Devout, yes; the best? No
Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 04/05/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"David Hurwitz's comment that this is "simply the best performance available" either means he hasn't heard many or he is on payroll of this production company. When I sang this music some years back I listened to every recording there was and I've purchased a number of others since that time.
The best version currently before the public is also one of the cheapest to buy, a performance by a bunch of people you never heard of on the Brilliant Classics label (ASIN: B00008UAN8 or read my review.) That recording is newer than Harnoncourt's, has none of his annoying personal characteristics, is better sung, better produced, has more immediate and more finely detailed sound, and costs about one-third the price. For those that demand to spend full price money on a CD, the recent re-release of Rilling's excellent version (ASIN: B000003JTA) is avaiable with an extra from Michael Haydn.
Why anyone would hand their hat on this version mystifies me. The one advantage it has is it stays in print while others fade away. Fortunately, the Brilliant Classics version is still available. Get it while you can."
One for the Devout
Eugene G. Barnes | Dunn Loring, VA USA | 03/04/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This sensitive performance of Haydn's choral masterpiece "The Seven Last Words" would be the one I'd recommend for the listener who likes his/her religious music sincere and affecting. Harnoncourt milks every phrase for meaning and nuance (which doesn't always happen in the frequently-rushed milieu of historically informed performance (HIP)). For me though it gets a bit tiring to hear everyone caressing every single note like that and being so tender and tentative. I'm more comfortable with Hermann Scherchen's 1962 Vienna recording on Westminster. It's more businesslike, but still has plenty of affecting passages. But then Harnoncourt appears to be more complete, giving us the "Introduzione" before Word No. 5. Not that I felt I was robbed for all these years by not hearing it, but it does work well as a prelude to No. 5.
But whatever the case, please be assured this is A-plus music of its kind. You won't be sorry you got to know it."