| RECORDINGS |
|
| LABEL: |
PRIVATE
ISSUE |
| CATALOG
NUMBER: |
N/A |
| UPC
NUMBER: |
N/A |
| NUMBER
OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING
TIME: |
75:48,
60:12 |
| YEAR
RECORDED: |
2003 |
| CD
RELEASE DATE: |
2003 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
MARTIN
SMITH |
| ORCHESTRA: |
THE
ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF
ENLIGHTENMENT |
| CHOIR: |
THE CHOIR OF
THE ENLIGHTENMENT |
| SOPRANO: |
CAROLYN
SAMPSON |
| TENOR: |
MARK
PADMORE |
| COUNTERTENOR: |
ROBIN
BLAZE |
| BASS-BARITONE: |
GERALD
FINLEY |
|
| AUDIO SAMPLES |
HIGHLIGHTS |
OTHER
RELEASES |
NONE
|
NONE
|
NONE
|
|
DISC ONE
1. Sinfony
2. Comfort ye my people
3. Every valley shall be exalted
4. And the glory of the Lord
5. Thus saith the Lord
6. But who may abide
7. And He shall purify
8. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
9. O thou that tellest good tidings to
Zion
10. For behold, darkness shall cover the
earth
11. The people that walked in darkness
12. For unto us a child is born
13. PIFA (Pastoral Symphony)
14. And there were shepherds
15. And the angel said unto them
16. And suddenly there was with the
angel
17. Glory to God
18. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
19. Then shall the eyes of the blind
20. He shall feed His flock
21. His yoke is easy
22. Behold the Lamb of God
23. He was despised
24. Surely He hath borne our griefs
25. And with his stripes we are healed
26. All we, like sheep have gone astray
27. All they that see Him laugh Him to
scorn
28. He trusted in God
|
DISC
TWO
1. Thy rebuke hath broken His
heart
2. Behold and see
3. He was cut off
4. But thou didst not leave
5. Lift up your heads, O ye gates
6. Thou art gone up on high
7. The Lord gave the word
8. How beautiful are the feet
9. Why do the nations
10. Let us break their bonds
11. He that dwelleth in heaven
12. Thou shalt break them
13. Hallelujah
14. I know that my Redeemer liveth
15. Since by man came death
16. Behold, I tell you a mystery
17. The trumpet shall sound
18. If God be for us, who can be against
us
19. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
20. Amen
|
|
SITE RATING: 8/10
SITE
REVIEW:
A 2003 recording under the
baton of Martin Smith with the
Orchestra and Choir of the Age of
Enlightenment, this is a stellar live
concert by impressive forces. The
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
is, by
their own admission, an adventuresome group,
eschewing many of the
conventions of traditional orchestras, and
following their own muse,
having neither a standing conductor, nor a set
repertoire. Their
derring-do spirit permeates this performance
from beginning to end,
with vivid orchestral colors, electrifying
playing, and world-class
soloists. Mark Padmore is a commanding
tenor, giving great verve
to his arias, while bass Gerlad Finley and
countertenor Robin Blaze are
both electrifying in their respective moments,
giving fully-investing
readings during their solos. Soprano
Carolyn Sampson is also
simply breathtaking with the power and purity
of her vocals, giving
some of the most assured, ringing arias I've
heard. The
separate-but-aligned Choir of the
Enlightenment is equal to their
sister orchestra in every way, with clear,
balanced singing, containing
both power and gentleness in the choruses,
with perfect tones in the
high and low registers. Tempos
throughout are kept bright and
dancing, with a sense of unbridled energy and
joy present throughout.
The only caveat with this performance is
the recording, which,
recorded live at The Banqueting House,
Whitehall, is somewhat distant
and muddy; not impenetrably so, but much
detail is lost in the acoustic
of the hall. But the engineers have done
an admirable job of
balancing the forces, and despite present, and
occasionally distracting
audience noise, this remains a stellar Messiah,
unfortunately limited to a
privately-released "Souvenir" edition which I
stumbled upon by sheer
chance.
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