Handel - Messiah

Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton (conductor)

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Music Web International2010In a sense this release brings my experience to date of Messiah on CD full circle. The very first Messiah that I acquired was a live recording, also from St. John’s Smith Square and captured by Hyperion. That was the 1985 version…Read the review
Opera News NYC2010Any Handel oratorio needs to be an elastic entity in our day, just as it was in Handel’s. Considering the number of performances of Messiah given all over the world, it is doubly so for this work. Stephen Layton has chosen a male…Read the review
Gramophone Magazine2009An engaging and likeable Messiah from Layton and PolyphonyRead the review
Hifi Critic2009Another Christmas-related work (even if its fame spread from the Dublin premiere at Eastertide), this performance enjoys vitality and sensitivity in equal measure; indeed it is a finely-judged intimate yet outgoing account…Read the review
BBC Music Magazine2009Stephen Layton has conducted Messiahs sporting choirs mustering 18 to 2,000 singers (and orchestras ranging from minimalist to well-upholstered). But at the centre of his Handel universe are the annual St John’s Smith Square…Read the review
Classic FM Magazine2009Christmas wouldn't be Chrismtas without a Messiah release, and there are few finer exponents of this great oratorio than Polyphony and Stephen Layton whose annual St John's Smith Square performances are a highlight of the season…Read the review
ClassicsToday.com2009Performances of Messiah are never difficult to find, especially during the Christmas and Easter holiday seasons, and the CD catalog is perennially rich in recordings of Handel's most popular work, several of them quite fine--so…Read the review
The Detroit News2009Here is one of the finest choral performances among the myriad recordings of "Messiah." The choristers glide through Handel's treacherously florid lines with impeccable accuracy, as if in one glistening voice. And these smart…Read the review
Audiophile Audition2009This is a very personal, very intimate reading of Messiah. I was almost put off completely when the Overture started; it is so soft and almost intruding that I could not imagine what was going to follow; but thankfully I stuck…Read the review
The Daily Telegraph2009Polyphony’s cultured, humane performances of Handel’s masterpiece have long been a pre-Christmas fixture at St John’s, Smith Square, in London, and this set, recorded there in December last year, testifies to the blend of…Read the review
BBC Music Magazine2013Building a Library: Handel Messiah THE BEST RECORDING: STEPHEN LAYTON Stephen Layton's musicians bring an unparalleled freshness to this familiar work, combining power with a delicacy faithful to Handel's Baroque sensibility. The…Read the review
Brisbane Courier2009When British conductor Stephen Layton directs Handel's Messiah he goes for a close-knit ensemble, neat, light, bright. No lumbering along with cumbersome forces. Vocal soloists fit into the texture of the balanced whole. This…Read the review
Music Web International2009THUMBS UP Choosing a version of Messiah used to be comparatively easy. If you wanted a big-scale performance in the Victorian tradition, you went for one of Sir Malcolm Sargent’s recordings with the Huddersfield Choral Society or…Read the review
The Sunday Times2009You could argue that the radiant soprano Julia Doyle’s coloratura in Rejoice is a little effortful, that the outstandingly good countertenor Iestyn Davies’s decorations are sometimes self-conscious (which decorations should never…Read the review
Kristeligt Dagblad2009Julefryd med Stephen Layton Julen er traditionernes fest, og en af dem er at lægge øre til Händels oratorium "Messias", som opføres over hele landet i mere eller mindre professionelle aftapninger i december måned. Der er også…Read the review
The Age, Melbourne2009AMONG several performances of Handel's timeless oratorio at this time of year, those offered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus hold a good deal of attractiveness, largely due to the participants' musical expertise…Read the review
Voix des Arts2009The annual approach of Advent carries with it a certain dread for many musicians and music lovers for it is known that, in those days between American Thanksgiving and Christmas, virtually every chorister, amateur and…Read the review
ottosbaroquemusick.co.uk2009Make no mistake, this set is a bright star in a lighted firmament of existing Handel Messiahs. This newly (released 2009) performance/recording of Handel's "Messiah" is nothing short of superb. Conductor Stephen Layton has put…Read the review

