BaL 16.04.22 - Handel: Messiah

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 Building a Library
Jeremy Summerly compares recordings of Handel’s Messiah and chooses his favourite.

Messiah is Handel’s best-known work and one of the most frequently performed choral works in western music. It was composed in 1741 with a text compiled from the King James Bible. It is full of show stoppers such as “For unto us a child is born”, “The trumpet shall sound” and the ever-rousing “Hallelujah” chorus.

Available versions:-

Philip Langridge, Ulkrik Cold, Alfreda Hodgson, Felicity Lott, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir, John Alldis

Maria Jette, William Hite, Jeffrey Strauss, Patrice Djerejian, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Stephen Alltop *

Jennifer Vyvyan, Monica Sinclair, Jon Vickers, Giorgio Tozzi, Royal Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham (arr. Mozart, Goossens & Salzedo)

Carolyn Sampson, Daniel Taylor, Benjamin Hulett, Peter Harvey, Kammerchor Stuttgart, Barockorchester Stuttgart, Freider Bernius

William Warfield, William Warfield, Russell Oberlin, Adele Addison, David Lloyd, New York Philharmonic, Westminster Choir, Leonard Bernstein

Joan Sutherland, Huguette Tourangeau, Werner Krenn, Tom Krause, Ambrosian Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Richard Bonynge *

George Maran, Owen Brannigan, Norma Procter, Jennifer Vyvyan, London Philharmonic Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult *

Joan Sutherland, Grace Bumbry, Kenneth McKellar, David Ward, London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult

Miriam Allan, Michael Chance, Mark Le Brocq, Christopher Purves, Hanoverian Court Orchestra, Maulbronn Chamber Choir, Jurgen Budday *

Trinity Church Choir and Orchestra, Owen Burdick

Susan Hamilton, Annie Gill, Claire Wilkinson, Nicholas Mulroy, Matthew Brook, Dunedin Consort & Players, John Butt

Barbara Schlick, Sandrine Piau, Andreas Scholl, Mark Padmore, Nathan Berg, Les Arts Florissants, William Christie

Carolyn Sampson, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Mark Padmore, Christopher Purves, The Sixteen, Harry Christophers

Ailish Tynan, Alice Coote, Allan Clayton, Matthew Rose, Choir of King’s College Cambridge, Academy of Ancient Music, Stephen Cleobury

John Mark Ainsley, Alastair Miles, Hilary Summers, Lynne Dawsonn, Choir of King’s College Cambridge, The Brandenburg Consort, Stephen Cleobury *

Erin Wall, Elizabeth DeShon,, Andrew Staples, John Relyea, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis (SACD)

Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, John Aler, Samuel Ramey, Mendelssohn Choir & Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis *

Heather Harper, Helen Watts, John Wakefield, John Shirley-Quirk, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis

Susan Gritton, Sara Mingardo, Mark Padmore, Alastair Miles, Tenebrae Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis (SACD)

Margaret Price, Hanna Schwarz, Stuart Burrows, Simon Estes, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davis

Jennifer Smith, Helen Kuchared, Linda Finnie, Neil Mackie, Rodney Macann, Choir and Orchestra of Pro Christe, Timothy Dean

Julia Doyle, Lawrence Zazzo, Steve Davislim, Neal Davies, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks B’Rock, Belgisches Barockorchester Gent, Peter Dijkstra

Miriam Feuersinger, Flavio Ferri-Benedetti, Dino Lüthy, Raitis Grigalis, Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci

Julia Doyle, Tim Mead, Thomas Hobbs, Roderick Williams, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Justin Doyle

Hanna Herfurtner, Gaia Petrone, Michael Schade, Christian Immler, Salzburger Bachchor & Bach Consort Wien, Rubén Dubrovsky (DVD/Blu-ray)

Antonio Abete, Charles Daniels, Lynne Dawson, Guillemette Laurens, I Barocchisti, Coro della Radio Svizzera, Diego Fasolis *

Margaret Marshall, Saul Quirke, Catherine Robbin, Charles Brett, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Robert Hale, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Elizabeth Watts, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Mark Le Brocq, James Oldfield, Huddersfield Choral Society & Northern Sinfonia, Jane Glover

