In a time when historically informed performances of George Frederick Handel's Messiah have become the norm, it might seem that thick, homogenized orchestrations, massive choral forces, and excessively reverent interpretations would be a thing of the past, and that audiences would have lost the taste for such lavish post-Romantic treatments. Yet if Andrew Davis has resurrected the ghosts of Eugene Goossens and Thomas Beecham in his lushly scored rewrite of Messiah, then there must be an audience somewhere for this throwback ...
Read More
In a time when historically informed performances of George Frederick Handel's Messiah have become the norm, it might seem that thick, homogenized orchestrations, massive choral forces, and excessively reverent interpretations would be a thing of the past, and that audiences would have lost the taste for such lavish post-Romantic treatments. Yet if Andrew Davis has resurrected the ghosts of Eugene Goossens and Thomas Beecham in his lushly scored rewrite of Messiah, then there must be an audience somewhere for this throwback to another era, and one not so long ago. Indeed, Davis' previous 1987 recording with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra enjoyed a certain status as the mainstream alternative to the scholarly challenges of Christopher Hogwood, Trevor Pinnock, and John Eliot Gardiner, and this Chandos recording with the same ensembles just goes further. For starters, the additional woodwind and brass parts might be a stretch even for traditionalists, but what is one to...
Read Less
![Handel: Messiah [Erin Wall; Elizabeth Deshong; Andrew Staples; John Relyea; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis] [Chandos: Chsa 5176(2)]](https://www1.alibris-static.com/cover/o26816utw5o_t.jpg)
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.