Recorded: December 2008
Produced by Adrian Peacock
Engineered by David Hinitt
Release date: November 2009
Total duration: 133 minutes 30 seconds

Track list

Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 1: SymphonyGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'23
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 2, Recitative: Comfort ye, my people (tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'44
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 3, Aria: Every valley shall be exalted (tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'06
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 4, Chorus: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealedGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'49
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 5, Recitative: Thus saith the Lord of hosts (bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'20
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 6, Aria: But who may abide the day of his coming? (alto/bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)4'12
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 7, Chorus: And he shall purify the sons of LeviGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'35
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 8, Recitative: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son (alto)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'23
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 9, Aria with chorus: O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion (alto)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)5'01
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 10, Recitative: For behold, darkness shall cover the earth (bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'03
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 11, Aria: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light (bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'58
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 12, Chorus: For unto us a child is bornGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'47
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 13: Pifa 'Pastoral Symphony'George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'54
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 14, Recitative: There were shepherds, abiding in the field (soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'26
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 15, Recitative: And the angel said unto them, fear not (soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'25
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 16, Recitative: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude (soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'16
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 17, Chorus: Glory to God in the highestGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'52
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 18, Aria: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)4'07
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 19, Recitative: Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened (alto)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'23
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 20, Aria: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd (alto/soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)4'55
Messiah HWV56: Part 1 No 21, Chorus: His yoke is easy and his burthen is lightGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'15
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 1, Chorus: Behold the Lamb of GodGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'42
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 2, Aria: He was despised and rejected of men (alto)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)10'36
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 3, Chorus: Surely he hath borne our griefsGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'51
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 4, Chorus: And with his stripes we are healedGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'52
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 5, Chorus: All we like sheep have gone astrayGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)4'02
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 6, Recitative: All they that see him laugh him to scorn (tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'44
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 7, Chorus: He trusted in God that he would deliver himGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'14
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 8, Recitative: Thy rebuke hath broken his heart (soprano/tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'53
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 9, Aria: Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow (soprano/tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'19
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 10, Recitative: He was cut off out of the land of the living (soprano/tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'13
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 11, Aria: But thou didst not leave his soul in hell (soprano/tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'14
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 12, Chorus: Lift up your heads, O ye gatesGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'03
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 13, Recitative: Unto which of the angels said he at any time? (tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'13
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 14, Chorus: Let all the angels of God worship himGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'26
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 15, Aria: Thou art gone up on high (alto/bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'02
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 16, Chorus: The Lord gave the wordGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'57
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 17, Aria: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach (soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'09
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 18, Chorus: Their sound is gone out into all landsGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'14
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 19, Aria: Why do the nations so furiously rage together? (bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'32
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 20, Chorus: Let us break their bonds asunderGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'47
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 21, Recitative: He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn (tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'10
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 22, Aria: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron (tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'58
Messiah HWV56: Part 2 No 23, Chorus: Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reignethGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'43
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 1, Aria: I know that my Redeemer liveth (soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)6'00
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 2, Chorus: Since by man came deathGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'20
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 3, Recitative: Behold, I tell you a mystery (bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'29
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 4, Aria: The trumpet shall sound (bass)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)5'49
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 5, Recitative: Then shall be brought to pass (alto)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)0'15
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 6, Aria: O Death, where is thy sting? (alto/tenor)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)1'05
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 7, Chorus: But thanks be to God who giveth us the victoryGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)2'15
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 8, Aria: If God be for us, who can be against us? (soprano)George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)4'54
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 9, Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slainGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)3'20
Messiah HWV56: Part 3 No 10, Chorus: AmenGeorge Frideric Handel (1685-1759)4'15

Recording details from Hyperion Records.

Handel - Messiah

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