Kerstin Avemo, Anna Zander, Michael Weinius, Karl-Magnus Fredriksson,St Jacobs Kammarkör, Rebaroque, Gary Graden

Penelope Schumate, Claudia Chapa, John McVeigh, Christopher Job, Jonathan Griffith Singers, National Youth Choir of Great Britten, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Griffith (arr. Mozart, Goossens)

Lucy Crowe, Tim Mead, Andrew Staples, Christopher Purves, Le Concert d’Astrée Orchestre et Chœur, Emmanuelle Haïm

Elizabeth Gale, Marjana Lipovsek, Werner Hollweg, Roderick Kennedy, Concentus musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Henry Jenkinson, Otta Jones, Robert Brooks, Iestyn Davies, Toby Spence, Eamonn Dougan, Academy of Ancient Music. Choir of New College Oxford, Edward Higginbottom

Susanna Hurrell, Rebecca Afonwy Jones, Samuel Boden, James Platt, BBC Singers, The Norwegian Wind Ensemble, David Hill (arr Aoreskjold for wind ensemble)

Judith Nelson, Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Watkinson, Paul Elliott, David Thomas, Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford & The Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood *

Kerstin Avemo, Patricia Bardon, Lawrence Zazzo, Kobie van Rensburg & Neal Davies, Choir of Clare College, Freiburger Barockorchester, René Jacobs

Sharon Rostorf-Zamir, Maria Riccarda Wesseling, Kobie van Rensburg, Raimund Notle, Lautten Compagney, Dresdner Kammerchor, Wolfgang Katschner (sung in German)

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Grace Hoffman (contralto), Nicolai Gedda (tenor) & Jerome Hines, Philharmonia Chorus & Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer

Allan Clayton, Andrew Foster-Williams, Iestyn Davies, Julia Doyle, Polyphony & Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton

Ryland Davies, John Shirley-Quirk, Helen Watts, Felicity Palmer, English Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra Choir, Raymond Leppard *

Nardus Williams, Roderick Morris, Christopher Turner, Bozidar Smiljanic, OSJ Voices, Orchestra of St. Johns, John Lubbock

Giulia Semenzato26th March 2022, Benno Schachtner, Krystian Adam, Kresimir Strazanac, Collegium 1704 & Collegium Vocale 1704, Vaclav Luks

Dorothea Röschmann, Susan Gritton, Bernarda Fink, Charles Daniels, Neal Davies, Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh

Lorraine Hunt, Janet Williams, Patricia Spence, Drew Minter, Jeffrey Thomas, William Parker, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & U.C. Berkeley Chamber Chorus, Nicholas McGegan *

Elizabeth Harwood, Dame Janet Baker, Raimund Herincx, Paul Esswood, Robert Tear, Ambrosian Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras *

Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Birgit Finnilä, Edith Mathis, Chor des Österreichischen Rundfunks & ORF-Symphonieorchester, Sir Charles Mackerras (arr. Mozart, sung in German) *

Lynne Dawson, Bernarda Fink, Hans Peter Graf, Stephen Varcoe, Chris de Moor, La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, Jean-Claude Malgoire *

Elly Ameling, Anna Reynolds, Philip Langridge, Gwynne Howell, Academy & Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner

Sylvia McNair, Anne Sofie von Otter, Michael Chance, Jerry Hadley, Robert Lloyd, Academy & Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner *

Sylvia McNair, Anne Sofie von Otter, Michael Chance, Jerry Hadley, Robert Lloyd, Academy & Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner (DVD)

Max Emanuel Cencic, Charles Humphries, Ivan Sharpe, Robert Torday, Academy of London, Chorus Viennensis, Peter Marschik

Fritz Wunderlich, Stuttgart Philharmonic Choir, South German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Heinz Mende

Susan Roberts, Liliana Bizineche-Eisinger, Algirdas Janutas Benno Schollum, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas State Chorus, Yehudi Menuhin *

Lynne Dawson, Nicole Heaston, Magdalena Kofiená, John M. Ainsley, Chorus of Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski *

Sandrine Piau, Katherine Watson, Anthea Pichanick, Rupert Charlesworth, Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet

Sandrine Piau, Anthea Pichanick, Bofiidar Smiljanic, Kre�imir �picer, Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet (DVD)

