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RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
LONDON |
| CATALOG NUMBER: |
433 003-2 |
| UPC NUMBER: |
028943300322 |
| NUMBER
OF DISCS: |
3 |
| RUNNING
TIME: |
198:06 |
| YEAR RECORDED: |
1960 |
| CD RELEASE DATE: |
OCTOBER 10, 1991 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
SIR ADRIAN BOULT |
| ORCHESTRA: |
LONDON SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
LONDON SYMPHONY CHORUS |
| SOPRANO: |
JOAN SUTHERLAND |
| CONTRALTO: |
GRACE BUMBRY |
| TENOR: |
KENNETH MCKELLAR |
| BASS: |
DAVID WARD |
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DISC ONE
1. No.1:
Symphony 5.09
2. No.2: Recitative (tenor) 'Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people' 3.38
3. No.3: Air (tenor) 'Every valley shall be
exalted' 3.34
4. No.4: Chorus 'And the glory of the
Lord' 3.12
5. No.5: Recitative (bass) 'Thus saith the
Lord' 2.02
6. No.6: Air (bass) `But who may abide'
5.02
7. No.7: Chorus `And he shall purify' 2.45
8. No.8: Recitative (alto) `Behold, a virgin shall
conceive' 7.22
No.9: Air (alto, chorus)'O thou that teilest good
tidings to Zion'
9. No.10: Recitative (bass) 'For behold, darkness shall cover the
earth' 2.32
10. No.11: Air (bass) 'The people that walked in
darkness' 4.49
11. No.12: Chorus 'For unto us a child is born 4.26
12. No.13: Pifa 3.34
13. No.14-16: Recitative (soprano) `There were shepherds, abiding in
the field ... And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them . . . And
the angel said unto them ... And suddenly there was with the angel'
2.04
14. No.17: Chorus `Glory to God in the
highest' 2.11
15. No.18: Air (soprano) 'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion' 4.41
16. No.19/20: Recitative (soprano) and Duet (soprano,
alto): 6.46
'Then shall the eyes ... He shall feed
his flock'
17. No.21: Chorus 'His yoke is easy' 2.38
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DISC
TWO
1. No.22: Chorus 'Behold
the Lamb of God' 3.42
2. No.23: Air (alto) 'He was despised'
12.23
3. No.24: Chorus `Surely he hath borne our
griefs' 2.29
4. No.25: Chorus 'And with his stripes'
2.34
5. No.26: Chorus `All we like sheep' 4.25
6. No.27/28: Recitative (tenor) and
Chorus 'All they that see him ... He
trusted in God' 3.14
7. No.29: Recitative (soprano) `Thy rebuke hath broken his
heart' 2.24
8. No.30: Arioso (soprano) 'Behold and
see' 1.47
9. Nos.31/32: Recitative and Air (tenor)'He was cut off... But thou
didst not leave' 2.59
10. No.33: Chorus `Lift up your heads'
3.31
11. Nos.34/35: Recitative (tenor) and Chorus'Unto which of the angels
... Let all the angels of God' 2.08
12. No.36: Air (bass)'Thou art gone up on
high' 3.03
13. No.37: Chorus `The Lord gave the
word' 1.48
14. No.38: Air (soprano)'How beautiful are the
feet' 2.39
15. No.39: Chorus `Their sound is gone
out' 1.43
16. No.40: Air (bass)'Why do the nations'
2.54
17. No.41: Chorus'Let us break their
bonds' 1.50
18. No.42/43: Recitative and Air (tenor):'He that dwelleth in heaven
... Thou shalt break them 2.27
19. No.44: Chorus'Hallelujah' 4.41
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DISC THREE
1.
No.45: Air (soprano)
`I know that my Redeemer liveth' 7.11
2. No.46: Chorus 'Since by man came
death' 2.21
3. No.47/48: Recitative and Air (bass) `Behold, I tell you a mystery
... The trumpet shall sound' 9.11
4. No.49-51: Recitative (alto) Duet (alto, tenor) and Chorus 'Then
shall be brought to pass ... 4.30
5. O Death, where is thy sting?... But thanks be to God'
6. No.52: Air (soprano) `If God be for
us' 4.52
7. No.53: Chorus'Worthy is the Lamb ...
Amen' 9.19
ARIAS
8. 'Deeper, and deeper still ... Waft her, angels'
(Jephtha) 8.38
9. 'Thanks to my brethren... How vain is man'
(JudasMaccabaeus) 7.22
10. 'My arms! ... Sound an alarm' (Judas
Maccabaeus) 4.00
11. 'With plaintive note'(Somson) 5.12
12. 'Let the bright Seraphim' (Samson)
5.55 |
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SITE RATING: 7/10
SITE REVIEW:
Sir Adrian Boult's second recording of Messiah on the
Decca London label, and his first in stereo is about on par with his earlier, mono recording.
Instead of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and
Chorus,
here he uses the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, but his
conducting style has changed very little in the six years between the
two recordings - Boult uses the grand, romantic tradition, and his
soloists, ranging from an in-her-prime Joan Sutherland to the
richly-voiced Grace Brumby, the underwhelming tenor Kenneth McKellar
and a similarly anemic bass, David Ward, whose melismas are unfocused,
and whose tessatura I didn't find pleasing. Boult's style of
conducting Messiah
in slow,
grand phrases gives the oratorio a heightened sense of pathos during
the bleaker passages, but also infuses the more joyful choruses with a
reigning-in effect which only occasionally breaks out, such as the
strongly declamatory "Let Us Break Their Bonds". The
recording is
strongly ambient, with the chorus receiving a generally warmer sound
than the drier orchestra, but the blend is very good, the performance
generally very pleasing, and an overall good reading. Should
you
choose this recording over other 1950s-era Messiahs?
I didn't find this Messiah
as compelling as others of the era, but personal preference aside, this
is a perfectly serviceable recording. As of this writing it's
out
of print on CD, but receives a very fine in-demand CD-R release through
Archiv
records which includes all notes and printed labels.
UPDATE: On November
16, 2010, Newton Classics is reissuing this title on a 3-CD
set.
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