RECORDINGS

LABEL: CBC RECORDS/AVALON
CATALOG NUMBER: 11443
UPC NUMBER: 096741804724
NUMBER OF DISCS: 1
RUNNING TIME: 73:45
YEAR RECORDED: 2006?
CD RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 8, 2007
CONDUCTOR: BRUCE PULLAN, JON WASHBURN
ORCHESTRA: VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
CHOIR: VANCOUVER BACH CHOIR
SOPRANO: UNKNOWN
CONTRALTO: UNKNOWN
TENOR: UNKNOWN
BASS: UNKNOWN
AUDIO SAMPLES HIGHLIGHTS OTHER RELEASES
NONE NONE NONE
DISC ONE

Part I
1. Sinfony 2:55
2. Aria: Every Valley 3:36
3. Chorus: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed 2:53
4. Chorus: And He shall purify 2:35
5. Recitative: Behold a virgin and Aria & Chorus: O thou that tellest good tidings 5:47
6. Chorus: For unto us a child is born 3:53
7. Pifa 2:57
8. Recitative: And suddenly there was with the Angel and Chorus: Glory to God in the highest 2:20
9. Aria: He shall feed His flock and Chorus: His yoke is easy 6:37

Part II
10. Chorus: Behold the lamb of God 2:40
11. Chorus: Surely, He hath borne our grief 1:47
12. Chorus: And with His stripes we are healed and Chorus: All we like sheep have gone astray 5:28
13. Recitative: All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn and Chorus: He trusted in God that He would deliver him 2:46
14. Arioso: Behold and see if there be any sorrow 1:21
15. Chorus: Lift up your heads O ye gates 2:52
16. Aria: How beautiful are the feet of them 2:21
17. Chorus: Hallelujah 3:43

Part III
18. Aria: I know that my Redeemer liveth 5:42
19. Chorus: Since by man came death 1:45
20. Aria: The trumpet shall sound 3:54
21. Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb and Amen 5:51
SITE RATING:  4/10
SITE REVIEW:  This 2007 Canadian release by CBC Records doesn't have much out of the ordinary to recommend it - one of the few English-language Mozart arrangements to make to it disc, (and even rarer, a highlights disc) it features competent performances that never rise above the ordinary.  Pedestrian direction (dual credited to Bruce Pullan for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Jon Washburn for the Vancouver Bach Choir); competent, but plain singing by the choir, and soloists who don't rise above the regional talents they're given.  The soloists are not named in the liner notes, but it's probably all for the best - none of them have special qualities, and feature mostly brittle, shrill tones (especially the tenor who sings consistently sharp), and since this is the Mozart arrangement, the soloists are featured more prominently, and their prominence drags the recording down a couple of notches.  The soprano and alto soloists have a bubbly bounce to their melismas which had the unpleasant effect of sounding jittery - rather than a rising ebb and flow of the line, it gave the effect of "dotting all their 'i's"  Overall, an indifferent performance that most should be able to live without.
The Compleat Messiah All Content Copyright © 2010 Bret D. Wheadon
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