Eileen Farrell, Martha Lipton, Davis Cunningham, William Warfield, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy *

Karen Clift, Catherine Robbin, Bruce Fowler, Victor Ledbetter, Boston Baroque Orchestra, Martin Pearlman

Arleen Auger, Anne Sofie von Otter, Michael Chance, Howard Crook & John Tomlinson, The English Concert Choir & The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock

Paul Elliott, Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Watkinson, David Thomas, Judith Nelson, Academy of Ancient Music, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, Christopher Hogwood, Simon Preston *

Dorothee Mields, Benno Schachtner, Benedikt Kristjánsson, Tobias Berndt,, Gaechinger Cantorey, Hans-Christoph Rademann

Helen Donath, Anna Reynolds, Stuart Burrows, Donald McIntyre, John Alldis Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Richter

Ernst Haefliger, Franz Crass, Marga Höffgen, Gundula Janowitz, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Münchener Bach-Chor, Karl Richter

Donna Brown, Cornelia Kallisch, Roberto Sacca, Alastair Miles, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling (arr.Mozart; sung in German)

Joanne Lunn, Melanie Marshall, James Gilchrist, Christopher Purves, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Cambridge Singers, John Rutter

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

(continued)

Dame Isobel Baillie, Gladys Ripley, James Johnston, Norman Walker, Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent

Elsie Morison, Marjorie Thomas, Richard Lewis, James Milligan, Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent

Rachel Redmond, Damien Guillon, Nicholas Mulroy, Matthias Winckhler, Capella Reial de Catalunya, Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall (SACD)

Margaret Ritchie, Constance Shacklock, William Herbert, Richard Standen, London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra, Hermann Scherchen *

Pierrette Alarie, Nan Merriman, Léopold Simoneau, Richard Stande, Vienna Academy Chamber Choir & Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Hermann Scherchen *

Anny Schlemm, Lore Fischer, Rudolf Schock, Kurt Bohme, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (sung in German)

Scholars Baroque Ensemble, Scholars of London

Kaaren Erickson, Sylvia McNair, Alfreda Hodgson, Jon Humphrey, Richard Stilwell, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw

Christina Hogman, Kristina Hammarstrom, Lynton Atkinson, Stefan Dahlberg, Karl-Magnus Fredriksson, Petteri Salomaa, Storkyrkans Kor, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gustaf Sjokvist *

Keith Lewis, Anne Gjevang, Kiri Te Kanawa, Gwynne Howell, Chicago Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti *

Margaret Price, Yvonne Minton, Alexander Young, Justino Diaz, Amor Artis Chorale & English Chamber Orchestra, Johannes Somary

Elizabeth Shammash, Amanda Forsythe, Ian Honeyman, Ross Hauck, Jeffrey Strauss, Apollo’s Fire, Jeannette Sorrell

Susan Gritton, Cornelia Horak, Bejun Mehta, Richard Croft, Florian Boesch, Ensemble Matheus, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Jean-Christophe Spinosi (DVD/Blu-ray)

Midori Suzuki, Yoshikazu Mera, John Elwes, David Thomas, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki

Karina Gauvin, Robin Blaze, Rufus Müller, Brett Polegato, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir, Ivars Taurins

Suzie LeBlanc, Daniel Taylor, Rufus Muller, Locky Chung, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir & Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Ivars Taurins (DVD)

James Bowman, Robert Tear, Benjamin Luxon, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Academy Of St. Martin-In-The-Fields, Sir David Willcocks *

* = download only

[Petrushka]

Mr Summerly has taken on what I would think is the most difficult subject imaginable for BaL. There's not only the huge number of recordings to contend with but also the very many performing editions available. Something of a nightmare!

My very first recording was with Walter Susskind and the LPO on two Marble Arch LPs back in the mid 60s. Mackerras and the ECO (on EMI) was my much later LP of choice.

On CD I have RLPO/Sargent and a live 1964 Halle/Barbirolli neither of which have had an airing in years. I've got nothing HIPP either, no surprise there, but I'd be open to whatever gets the nod here.

