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Performances of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/a> are now a public ritual, yet our annual sing-ins and choral society performances misrepresent the work.<\/strong><\/p>\n 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\u00a0\u00a0 citizens, not least because of the new music Handel would introduce for his star soloists.<\/p>\n Following the 1784 Handel Commemoration at Westminster Abbey, the score of Messiah became fixed, and performing forces huge. Re-scored by Mozart and others, post-1780 versions dropped star-specific solos, obscured Handel\u2019s counterpoint, and slowed his ebullient dance rhythms.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n We named Handel\u2019s Messiah one of the greatest pieces of Christmas classical music ever<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Stephen Layton (conductor) Stephen Layton\u2019s musicians bring an unparalleled freshness to this familiar work, combining power with a delicacy faithful to Handel\u2019s Baroque 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>\n 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>\n The choir\u2019s responsiveness, the Britten Sinfonia\u2019s airy ensemble, the fluidity of Layton\u2019s tempos and the musical imagination of the soloists deftly nuance a score forged from Messiah\u2019s 1750 version and some later variants.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 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>\n Violinist Jacqueline Shave\u2019s obbligato lines are particularly delightful, delivered with such sweet vulnerability to make the same passages on rival discs seem clunky.<\/p>\n 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>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ren\u00e9 Jacobs (conductor) Virtuosity makes this performance sizzle. This is the \u2018Guadagni\u2019 version of Messiah, adapted by Handel in 1750 to showcase that celebrated alto castrato, but here everyone is a star. The band\u2019s sharp attacks transform familiar numbers, such as \u2018Why do the Nations\u2019 and \u2018But who may abide\u2019, into show-stoppers.<\/p>\n Countertenor Lawrence Zazzo inhabits Guadagni\u2019s parts with utter conviction, while Ren\u00e9 Jacobs extracts from the Choir of Clare College an uncharacteristic flamboyance, particularly in the \u2018Hallelujah\u2019 chorus, where stark contrasts abound.<\/p>\nThe Best Recording of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/h2>\n
Three more great recordings of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/h2>\n