Notes and Editorial Reviews
Performance: ****/Sound: *****
As we might expect, René Jacobs brings a livelier and more immediate sense of theatre to Handel’s music than his rivals. His orchestra is slightly larger than the others and his continuo department more elaborate with a strengthened double bass line that often proves effective. Lawrence Zazzo and Neal Davies turn in excellent performances of their music, the former proving, I should imagine, a worthy successor to Handel’s young castrato Gaetano Guadagni. The Clare College Choir, of which the upper strands are provided by women, is very good indeed proving capable of colourfully dramatic declamation.
-- Nicholas Anderson, BBC Music Magazine
"My personal favorite
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Messiah recording is René Jacobs conducting the 1750 version with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Choir of Clare College (Harmonia Mundi). The 1750 version of the score (conducted by the composer) is preferred not only for its transparency and spare orchestration, but for its incorporation of the last revisions that Handel made for aesthetic reasons instead of practical concerns. Jacobs and his chambersized, period-instrument ensemble fill Messiah with dramatic urgency within a lean framework. The soloists are expressive and imbue their arias with tasteful ornamentation, with countertenor Lawrence Zazzo providing some exotic color."
Ben Finane, Listen Magazine [11/2009]
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Works on This Recording
1.
Messiah, HWV 56 by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Kobie van Rensburg (Tenor),
Neal Davies (Bass Baritone),
Patricia Bardon (Mezzo Soprano),
Lawrence Zazzo (Countertenor),
Kerstin Avemo (Soprano)
Conductor:
René Jacobs
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Clare College Choir,
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1741; London, England
Featured Sound Samples
Part I: Chorus: "For unto us a child is born"
Sound Samples
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 1. "Sinfony"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 2. Accompagnato (tenor) "Comfort ye, my people, saith your God"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 3. Air (tenor) "Every valley shall be exalted"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 4. chorus "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 5. Accompagnato (bass) "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 6. Air (countertenor) "But who may abide the day of His coming?"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 7. Chorus "And He shall purify the sons of Levi"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 8. Recitative (alto) "Behold, a virgin shall conceive" - 9. Air (alto) & Chorus "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, arise"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 10. Accompagnato (bass) "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 11. Air (bass) "The people that walked in darkness"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 12. Chorus "For unto us a child is born"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 13. Sinfonia pastorale -14a."There were shepherds"-14b. "And lo, the angel of the Lord"-15. "And the angel said"-16. "And suddenly there was"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 17. Chorus "Glory to God in the highest"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 18. Air (soprano) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 19. Recitative (alto) "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened" - 20. Air (alto & countertenor) "He shall feed His flock"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, 21. Chorus "His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 22. Chorus "Behold the lamb of God"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 23. Air (alto) "He was despised and rejected of men"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 24. Chorus "Surely He hath borne our griefs"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 25. Chorus "And with His stripes we are healed"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 26. Chorus "All we like sheep have gone astray"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 27. Accompagnato (tenor) "All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 28. Chorus "He trusted in God that He would deliver Him"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 29. Accompagnato (tenor) "Thy rebuke hath broken His heart"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 30. Arioso (tenor) "Behold and see if there be any sorrow"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 31."He was cut off out of the land of the living" - 32."But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 33. Chorus "Lift up your heads, O ye gates"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 34. Recitative (tenor) "Unto which of the angels said He at any time"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 35. Chorus "Let all the angels of God worship Him"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 36. Air (countertenor) "Thou art gone up on high"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 37. Chorus "The Lord gave the world"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 38. Air (countertenor) "How beautiful are the feet of them"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 39. Chorus "Their sound is gone out into all lands"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 40. Air (bass) "Why do the nations so furiously rage together"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 41. Chorus "Let us break their bonds asunder"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, 42. Recitative (tenor) "He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn" - 43. Air (tenor) "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part II, Sc. 6, Hallelujah!
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 3, 45. Air (soprano) "I know that my redeemer liveth"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 3, 46. Chorus "Since by man came death"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 3, 47. Accompagnato (bass) "Behold, I tell you a mystery" - 48. Air (bass) "The trumpet shall sound"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 3, 49. Recitative (alto) "Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written" - 50. Duet (alto & tenor) "O Death, where is thy sting?"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 3, 51. Chorus "But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 3, 52. Air (countertenor) "If God be for us, who can be against us?"
Messiah, HWV 56: Part 3, 53. Chorus "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" - 54. Chorus "Amen"
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