RECORDINGS

LABEL: DEUTCHE GRAMMOPHON / ARCHIV PRODUKTION
CATALOG NUMBER: 423 630-2
UPC NUMBER: 028942363021
NUMBER OF DISCS: 2
RUNNING TIME: 1:13:52
YEAR RECORDED: 1988
CD RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 25, 1990
CONDUCTOR: TREVOR PINNOCK
ORCHESTRA: THE ENGLISH CONCERT
CHOIR: THE ENGLISH CHOIR
SOPRANO: ARLENE AUGER
CONTRALTO: ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER
ALTO: MICHAEL CHANCE
TENOR: HOWARD CROOK
BASS: JOHN TOMLINSON
AUDIO SAMPLES HIGHLIGHTS OTHER RELEASES
DISC ONE

1  Part 1. 1. Sinfony (Grave - Allegro moderato)     03:23
2  Part 1. 2. Accompagnato. Comfort ye my people     03:25
3  Part 1. 3. Air. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted     03:31
4  Part 1. 4. Chorus. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed     02:51
5  Part 1. 5. Accompagnato. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts     01:35
6  Part 1. 6. Air. But who may abide the day of his coming     04:45
7  Part 1. 7. Chorus. And he shall purify     02:25
8  Part 1. 8. Recitative. Behold, a virgin shall conceive     00:29
9  Part 1. 9. Air. O thou that tellest good tidings     05:30
10  Part 1. 10. Accompagnato. For behold, darkness shall cover     03:03
11  Part 1. 11. Air. The people that walked in darkness     03:55
12  Part 1. 12. Chorus. For unto us a Child is born     04:04
13  Part 1. 13. Pifa (Pastoral Symphony)     01:10
14  Part 1. 14. Recitative. There were shepherds abiding in the field / Accompagnato. And lo, the angel     01:34
15  Part 1. 17. Chorus. Glory to God in the highest     01:59
16  Part 1. 18. Air. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion     04:48
17  Part 1. 19. Recitative. Then shall the eyes of the blind     00:21
18  Part 1. 20. Air. He shall feed his flock     06:09
19  Part 1. 21. Chorus. His yoke is easy, his burthen is light     02:21
20  Part 2. 22. Chorus. Behold the Lamb of God     03:17
21  Part 2. 23. Air. He was despised     13:15
 DISC TWO

1  Part 2. 24. Chorus. Surely he hath borne our griefs     02:27
2  Part 2. 25. Chorus. And with his stripes we are healed     01:52
3  Part 2. 26. Chorus. All we like sheep have gone astray     03:54
4  Part 2. 27. Accompagnato. All they that see him     00:46
5  Part 2. 28. Chorus. He trusted in God     02:33
6  Part 2. 29. Accompagnato. Thy rebuke hath broken his heart     01:49
7  Part 2. 30. Arioso. Behold, and see if there be any sorrow     01:59
8  Part 2. 31. Accompagnato. He was cut off out of the land     00:14
9  Part 2. 32. Air. But thou didst not leave his soul     02:08
10  Part 2. 33. Chorus. Lift up your heads, O ye gates     03:04
11  Part 2. 34. Recitative. Unto which of the angels     00:12
12  Part 2. 35. Chorus. Let all the angels of God worship him     01:29
13  Part 2. 36. Air. Thou art gone up on high     03:10
14  Part 2. 37. Chorus. The Lord gave the word     01:05
15  Part 2. 38. Air. How beautiful are the feet     02:37
16  Part 2. 39. Chorus. Their sound is gone out     01:22
17  Part 2. 40. Air. Why do the nations so furiously rage     02:56
18  Part 2. 41. Chorus. Let us break their bonds asunder     01:48
19  Part 2. 42. Recitative. He that dwelleth in heaven     00:10
20  Part 2. 43. Air. Thou shalt break them     02:05
21  Part 2. 44. Chorus. Hallelujah     03:58
22  Part 3. 45. Air. I know that my Redeemer liveth     06:42
23  Part 3. 46. Chorus. Since by man came death     02:20
24  Part 3. 47. Recitative. Behold, I tell you a mystery     00:31
25  Part 3. 48. Air. The trumpet shall sound     08:59
26  Part 3. 49. Recitative. Then shall be brought to pass     00:16
27  Part 3. 50. Duet. O death, where is thy sting?     01:03
28  Part 3. 51. Chorus. But thanks be to God     02:12
29  Part 3. 52. Air. If God be for us     04:41
30  Part 3. 53. Chorus. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain - Amen     07:30
SITE RATING:  7/10
SITE REVIEW:  Another Messiah that is considered a standard in the repertoire, Trevor Pinnock's early digital recording isn't high on my personal list of favorites, for several reasons: the use of heavy operatic voices for the soloists (especially John Tomlinson's hollow, throaty bass), the distant sound of the chorus in the mix, the tempos which are neither hot nor cold, but an unsatisfying moderato, and a distinct stand-offish coolness in the performance leave this one gathering dust on my shelves, passed over in favor of other, more involving performances.  Of course, nothing here is awful - The English Concert and Choir is particularly fine throughout, with marvelous unity and internal balance - they play with lightness and sparkle, and the choir has a fine "white" sound, particularly on the high notes, which are sung with the bell-like tones which are preferred by Baroque revivalists.  Soprano Arlene Auger is masterful in her arias, alto Michael Chance has a smooth, delicate tone which I enjoy hearing, and the entire program is more or less unified as a whole.  The only other Messiah I could compare it to is Sir David Willcocks' 1973 recording, which suffered from an extremely mechanical delivery, metronome-like in its feel; this Messiah doesn't sink to that level of extreme precision, but it has a hint of it, which is why it doesn't rate higher with me. ~ BDW
The Compleat Messiah All Content Copyright © 2009 Bret D. Wheadon
All Rights Reserved.