Search - George Frideric Handel, Thomas Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus :: Handel: Messiah - Highlights (RCA Victor Basic 100, Vol. 21)

(Highlights from) A rather different Messiah

Archimedes | Pennsylvania | 01/22/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Regrettably, someone has scanned the back cover instead of the front of the CD; if they had done the front (a pox on those silly RCA jewel-cases) they would have shown that it is a selection of highlights from Sir Thomas Beecham's famous Royal Philharmonic performance of the Messiah.
In stark contrast to the present-day tradition of performing this work with a fairly typical baroque orchestra (small-around 30 players and anything from just 4 to maybe 15 voices) or a baroque festival orchestra (a little larger?), this lushly re-orchestrated sumptuous-sounding performance is one of the best of the genre.
At a modest price, this recording has much to offer, and I wouldn't trade my copy for anything. "I know that my redeemer Liveth" is almost painfully romantic, and there are other little gems, as well as suprising little disappointments. It is generally beautifully performed, with practically no rough spots.
Archimedes"

Best Messiah ever

Blazes Boylan | Zihuatenejo, Mexico | 12/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have in my CD collection about 12 different versions of the Messiah. This is the best Messiah ever recorded. The sound (from 1959) is clarity itself. The music is played and sung with great dramatic intensity and the sheer lushness of the sound puts all these "original instruments" performances to shame. Nothing is more irritating to me than to hear the milk-toast Messiahs that have sprouted everywhere in the last 30 years or so. I see no virtue whatsoever, other than as a curiosity, to hear Handel's Messiah sung as it was done originally. If Handel had been alive today, being the great showman that he was, he would almost certainly have chosen the larger forces available for modern performances rather than the minimalist numbers he was forced to work with.



Rejoice in this Beecham performance. Play it at top volume, just before Christmas. (His nearest rival in this kind of interpretation is Sargent and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Huddersfield Choral Society.



I have recordings of the Messiah done by a Bulgarian choir and orchestra as well as a performance in German by a German choir and orchestra.



But Beecham's is the best."