Air. Thou Shalt Break Them With a Rod of Iron
40. Messiah HWV 56, Part II Chorus. Hallelujah!
41. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Air. I Know that My Redeemer Liveth
42. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Chorus. Since by Man Came Death
43. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Accompagnato. Behold, I Tell You a Mystery
44. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Air. The Trumpet Shall Sound
45. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Recitative. Then Shall Be Brought to Pass
46. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Duet. O Death, Where is Thy Sting
47. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Chorus. But Thanks Be to God Who Giveth Us the Victory
48. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Air. If God Be for Us, Who Can Be Against US
49. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Chorus. Worthy is the Lamb That Was Slain
50. Messiah HWV 56, Part III Chorus. Amen


Boston's Handel and Haydn Society gave the first complete performance of Messiah in the U.S. in 1818 and has done the work hundreds of times since then, with an annual performance tradition, of which this live recording is a part, since 1854. Since the last quarter of the 20th century, the group has moved in the direction of historically informed performance, but a bit of the old community flavor remains. It's characteristic of H&H's current conductor, Harry Christophers, that he steers a course incorporating the choir's American strengths. His Handel and Haydn Society is 30 voices strong, in no way minimalist, but entirely clean in bringing a focus to the text and well balanced with the orchestra. The precision of his readings resembles that in the Baroque recordings of his English group, The Sixteen, but the overall effect is different: he lets the singers, including a strong quartet of soloists, hold forth strongly; the group makes a lot of noise for 30 singers. The result is a real English-American hybrid performance that some may find splendid, others a bit shouty; you can sample one of the big choruses, like "And with his stripes" to determine which camp you might fall into. The live sound from Boston's Symphony Hall, which has heard this music countless times, is clear. Recommended for those enjoying Christophers' American experiment, although there are, of course, many other choices for Messiah.

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