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RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
NIGHTPRO |
| CATALOG NUMBER: |
NP-1001 |
| UPC NUMBER: |
602127000125 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 (WITH
LIMITED EDITION 3RD BONUS DISC) |
| RUNNING TIME: |
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| YEAR RECORDED: |
1995 |
| CD RELEASE DATE: |
AUGUST 27, 1996 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
SIR DAVID WILLCOCKS |
| ORCHESTRA: |
NIGHTPRO SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
THE MORMON TABERNACLE
CHOIR |
| SOPRANO: |
LORNA ANDERSON |
| COUNTERTENOR: |
PAUL ESSWOOD |
| TENOR: |
NEIL MACKIE |
| BASS: |
STEPHEN ROBERTS |
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DISC ONE
1. Sinfony
2. Comfort ye my people...Accompagnato (Tenor)
3. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted...Air (Tenor)
4. And the glory of the Lord...Chorus
5. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts...Accompagnato (Bass)
6. But who may abide...Air (Counter-Tenor)
7. And He shall purify...Chorus
8. Behold a virgin...Recitative(Counter-Tenor), Air (Alto) &
Chorus
9. For behold, darkness shall cover...Accompagnato (Bass)
10. The people that walked...Air (Bass)
11. For unto us a Child is born...Chorus
12. Pastoral Symphony
13. There were shepherds...Recitative & Accompagnato (Soprano)
14. Glory to God in the highest...Chorus
15. Rejoice greatly...Air (Soprano)
16. Then shall the eyes of the blind...Recitative (Counter-Tenor)
17. He shall feed His flock...Air (Alto)
18. His yoke is easy...Chorus
19. Behold the Lamb of God...Chorus
20. He was despised...Air (Counter-Tenor)
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DISC TWO
1. Surely, He hath
borne...Chorus
2. And with His stripes...Chorus
3. All we like sheep...Chorus
4. All they that see Him...Accompagnato (Tenor)
5. He trusted in God...Chorus
6. Thy rebuke hath broken His heart...Accompagnato & Air (Tenor)
7. Lift up your heads...Chorus
8. Unto which of the angels...Recitative (Tenor)
9. Let all the angels of God worship Him. Chorus
10. Thou art gone up on high...Air (Counter-Tenor)
11. The Lord gave the world...Chorus
12. How beautiful are the feet...Air (Soprano)
13. Their sound is gone out...Chorus
14. Why do the nations so furiously rage...Air (Bass)
15. Let us break their bonds...Chorus
16. He that dwelleth in heaven...Recitative & Air (Tenor)
17. Hallelujah...Chorus
18. I know that my Redeemer liveth...Air (Soprano)
19. Since by man came death...Chorus
20. Behold, I tell you a mystery...Accompagnato & Air (Bass)
21. Then shall be brought to pass..Air (Counter-Tenor)
22. O death, where is thy sting...Duet (Counter-Tenor, Tenor)
23. But thanks be to God...Chorus
24. If God be for us who can be against us...Air (Soprano)
25. Worthy is the Lamb...Chorus
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DISC
THREE (LIMITED EDITION BONUS)
1.
Sir David Willcocks greet the choir and orchestra
2. Instructions for the first sections of the night
3. "Organ A" tune up
4. Instructions for a "retake"
5. Sir David's style and humor are evident as he rehearses the choir
6. Continued practice on a very difficult section for the men
7. "Worthy is the Lamb," take one.
8. Working on "Worthy is the Lamb."
9. Preparing for another take.
10. Compliments to the choir for their concentration
11. Preparing for a new section, "For unto us..."
12. Further preparation and rehearsal
13. Sir David on the phone with John Mosely
14. Preparing for a new take
15. "Are you ready, John?" The Hallelujah Chorus |
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SITE RATING: 4/10
SITE REVIEW:
I
always get a little worried when a recording trumpets it's achievements
in high-fidelity audio over the actual content of the album; there's a
niggling feeling in the back of my mind that the producers are pulling
a smoke-and-mirrors act - that the actual product is dreck, but hey, at
least it's dreck in HIGH PERFORMANCE SOUND. Not that I would
ever
assume that these talented artists would ever create something unworthy
of their craft, but this performance, with such luminaries as Sir David
Willcocks and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir joining forces, is something
less than the sum of their parts, not more. Of course, the
choice
of Willcocks as a conductor for this recording is a head-scratcher; his
EMI Messiah
is one of the most cold, proper, British Messiahs
I've ever heard, and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is an organization
known for the tremendous warmth of their sound. And just who
is
the NightPro Symphony Orchestra? Apparently they were a
"house
band' put together just for this recording, which tells you something
right there about how calculated this Messiah
is. The
performance
is a disappointment from all concerned, with Willcocks and
the Choir struggling against each other's natural instincts about how
to perform this oratorio - Willcocks takes everything at a leisurely
pace, and the choir seems far too sedate considering it's potential for
vocal fireworks on the large choruses. The soloists are
obscure,
with soprano Lorna Anderson trilling her notes and rolling her 'R's' as
if she's the second coming of Maria Callas (she's not), and the rest of
the soloists offering far more style than substance to their arias.
As to the NTI EQ3 High-Definition Recording System used to
plug
this disc, well, let's just say that the company who designed and
promoted this "incredible" system went out of business. One
curious addendum to this set was a limited edition "bonus" disc which
presented behind-the-scenes outtakes from the recording sessions.
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