It is not a work I took much notice of until our choir did some extracts. We also went to see it at the Proms with Norrington and enjoyed the performance. I probably would not have felt enthusiastic enough to need a recording but inherited one from my father's collection when he died a few years ago. It is a classic version with Antal Dorati on Decca which I have now listened to again and found to be really well done. There is full text + translation and a very interesting sleevenote from H.C Robbins Landon which includes details on Haydn's difficult relations with the opinionated Gottfried van Swieten. I was interested to see that one Roger Vignoles plays the harpsichord continuo on this 1977 recording. Googling around, I found that Antal Dorati chose his Seasons recording as a Desert Island Disc.
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