Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Wien, Arnold Schoenberg Chor - George Frideric Handel: Messiah (2005)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 686 Mb | Total time: 69:27+71:30 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi | # 82876 64070 2 | Recorded: 2004
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 686 Mb | Total time: 69:27+71:30 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi | # 82876 64070 2 | Recorded: 2004
what makes this recording so satisfying is the warmth, serenity and pliant lyricism of the performance. We have come to expect fleet tempos from the early-music movement. If anything, Mr. Harnoncourt's tempos, over all, are spacious. The sweet-voiced tenor Michael Schade is given such freedom to shape the phrases of the accompanied recitative "Comfort ye my people," that you listen to these words as if you had never heard them before…The soprano Christine Schäfer and the alto Anna Larsson also do radiant and affecting work. The chorus sings with impressive clarity and full-bodied yet unforced sound…Mr. Harnoncourt adheres to the manuscripts and editions of the work he deems the most reliable, especially with regard to the size of the string ensembles in the various movements.