Search - Handel, Beecham :: Messiah

A Great Messiah, Carefully Restored

P. Greenstein | Oakland, CA | 12/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the second of Beecham's three recordings of Handel's Messiah. This is really the great one. Historically it was the first complete recording.



Beecham did not use Handel's original instrumentation. Instead he reorchestrated Handel, giving many melodic lines to woodwind and brass. It's very colorful and quite beautifully done, at least as well as you can hear on this 1947 recording. I just don't care for his last recording, in stereo, where Beecham made a controversial reorchestration (originally credited to Goosens), throwing in everything, including the kitchen sink!



Biddulph's transfer engineer, the great Mark Obert-Thorn, has done an expert job in restoring this performance. The sound is good, quite listenable with the surface noise of the 78's subtly filtered.



Unlike the bargain issue of this performance on Classica D'Oro(a straight transfer of the 1950's RCA LP issue), Mark has carefully edited two da capo arias so we finally hear the ABA form that Handel wrote. With the original '78's you were expected to turn the record over and just replay the 'A' sections. Back in the 1950's, the RCA LP issue left out the repeat so the music ended on a dominant 7th chord. Wow, shades of Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe! The Classica D'Oro issue repeats this error. Also in the original issue, two numbers from Part II were mistakenly placed near the end Part III. This issue has returned them to their proper place.



Soprano Elsie Suddaby is quite heavenly, and alto Marjorie Thomas, familiar on more than one Messiah recording, is very fine. The really great name in the cast is the tenor Heddle Nash, a classic English voice from the '30's - '40's period. What style! I love the way he sometimes brings a touch of sad pain to his voice. I wasn't familiar with the bass Trevor Anthony but his excellent voice sails right through Handel's coloratura, even at the challenging Beecham tempi!



Beecham's conducting is quite something! It is alternatively slow and serious, fast, exciting, grand and a total joy. I have to say that this Biddulph issue is really worth looking for. The bargain issue on Classica D'Oro is readily available and is certainly acceptable."