Another one I have on CD would be my own personal choice: Chicago SO/Solti. The Chicago SO Chorus are absolutely terrific, quite the finest chorus I've heard in this and pretty much in anything else. Solti uses the edition by John Tobin and, for me at least, strikes the right balance between HIPP vs modern, excellent in both the grand moments as well as the more intimate and is in superb Decca sound.

[Pulcinella]

Mr Summerly has taken on what I would think is the most difficult subject imaginable for BaL. There's not only the huge number of recordings to contend with but also the very many performing editions available. Something of a nightmare!

....

Indeed!
LSO/Davis, AAM/Hogwood (1754 version), and ECO/Mackerras highlights (for Janet Baker) here, which is enough to satisfy me, though I look forward to this BaL as JS is usually very insightful with his comments and the reasoning behind his choices.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My very first recording was with Walter Susskind and the LPO on two Marble Arch LPs back in the mid 60s. Mackerras and the ECO (on EMI) was my much later LP of choice.

I have this Susskind recording on CD. It claims to be a "original manuscript" performance, which I remember being impressed with at the time when my father brought home the impressive 3LP set with its blue and gold cover. Before that I had learnt Messiah from Sargent's 78 rpm recording on 18 shellac discs! I have that on CD also. Subsequently, I learnt (from Antony Hopkins on 'Talking About Music') about the characteristics of the Mozart orchestrations that were so familiar at the time. When AH demonstrated the different versions of 'The People that Walked in Darkness' I felt very much drawn towards the Mozart. Soon afterwards I bought the very expensive 4LP Beecham version, which is Mozart Plus! I have that on CD too.
As a music student, I experienced the strong backlash against the Mozart additions, with critics hailing Mackerras and Colin Davis recordings as the new standard. Then the 'HIPPer than thou' Messiah War went into full swing. Christopher Hogwood's Proms performance was heralded by some as the greatest thing since the inversion of the wheel, even though many of the orchestral players were not up to the job of playing the more challenging original instruments. It sounded pretty dreadful, but things were much better by the time of his recording.
When CDs came along, I did buy two HIPP version: JEG and McGegan, the latter being an ingenious release, in that it included all the alternative versions composed by Handel, allowing the listener to choose which "original" performance to experience - by programming the three CDs accordingly.

So my list of Messiah CDs is as follows:

Sargent 1946
Sargent 1958
Sargent 1965
Beecham (orch. Goossens, etc.)
Susskind
Barbirolli
Colin Davis/LSO
Mackerras (Mozart in German)
Mackerras (Mozart in English)
Gardiner
McGegan
Griffith (orch. Goossens)

One version I have avoided is Sir Andrew Davis's orchestration, which I've heard, but really didn't like. Goossens had based his reorchestration on Mozart. Davis shunned Mozart completely, which I think was a mistake.

[Darloboy]

It's The Messiah on BaL, so as it isn't Xmas, it must be Easter!

Previous BaLs:

Nicholas Kenyon (December 85): LSO/Davis with Harper, Shirley-Quirk etc + Hogwood on period instruments as 2nd choice

Nicholas Anderson (December 94): Joint 1st choice was Christie (1742) & Hogwood (1754) + Marriner with Ameling, Langridge etc (1743) as mid-price choice + ECO/Mackerras as budget choice

Brian Kay (December 98): Pinnock + Beecham as "Very inauthentic" Choice

Berta Joncus (April 09): Christophers. She didn't really deal in depth with the different versions but I recall she also rated the Butt 1742 highly. I also vaguely remember her mentioning the Mackerras version of the Mozart arrangement but I think that was just as an example of why Handel's original(s) was superior.

The Nicholas Anderson programme was a model of its kind for the way in which he dealt with the different versions. Can't see Jeremy Summerly (one of the BaL regulars I really can't stand) doing better.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Indeed!
LSO/Davis, AAM/Hogwood (1754 version), and ECO/Mackerras highlights (for Janet Baker) here, which is enough to satisfy me, though I look forward to this BaL as JS is usually very insightful with his comments and the reasoning behind his choices.

Ditto for the first two. The LSO/Davis recording (Heather Harper etc) stands up well and still sounds like a good, unaffected, performance - no drawbacks to speak of. I'll look out for the Mackerras - yes, Janet Baker.....

