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George Frederic HANDEL (1685-1759) Messiah - Highlights Sara Macliver (soprano) Alexandra Sherman (contralto) Christopher Field (counter-tenor) Paul McMahon (tenor) Teddy Tahu Rhodes (bass) Cantillation Orchestra of the Antipodes/Antony Walker Recorded 10-14 July 2002 at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel, St. Patrick’s Estate, Manly, Sydney, Australia DDD ABC CLASSICS 980 046-9 [73:02]

Messiah is certainly Handel’s supreme achievement and as an oratorio the work is without rival. In 1741 Handel was invited to Dublin by the Lord Lieutenant of the City and the directors of several charities. For the trip Handel decided to compose a new oratorio. He utilised a script that Charles Jenner had prepared for him from the Scriptures. I have come across the conducting of Antony Walker previously on a recent release of Handel’s oratorio Semele on ABC Classics where he directed the Sirius Ensemble and the Cantillation choir to great effect. On this release Walker’s control of the vocal group Cantillation and the Orchestra of the Antipodes does not have anywhere like the same authority in a generally disappointing reading. The solo singing on this ABC Classics release is not spectacular particularly the unsteady contralto of Alexandra Sherman who sounds nervous with a most edgy timbre. The soprano Sara Macliver gives a rather nondescript performance which comes across as lacking in character with little vocal presence. The counter-tenor Christopher Field, tenor Paul McMahon and bass Teddy Tahu Rhodes all give reasonably steady performances but seem to get caught-up in the general malaise. The orchestral playing from the period instrument ensemble is competent for the most part as is the singing from Cantillation but the enthusiasm seems to run out of steam. Any performance of Handel’s Messiah deserves and requires far more persuasive delivery and commitment than this bland attempt. In an extremely crowded market there are many excellent recordings of Messiah in the catalogues. My primary recommendation for the complete Messiah is the wonderful interpretation from the Bach Collegium Japan under Masaaki Suzuki on BIS CD 891/892. Conductor Suzuki is in total control of his soloists, chorus and players providing an intense and inspirational reading which is beautifully recorded. ABC Classics have not provided any texts whatsoever for this highlights release which is a shame. The recorded sound quality is fine. Rather lacklustre performances from all concerned. There are many better versions of Messiah available in the catalogues. Michael Cookson Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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