Handel - Messiah / Harper, Watts, Wakefield, Shirley-Quirk, LSO, C. Davis
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
This 1966 reading from Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony is a classic. A noble, compassionate interpretation, it represents a very successful melding of the English oratorio tradition with the then-emerging notion of an authentic performance style emphasizing lightness of texture and firm rhythmic underpinning. In its latest incarnation, as a Philips "Duo" offering (two CDs for the price of one), it's an especially good bargain. --Ted Libbey
Customer Reviews
Good recording - very complete
I really like this recording even though I grew up with a couple of different recordings of The Messiah. I especially like that it's got pieces I've never heard before. The accompanying notes on the history of The Messiah are interesting as well.
subdued and disappointing
From the opening Sinfonia, this Messiah is far too subdued. While it may be nuanced and even, it lacks passion, grandeur and any sense of the sacred, and has little narrative drive. The Choruses, except for the Hallelujah Chorus, have little majesty. There is also something wrong with the sound mix. I can't quite put my finger on it but somehow the bass-treble balance is just off. I tried the special anniversary 24 bit rerelease and found that the sound of it was, oddly enough, even worse. I would instead very highly recommend Sir Colin Davis' other recording of The Messiah, with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. It is a bit difficult to find but just spectacular.
A Safe Harbor
Maestro Davis employs modern instruments, a relatively small chorus and orchestra and first rate soloists in a performance that's not wacky, weird or wayward. Sincere expression and tasteful ornamentation are emphasized-there aren't any life and death struggles going on here. Yet the spiritual elements are not slighted-consider for example, Heather Harper's wonderful "I know my Redeemer liveth.." She sings with great purity and no artifice. The chorus has good diction and is vigorous when it needs to be. Sir Colin's conducting flows and allows the listener to get "caught up" in the performance. He doesn't impose any particular interpretative viewpoint but allows this masterpiece to speak for itself. For forty years this has been a top choice.
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