Handel - Messiah / Nelson, Kirkby, Watkinson, Elliott, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood
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Free Music Notes for Handel - Messiah / Nelson, Kirkby, Watkinson, Elliott, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood
Free Music Review: Excellent
Hit: 5 Stars
Excellent. Instruments and Vocals are superior to the other versions of Messiah that I own. This is the best version I have found and pretty much the only version I've listened to since obtaining it. Well worth $30.Free Music Review: Enough Carping, Already!
Hit: 5 Stars
I have read all of the reviews on this site, and noticed a great division of opinion on the merits of this performance/recording. People were either extremely moved, or practically repulsed by it. One brings to mind old notices from world premieres of Wagner works to come up with anything on a similar scale. That said, I place myself among the admirers of this historic recording. I have owned it since the mid 80's (on vinyl), and listened to it many times over the years. Neither have I found it wanting in colour and drama or intensity of expression, though I perceive the problem for many listeners is that its projection of these qualities is subtle without much of the "heart-on-the-sleeve" flavor of many other perfectly fine interpretations. The impetus for me buying this recording was an article in Stereo Review magazine, which read "This is the most moving performance of this work I have ever heard". He didn't say "the greatest" or the most "historically informed", he said "the most moving". I think he also included the word "joyful". That piqued my curiosity. I waited and thought, and finally plunked my hard-earned money down at the cashier station of my local record store, and took it home. I had heard other versions, courtesy of fellow record collectors, and I'd also seen television broadcasts, and even attended a performance or two, but this was the first recording of the entire work I'd ever purchased. I was not dissapointed. I found the playing AND singing throughout, to be very expressive and full of life. The soloists, particularly Emma Kirkby, sang with great feeling for the text and the music, and the lack of romantic flavor and gesture was more than compensated for by a feeling of spaciousness and expressive warmth. The uptempo arias and choruses, particularly "For Unto Us...", and "Hallelujah" don't lack in excitement and drive, and the more dramatic solos like "For Behold: Darkness Shall Cover the Earth..." have plenty of drama to burn. Everything, in short, is delivered with complete commitment. I have read through the extensive liner notes, and contrary to what one particularly 'disgruntled' review says, there's nothing in any of it that insists "This is the ONLY way to do Handel's Messiah", or "We know exactly what it must have sounded like back in Handel's time", or any such thing. It DOES advocate the idea that by duplicating as many of the particulars of instrumentation, timbre, and performance practice that we know of from that time, we might at least come closer to what it actually sounded like than what has been the norm in the past, but even there, it stops short of insisting that it is artistically WRONG to do it any other way. Hogwood used a particular date of performance as a model, NOT a yardstick. 'Nuff said...
A couple more points in closing: If I had the money to burn, I would enjoy having more than one version of this great work, as I have heard both "historic" AND modern performances I like, and secondly, I'm wondering if there is a rare live recording with similar forces, but with Ian Partridge as the solo tenor. Paul Elliot's strong suit for me, is Elizabethan vocal music, fine as he is on the Messian recording, and Partridge, I think, has the edge on him in Handel. I guess I have yet to hear the "definitive" version, but maybe there isn't one, and maybe there was never meant to be.
Free Music Review: A Fine and Scholarly Performance
Hit: 5 Stars
I must admit straight off to a little bias regarding this recording. One of the performers was one of my favourite professors in college. His name is Nicholas McGegan (harpsichord in this recording), and he later went on to record his own interpretation of Messiah with his much aclaimed Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, which is available on the Harmonia Mundi label. That recording is also worth a listen as it contains a number of alternate scorings, voicings, arias and recititives. If you have a programmable CD player it is possible to recreate just about any of the historic performances that took place during Handel's lifetime.But without further digression I shall continue discussing the album at hand. In terms of musicality this must certainly be one of the best recordings of Messiah on the market today. It has definitely stood the test of time, as the original recording was performed in the 1980's. Even so, it is as vibrant and enjoyable a recording now as it was then.
The Academy's phrasing is particularly delightful. Notes and phrases are shaped rather than being played in a linear fashion with lots of vibrato as is the case with many modern interpretations. This makes the otherwise mechanical "sewing machine-like" Baroque writing sound quite lyrical and expressive.
The forces used are much smaller than those commonly used for Messiah performances these days, and the more muted sounds of the period instruments combined with the boy's choir give this performance a light airy quality not usually associated with modern performances of the piece. The work is weighty by it's nature and does not need gigantic numbers in order for it to be effective. The result is clarity where many other recordings may sound a bit muddy.
The size of the orchestra and the choir used were based on Christopher Hogwood's research into the numbers of performers used in Handel's own performances of the piece. At the very least it must be said that this recording produces a sound closer to that which the composer originally inteded it to be. Some people question the techniques used in performing, suggesting that they may not have been what audiences of the time were hearing, but it must be said that at the very least the size of the orchestra and chorus, along with the sound of the old instruments versus new ones must be much closer to the original sound than those generally in use today.
For example, Baroque period violins are quite different from their modern counterparts. The old violins have strings made out of cat gut, whereas the strings on modern violins are usually either gut rapped with metal, or perlon rapped with mettle, with the exception of the E string which is entirely made of metal. Because gut alone is not as strong as the metal strings, not as much tension could be put on them. This lowered the pitch level (a modern A is 440 cycles/second, whilst the A of 1720 was closer to 414 or 416), and makes for a much less bright tone. Other differences in the old instruments which change the sound and also reduce the tension on the strings are that the finger boards have a lower incline and the bridges are usually cut lower. The finger boards were generally a little more flat, as was the bridge and the tailpiece. Chin and shoulder rests were almost never used. The bows were also different in that there was no standard length, and that instead of being square at the point were quite pointed, giving the bows a strong taper from frog (area where the bow is held) to the tip. Modern bows are usually made of pernambuco, whereas the old bows, though sometimes made of pernambuco, were also made of other woods such as snakewood, teek, and others. All of this put together results in a different sound, yet one which is very pleasing when used with music of the time.
A lot of research went into this recording, and it is well to note that each member of the Academy in addition to being first rate performers are also top of the line music researchers and scholars. The result is that the performance is not only a high quality performance, but is also a very well informed performance.
The bottom line is that in addition to getting a scholarly work which was very well researched, you also get a performance and interpretation which is sure to delight, and which you will play over and over again simply for the joy of listening to it. If you are wanting to purchase only one copy of Messiah, this should be one of the top contenders. If I were to have only one, this would be the one I would choose for myself.
Free Music Review: By Far the BEST Messiah Recording
Hit: 5 Stars
This is by far the best recording of Handel's Messiah you could ever own. This was my first of many Academy of Ancient Music albums. Emma Kirkby is absolutely amazing in her performance. The instument balance is outstanding. The orchestra size and instrumentation is perfect for a period performance of Handel's Messiah. I recommend this CD to anyone who is serious about their music and picky about what they listen to. If anyone gave it a bad review I think they should give it another listen. A bad review here just doesn't make any sense. I'd give this 6 stars if I could.
Free Music Review: The Way Messiah Should Be Performed!
Hit: 5 Stars
If you believe that Handel's Messiah is best presented with the 19th-century baggage that accompanies most modern performances of that work, you will not like this recording. But if you want to hear a fresh, crystal-clear, well-thought-out, musically-executed, and artistically/historically-infused performance of Messiah, you must acquire this one! Emma Kirkby's stunning "But Who May Abide" alone is worth the price of the set, and the agile voices of the Christ Church Cathedral Choir shine on every chorus from "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" to the heavenly "Worthy Is the Lamb." Highly recommended!