Handel’s most popular and joyous oratorio, a work of unfailing melodic invention and dramatic expressiveness, has become almost a British national institution, regularly performed by all manner of choirs and orchestras.
This new recording provides the only modern re-construction of Handel’s
unique London performances in 1751, when he used boy trebles not only
for the choruses but for the arias as well. It is both a celebration of
the British chapel choir tradition and a window onto a particular time
and place in the history of Handel’s own performances of his masterpiece.
Recorded 3-8 January 2006 in
St John's Smith Square London
Playing time 2:22:19 DDD
Reviews
"The choir is as good as any you’ll hear in this music... The soloists...couldn’t be more ideally chosen...and the three trebles who share the work here are fabulous... This is a very intelligent, articulate, and consummately musical—as well as entertaining—Messiah. I was pleasantly surprised by this ‘treble’-voice version. In fact...it’s becoming one of my favorites, simply because it renders this beloved and time-worn work with respect for its innate structural and expositional integrity—no fancy, quirky self-indulgences, no artificial additives, just pure, unprocessed, organic Handel. A pleasure!"
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