(I sang the Messiah in a cracking performance in February 2020. A month or two later, amid the Covid lockdown, I reflected that if circumstances ruled, that would have been a great way to end 40 years of singing.....). And my first LP (bought by my father for me) was the Beecham Messiah highlights.

[Pulcinella]

Ditto for the first two. The LSO/Davis recording (Heather Harper etc) stands up well and still sounds like a good, unaffected, performance - no drawbacks to speak of. I'll look out for the Mackerras - yes, Janet Baker.....

(I sang the Messiah in a cracking performance in February 2020. A month or two later, amid the Covid lockdown, I reflected that if circumstances ruled, that would have been a great way to end 40 years of singing.....). And my first LP (bought by my father for me) was the Beecham Messiah highlights.

If you're happy with just the highlights, there's an amazing s/h bargain here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Matthew-Passion-highlights-Messiah/dp/B0000251E1/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2JX9C8URLXF1Q&keywords=Messiah+highlights+mackerras&qid=1648472820&s=music&sprefix=messiah+highlights+mackerras%2Cpopular%2C49&sr=1-5

£0.51 (plus £2.15 p+p), with Matthew Passion highlights too.

The whole thing is available (£6.61 s/h plus £1.26 p+p) here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Messiah-Elizabeth-Harwood/dp/B000002S0F/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2JX9C8URLXF1Q&keywords=Messiah+highlights+mackerras&qid=1648472820&s=music&sprefix=messiah+highlights+mackerras%2Cpopular%2C49&sr=1-4

[Lordgeous]

For completeness there's also a selection with the Scottish Chamber Orch, Felicity Lott & Co directed by George Malcolm. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-High...ps%2C51&sr=8-1

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

For completeness there's also a selection with the Scottish Camber Orch, Felicity Lott & Co directed by George Malcolm. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-High...ps%2C51&sr=8-1

I don't normally list highlight collections, as these are unlikely to be discussed on the programme.

[LeMartinPecheur]

For completeness there's also a selection with the Scottish Camber Orch, Felicity Lott & Co directed by George Malcolm.

A nice lean sound, but fast speeds tending to take them off the track?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The whole thing is available (£6.61 s/h plus £1.26 p+p) here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Mess...ar%2C49&sr=1-4

Thank you. Now ordered.

[Pulcinella]

Thank you. Now ordered.

Cockney Sparrow might be hopping mad and all aflutter that you pipped him(?) to the post, though.
Maybe he/she/they (what's the protocol these days?) will be happy enough with the highlights disc (Janet Baker's He was despised).

[LeMartinPecheur]

Not wanting to influence the pre-race betting unduly but David Vickers in the latest 'Gramophone Collection' has picked Butt for the 1742 premiere version, Hogwood for the 1754 Foundling Hospital, and Higginbotton for a boy-treble version. But overall top choice is the Pinnock.

His Selected Discography lists 26 versions from Scherchen in 1954 to Doyle in 2020 and he has interesting things to say about most of them.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Cockney Sparrow might be hopping mad and all aflutter that you pipped him(?) to the post, though.
Maybe he/she/they (what's the protocol these days?) will be happy enough with the highlights disc (Janet Baker's He was despised).

I've listened to Janet Baker on my streaming service. How far back was that recording made? To be honest, in "O thou that tellest…” I would not have guessed she was the soloist – to my ears its not that different from a good modern day counter-tenor sound – not that I have much authority as to the latter. Although I suppose can see - hear - she is the singer who developed into the later Janet Baker at the established phase of her career.

Turning to “He was despised….” there is more indication – the phrasing, the timbre of her voice comes across in the longer and more expressive aria.

Thanks Pulcinella – but, on reflection, I’ll add these to my playlist and listen occasionally (rather than try to find the CD….) The Ambrosians sound far off – murky - and the performance lacks the “clean lines” I recall from the Davis. To me, Janet B is the appeal in that set. (I see that, of course, Mackerras recorded it later….). I’m driving a friend tomorrow, a great admirer of Janet, and I’ll play “he was despised to him on the car system….

(I have to stop myself buying CDs these days – I’m going through the trauma of large scale book reduction, and truth to tell, I should weed out CDs after that……)