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SITE RATING:  6/10 SITE REVIEW:  London-based Pickwick Records, a budget label which made "sound-alike" albums throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century, produced this stripped-down version of Handel's Messiah in the early part of 1960, and it was then marketed in the United States through Radio Shack's Realistic label.  Utilizing only organ accompaniment, I was initially impressed by the sensitivity of both J. Clifford Welsh's adept playing, and the unnamed tenor's opening aria - it completely surpassed expectations; the tenor has a lovely, warm tone, with a hint of a European accent that I can't place, and sings with complete mastery and feeling, only spreading a little thin in his uppermost register.  The Masterwork Chorus, based out of New Jersey, is a trifle soft - both in the recording and in their performance, with regional dialects and the singing manners of the time prevalent.  The bass soloist is equally proficient as his tenor counterpart, singing with a strong, vibrant tone, while the soprano possesses a natural, lovely, light tessitura; the unnamed Alto I would rank as similar to the chorus, having a natural, pleasant tone, but soft and a bit detached in her performance.  Conductor David Randolph, who, according to the notes, is "well known to music lovers ...as host on his award winning radio program, "Music for the Connoisseur", on WNYC" and other such accolades, keeps tempos smoothly romantic, bringing out a great deal of warmth to this Messiah.  Recorded at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown, New Jersey, the sound is rather thick and full of echo, but despite its shortcomings, I found this a charming performance from the period, and wouldn't object to seeing it restored and reissued on CD.

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