So, the two recordings I own having their own charms and faults, I have decided to get another performance. I do hope to hear recommendations from others- I will probably end up buying several new performances.
I decided to seek out a John Eliot Gardiner recording. While I am not a purist, I became a huge fan of JEG and the Monteverdi Choir when I obtained their recordings of the six late Haydn Masses. Robust, colorful singing with tempi that seemed just right at every turn made these Masses (previously unfamiliar to me) jump off of the page. (Someday, I hope to conduct those, too. Difficult orchestral writing, though- better not even dream of it at the high school.)
Clearly Handel and Haydn are not the same composer, but I imagine the same spirit suffuses the late post-Creation Haydn that typified his colleague from 60 years earlier.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the album artwork and realized: this is the CD Mom played in the car when I was a kid! So, that settles that: JEG gets a little more of my money.
What other recordings should I hear? Which do you admire-or, if the mood strikes you, which do you detestt?
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5 comments:
Glad I read to the end of the post! Hoped you'd recognize that was the one I looked all over Salzurg for- and paid a pretty penny for, too! Imagine I was at the worship conference at Berchtesgaden with our day trip to Salzburg and I dragged whoever was with me (I'm remembering Wim and Brenda Tuttle)to every music store I could find. I love the tempos. Mom
I pretty much endorse anything JEG does, including his Messiah. One nice thing about his recordings is I pretty much always love his soloists.
The most controversial one I can think of is the Bernstein recording. His tempos are insane. I think he's completely wrong on a lot of them, and making certain choices just to be different. But it's an interesting listen, although I would listen to at least three others first, because it will be easier to appreciate how crazy he is.
From Phil Choquette of Colorado:
One recording of Messiah that I respect is a 2-CD version by Neville Mariner and the Academy & Chorus of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, by Decca, done in 1976 and 1995 when it may have been spruced up in quality of sound. The Colorado Symphony & Chorus recorded it as well, sometime in the late 90s I think, but the version is quite heavy because of the mass of both orchestra and chorus. The version by the other Shaw & Atlanta Symphony is much more satisfying.
Ok- you HAVE to get the recording of The Sixteen conducted by Harry Christophers. The soloists are some of my favorites ever: Carolyn Sampson, Mark Padmore, and Christopher Purves. He conducted it with H&H last season and it was soooooo inspiring! It's on itunes, too for 19.99! :) Good luck, and if you end up doing a concert this year, I'm your soprano! :) ~Tess
There are many that I love.
In no particular order:
Gardiner, Christie, Hickox, Pinnock, Marriner (modern instruments), McCreesh (you can probably tell I gravitate towards small, lithe, period instrument performances).
If you want a large-bore (big choir) approach, I'd go with Colin Davis.
I probably come back most often to McCreesh (some of it's too fast for my taste, but it's dramatic and lithe, and has some great soloists, especially Gritton) and Pinnock (my favorite set of soloists, and Pinnock brings a great elegance and calm to the proceedings without losing drama).
I find McGegan's unsatisfying musically, sometimes, but it's the most "complete" I know (offering most alternate versions of the various arias that Handel reworked).
And John Butt has a fascinating recording attempting to come close to the first (Dublin) performance, using only 12 singers (or so).
I'm sure I've missed some great ones, even great ones I love, but this is off the top of my head!
best,
Andrew Megill
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