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RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
METROPOLITAN OPERA
GUILD, LTD. / BMG MUSIC |
| CATALOG NUMBER: |
MET 208-CD |
| UPC NUMBER: |
N/A |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
1 |
| RUNNING TIME: |
71:28 |
| YEAR RECORDED: |
VARIOUS |
| CD RELEASE DATE: |
1989 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
TREVOR PINNOCK,
VARIOUS |
| ORCHESTRA: |
THE ENGLISH CONCERT,
VARIOUS |
| CHOIR: |
THE ENGLISH CONCERT
CHOIR |
| SOPRANO: |
EILEEN FARRELL, ANNA
CASE, ELEANOR STEBER |
| MEZZO-SOPRANO: |
MAGARET MATZENAUER,
MARIAN ANDERSON, JUDITH RASKIN, JOAN SUTHERLAND |
| TENOR: |
RICHARD CROOKS,
STUART BURROWS, JON VICKERS |
| BASS: |
GIORGIO TOZZI, DAVID
BISPHAM, HERBERT WITHERSPOON |
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| AUDIO SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
OTHER RELEASES |
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DISC ONE
1. Comfort ye, my people (3:22) / R.
Crooks
2. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted (3:25) / S. Burrows
3. O thou that tellest good things to Zion (4:26) / L. Homer
4. The people that walked in darkness (4:50) / G. Tozzi
5. There were shepherds ... (2:05) / E. Farrell
6. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (4:30) / A. Case
7. Then shall the eyes of the blind ... (3:46) / M. Marzenauer
8. Come unto Him (4:08) / J. Gadski
9. He was despised (4:38) / M. Anderson
10. Thy rebuke hath broken his heart ... ; ... He was cut off ...
(10:47) / J. Vickers
11. How beautiful are the feet (2:37) / J. Raskin
12. Why do the nations (4:21) / D. Bispham
13. I know that my redeemer liveth (6:48) / E. Steber
14. The trumpet shall sound (3:38) / H. Witherspoon
15. If God be for us (4:50) / J. Sutherland
16. Hallelujah (3:56) / T. Pinnock
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SITE RATING: 6/10
SITE REVIEW:
This promotional item, offered by the Metropolitan
Opera Guild, gathers a cross-section of talents who have graced the
MET stage over a span of years ranging from 1909 to 1988. Being
a MET release, this Messiah
collection naturally focuses on the solo arias from Handel's oratorio,
and, while the performances are universally of high quality, the vast
range of recording quality, as well as the over-the-top talents of most
of the performers will limit its appeal to collectors and opera lovers
only. Several of the performances are from other available
recordings, with the 1984 Davis,
1959 Beecham,
1958 Ormandy,
1966 Shaw, 1961 Boult, and 1988 Pinnock Messiahs
all being
excerpted. Most interesting to collectors will be the very
early recordings present, with Johanna Gadski's 1916 "Come Unto
Him", Louise Homer's 1919 "O thou that tellest good things to
Zion", Anna Case's 1922 "Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion" David
Bispham's 1911 "Why Do The Nations," and the earliest, Herbert
Witherspoon's 1909 "The Trumpet Shall Sound" all making appearances in
relatively good sound. Other rarities include Richard Crook's
1942 "Comfort ye, my people", Marian Anderson's 1930 "He was despised",
and Margaret Matzenauer's 1925 "Then shall the eyes of the blind... He
shall feed his flock". Unlike the similar Collector's Messiah put out several years after this collection, A Met Messiah
I found to be enjoyable both for the historical nature of the
performances, together with the high quality of the performances
themselves; and there are enough unique tracks included to entice even
those who have all of the previously-released tracks on other Messiahs.
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