---

SITE RATING:  2/10 SITE REVIEW:  Conductor Paul Keuntz may have the financial wherewithall to fund his own "vanity" chamber orchestra and choir, but based on this recording, I'm not going to go rushing out and discover more of his recordings.  Keuntz's tempos are all over the map, and he gives odd emphasis to the downbeats and closing moments of phrases; the chorus is disunified, out of tune, and has strong French accents which bludgeon Handel's English to a painful degree; the soloists are generally amateurish (including countertenor Jean Nirouet's shrill, unpleasant tone), and the chamber orchestra is out of tune and muffs notes (including some obvious mis-steps by the trumpeters during the "Hallelujah" chorus).  Tenor Alexander Stevenson feels the need for pointless ornamentation, and soprano Barbara Schlick posesses a bright, quick vibrato which grated on my nerves.  Strong points include bass Phillip Langshaw, (but even he goes notably out of tune in his upper register); and the rare moments when everything gels - but those points are very few and far between.  This is an obviously low-budget affair, most probably caught in a live performance, with no time taken to fix pointed mistakes.  Avoid, avoid, avoid - unless you absolutely need to hear a backwater French ensemble butcher a baroque masterpiece.

---