Search - Handel, Marriner :: Handel: Der Messias

Fine Performance, But Recording Could Be Better

Timothy Dougal | Madison, Wi United States | 09/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This performance, in German, by Neville Marriner and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony is a little broader in tempo than I was expecting, coming in at about 2 and a half hours, but very fine nonetheless. The soloists are uniformly excellent in giving a warm-hearted, full-bodied account of the music. The chorus is very good too. If I didn't usually listen to music on headphones, I would rate the recording job more highly, but throughout the recording, there are persistent, sporadic sonic blurs of the kind you hear from musicians groaning or humming, and they're audible on all my headsets. I think this may be the first Marriner recording I've heard that isn't technically clean."

Messiah in Haendel's Language

Giles Bernard J. Hall | Tasmania; Australia | 08/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Agreed! the Messiah was originally written in English because it was considered that the English Choirs were superior to their European counterparts. But! I have always been interested in how it would sound in the German vernacular. Having searched for such a recording I found this one on Amazon. Granted it's a fair age now, but it appeared the better of the odd couple offered. The soloists to start with, would have to be the best quartet I could think of. The late Lucia Popp has always been a favourite of mine, I have her in many operas. The sheer Acrobatical agility of her vocal technique always had me under it's spell. Brigitte Fassbaender would have to be one of Germany's greatest mezzo-sopranos of her time and both Rober Gambill (tenor) & Robert Holl (bass) are vocally equipped to match them, though lesser known to me. The Sudfunkchor & Radio-Syfonie-Orchester are expertly guided by the competent hand of Sir Neville Marriner and richly recorded by the engineers of EMI.

One quirky piece of irrelevant information: as I was listening to the German text being sung, my brain was interpreting it into the much known English.

Summing up: No better than any of the many Messiah's out there at the present; but! For something different, try the German version as an alternative because it's very good and one other bonus, it is COMPLETE with ALL the repeats as I followed it with the score, every note has been recorded. A thumbs up from me.

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