Previously available on Philips Digital
Classics with cloudy sky picture on
the cover, this early digital recording
still sounds fresh as a daisy, and is
definitely superior to the now rather
old-fashioned sounding 1966 recording
with Colin
Davis which you can still find on
Philips Duo. Davis finds himself somewhere
in that betwixt and between ground between
what might be seen as ‘authentic’ performance
and that earlier LSO recording in this
outing with the Bayerischen Rundfunks.
The orchestral sound is full without
sounding stodgy, and the instrumental
colour and vocal accompaniment is helped
along by a nicely played harpsichord
continuo, but while this is far from
being a minimalist chamber recording,
it certainly doesn’t have the feeling
of ‘massed forces’. There is historical
precedent for huge numbers of musicians
in this work, and it was such a performance
in 1791 which is said to have impressed
Haydn enough to make a start on his
Creation.
The
strengths of this recording certainly outweigh any weaknesses,
and I for one am very glad to have this re-release available.
Stuart Burrows is good, if occasionally a little hard toned
and lacking in variety in his vocal colour for some of the longer
solos to be entirely enjoyable. His gentle expressiveness in
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart shows an entirely different
side however. Simon Estes is a cracking good bass – suitably
biblical and dramatic, even if the texts aren’t always easy
to follow. The texts are not given in the booklet by the way,
but at budget level I suppose this isn’t such a big surprise.
Hanna Schwarz is a strong alto – also more dramatic than really
lyrical, which is however good for most of her music in the
Messiah. Margaret Price is really quite the star of this
production, showing how easy it can be to be comprehendible
in the recitatives, and both lyrical and dramatic. She manages
to lift the mood in Rejoice greatly, and runs through
all of that coloratura figuration with elegant ease. I know
that my Redeemer liveth is a top aria for soprano, and I
know of few better performances than the one on this recording.
The
orchestra is good, as is the choir, although the German origins
of the choral singers is not always equally well disguised.
The men for instance, sing The Lord gave the Word more
like Helood gave ze verd – and if you listen carefully
you just know it’s not English choral singing. This is
not always a guarantee of quality I know, but all that extra
articulation is zere fo’a resun: the reason being that
the words are otherwise very hard to follow indeed. At least
the choir is well disciplined and nicely in tune, can do a beautiful
pianissimo and indeed, where the music demands rhythmic
precision they are very good indeed. One of my most treasured
LPs is that of the Portsmouth Sinfonia, featuring the Portsmouth
Sinfonia Choir singing the Hallelujah chorus in the Royal
Albert Hall in 1974, and to this day I still feel that this
performance is one against which all others should be judged.
I will also never forget the concert in which only one couple
felt duty bound to stand, and with tense stubbornness remain
standing, through the entirety of this famous movement – an
eternal reminder that life in general should perhaps sometimes
be taken less seriously.
There
is a plethora of excellent recordings of this oratorio on the
shelves, and if the transparent splendour of original instruments
is what you seek then this probably won’t fit the bill. Indeed,
almost all of the now ‘mainstream’ recordings are period-instrument
authentic, though often following performance practise established
by Sir Colin in one way or another. I for one am glad to see
it available at budget price, and happy to have it as a staple
of my collection.
Dominy Clements
Margaret Price
(soprano) 
