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Performances of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em><\/a> are now a public ritual, yet our annual sing-ins and choral society performances misrepresent the work. Here, we name the best recordings of Handel’s iconic choral work.<\/strong><\/p> Conceived at a career low, Messiah was successfully test-run in Dublin, but in London fell foul of the church\u2019s ban on performing Biblical verses in a theatre. Handel<\/a><\/strong> got around this by making Messiah a feature of his Lenten charity benefit concerts. These became a seasonal ritual for leading citizens, not least because of the new music Handel would introduce for his star soloists.<\/p> Following the 1784 Handel Commemoration at Westminster Abbey, the score of Messiah became fixed, and performing forces huge. Re-scored by Mozart<\/a><\/strong> and others, post-1780 versions dropped star-specific solos, obscured Handel\u2019s counterpoint, and slowed his ebullient dance rhythms.<\/p> Artists tackling Messiah today therefore face the challenge both of getting to grips with Handel\u2019s different versions \u2013 and of meeting expectations set up by misinformed past practice. Here, we investigate some of the best recordings of Handel’s great Messiah<\/em>.<\/p> We named Handel’s Messiah one of the greatest pieces of Christmas classical music ever<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Allan Clayton, Iestyn Davies, Polyphony; Britten Sinfonia (2009) <\/strong> Stephen Layton\u2019s musicians bring an unparalleled freshness to this familiar work, combining power with a delicacy faithful to Handel\u2019s Baroque<\/a><\/strong> sensibility. The music Handel composed for Messiah is meant to convince audiences of a vision beyond religious factionalism, and Layton rightly shapes his reading around the oratorio<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s verses.<\/p> Every phrase, whether played or sung, is suffused with word-meaning. Momentum builds throughout the work, thanks to the excellent musicianship of choir, conductor<\/a><\/strong>, instrumentalists and soloists alike.<\/p> The choir\u2019s responsiveness, the Britten Sinfonia\u2019s airy ensemble, the fluidity of Layton\u2019s tempos<\/a><\/strong> and the musical imagination of the soloists deftly nuance a score forged from Messiah\u2019s 1750 version and some later variants.<\/p> Modern instruments are made to sound like period instruments, with the players adopting a Baroque clarity, nimbleness and ingenuity of extemporisation. Gorgeous instrumental solos abound.<\/p> Violinist Jacqueline Shave\u2019s obbligato<\/a><\/strong> lines are particularly delightful, delivered with such sweet vulnerability to make the same passages on rival discs seem clunky.<\/p> Similarly, while larger than the choirs Handel directed, Polyphony retains the transparency needed to portray Handel\u2019s elaborate counterpoint, which culminates in the final \u2018Amen\u2019. This Messiah not only captures the heart, but ravishes the ear.<\/p> Susan Hamilton, Annie Gill, Clare Wilkinson, Nicholas Mulroy, Matthew Brook, Edward Caswell; The Dunedin Consort & Players (2006) <\/strong> The Dunedin Consort and Players strike out daringly from the beaten path in this recording of Handel\u2019s very first Messiah (from Dublin in 1742).<\/p> The skeleton forces of just 13 vocalists and a neat 17-member band facilitate a nimbleness and responsiveness unique among Messiah recordings, and indeed, the choruses are surprisingly robust. Highly original are both the continuo realisation (with John Butt at the harpsichord) and the \u2018Pifa\u2019 or \u2018Pastoral Symphony\u2019 section\u2019s dreamy atmosphere.<\/p> The vocal ensemble deftly teases out Messiah\u2019s various moods, and they possess an impressive freshness throughout the recording, although it has to be said that the soloists sometimes disappoint.<\/p>
Recordings of Handel’s Messiah<\/em>: the best<\/h2>
Stephen Layton (conductor)<\/strong><\/h3>
Three more great recordings of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em><\/h2>
John Butt (conductor)<\/strong><\/h3>