{"id":2703,"date":"2009-02-26T05:27:20","date_gmt":"2009-02-25T21:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chekyang.com\/musings\/?p=2703"},"modified":"2018-03-14T13:16:44","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T05:16:44","slug":"oratorios-masses-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/2009\/02\/26\/oratorios-masses-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Oratorios & Masses I"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I remember it, the first oratorio I acquired in my classical music recollection wasn\u2019t Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em>, but Haydn\u2019s Die Jahreszeiten<\/em>. The latter was a 1970s recording with the BBC Chorus & Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Colin Davis, and came on an old two cassette tape box set issued by the music division arm of Philips (reissued on CD here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Between the large vocal type of works i.e. oratorios\/masses\/requiems vs operas, I still marginally prefer operas, if only because there\u2019s significant theatrical elements, narrative and interaction between characters. And outside a couple of the most well-known of these vocal works of this type, most casual classical music listeners don\u2019t really listen to these.<\/p>\n

So, putting together a list of some of my favorite recordings of oratorios and masses, and starting with the most well-known of all oratorios\u2026<\/p>\n

Handel: Messiah<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Recordings of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em> seem to fall into one of three types: the old big, bombastic performances with huge orchestras and choirs, like in the first recording of Messiah <\/em>I got in the 80s was also a cassette box set performed by the the John Alldis Choir & London Philharmonic Orchestra and Karl Richter<\/a>, which I picked up on CD reissue years later; and also another CD set I got with the London Symphony and Colin Davis again.<\/p>\n

These big performances were gradually out of fashion from the mid-80s onwards, with performances moving towards the other two types: small, nimble orchestras either on modern, or on authentic instruments. Of the former, there\u2019s the 1981 recording with Richard Westenburg and the Musica Sacra<\/a>, but the audio quality on the CD was wretched that I didn\u2019t listen to it more than a few times. And also, an early 80s recording with famed but late choir conductor Robert Shaw<\/a> and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus<\/a> on Telarc Digital.<\/p>\n

By far though, my favorite recording with a modern and small orchestra and chorus remains a 1970s Decca CD set<\/a> with the Academy<\/a> and the now 80-something Neville Marriner<\/a>. Unfortunately, this recording was based on a rearrangement by Mozart and there are some differences between the rearrangement and the more widely performed original score, especially in the closing chorus \u201cWorthy is the Lamb\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

But what an amazing and jubilant interpretation of this final chorus it is! Even though this recording was made more than 20 years ago, the whole 2 hour performance still sounds as though it is being performed right in front of you in your living room. Of all the choral recordings I have, the synergy between the Academy<\/a> chorus and orchestra is just breathtaking. The chorus timing on each note with the accompaniment is impeccable, and each number is exhilarating.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t enjoy the authentic-instruments performances as much, but most recent recordings are of this type now. Still, there are three such recordings in my collection: by the Boston Baroque with Martin Pearlman<\/a> on an expensive Telarc Digital set years ago, with the Academy of Ancient Music and Christopher Hogwood<\/a> performing on instruments that are less knife-sharp sounding than the Boston Baroque, and finally my most recent acquisition last week: with the Cambridge Choir of Clare College & Freiburger Barockorchester and Ren\u00e9 Jacobs<\/a>. The Jacobs performance has lots of nuances with plenty of dynamic markings that that actually perked me up, as jaded a listener of Messiah <\/em>I am. The chorus and orchestra doesn’t have the powerful adrenaline of the Academy, but the because of those little changes in phrasing, the experience of listening to Jacobs’ recording is refreshing.<\/p>\n

So, of the eight recordings of Messiah <\/em>in my collection, Ren\u00e9 Jacobs\u2019<\/a> is at the top of my list; followed closely by Neville Marriner’s performance with the Academy<\/a>. Both are amazing performances though and it’s hard to go wrong with either. If one wants to go with the big traditional performances, then I’d suggest Robert Shaw’s recording.<\/p>\n

Next post, other vocal works by Handel\u2026 when I get to it.:)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I remember it, the first oratorio I acquired in my classical music recollection wasn\u2019t Handel\u2019s Messiah, but Haydn\u2019s Die Jahreszeiten. The latter was a 1970s recording with the BBC Chorus & Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Colin Davis,<\/p>\n

Read More Oratorios & Masses I<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-at-home","category-music","wpcat-6-id","wpcat-11-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}