This disc was recorded
at a series of live concerts in 1997
in Storkyrkan, Stockholm (Stockholm
Cathedral) to celebrate the 70th
anniversary of their annual performances
of Messiah. For performances
from 1927 to 1977 the performers were
taken from Stockholm Opera and singers
such as Brigit Nilsson, Elisabeth Söderström,
Gösta Winberg, Kerstin Meyer and
Nicolai Gedda have been involved. More
recently performances have been organised
by the cathedral itself. On this disc
the cathedral choir (Storkyrkans kör)
are accompanied by the Swedish Radio
Symphonic Orchestra and conducted by
Gustav Sjökvist.
The recording lists
a choir of 54 and an orchestra of 29,
playing on modern instruments. At first
sight this would seem to be inclined
towards the choir, in terms of balance.
Granted, they do make a light, clear
sound but the recording favours the
voices and I would happily have had
a slightly stronger orchestral sound,
particularly when it came to the woodwind.
Perhaps because the
annual Messiah performances have a tradition
of favouring young singers, this disc
uses two bass soloists and two tenors.
Though this generally entails a simple
apportionment of arias, ‘The trumpet
shall sound’ is sung by a different
singer from the recitative before it,
which seems a little perverse especially
as Karl-Magnus Fredriksson’s vocally
brilliant performance of the aria is
one of the highlights of the disc.
The version of Messiah
performed is a moderately traditional
one: ‘But who may abide’/’For he is
like a refiner’s fire’ is sung by the
alto soloist, ‘Rejoice greatly’ is sung
in the 6/8 time, ‘How beautiful are
the feet’ is sung by the soprano soloist,
‘He was despised’ is shorn of its da
capo. Both Part 2 and Part 3 are cut;
it is particularly a shame that Part
3 loses the alto recitative ‘Then shall
be brought to pass’, ‘Death where is
thy sting’ and the chorus ‘Thanks be
to God’. The cuts are made doubly confusing
as the result is re-numbered, giving
the unwary listener no indication that
cuts have been made.
Only one of the soloists
is Anglophone; by and large both choir
and soloists sing in creditable clear
English, with a diction that is quite
enviable. It is true that the odd diphthong
goes astray and it is perhaps unfortunate
that the opening soloist (tenor Stefan
Dahlberg) has perhaps the weakest English
speaking skills.
The fine, rich-toned
alto soloist is Kristin Hammarström;
She has a good, smooth line And her
performance of ‘He was despised’ has
a noble tone, though the aria is delivered
quite fleetly, in the modern manner.
Soprano Christina Högman has a
richer-toned voice than I am used to.
Her version of the soprano’s opening
sequence in Act 1 was admirably dramatic
and she also brings out the drama in
‘I know that my redeemer liveth’.
English tenor Lynton
Atkinson is allocated the notable sequence
of recitative, arioso and aria in part
2 (‘They rebuke’, ‘Behold and see’,
‘He was cut off’, ‘But thou didst not
leave’) and his performance made one
wish that he had been allowed to perform
all of the arias. The other tenor, Stefan
Dahlberg, delivers his arias with a
notable dramatic swagger.
In many ways a traditional
performance; speeds are never overly
fast and though the complement of performers
is relatively chamber-sized, it has
a stateliness associated with larger
forces though some of this might be
related to the acoustics of Storkyrkan.
That said, the choral forces display
an admirable fleetness in the faster
numbers. In fact, the choir’s contribution
is one of the most admirable things
about this recording and certainly a
reason for returning to it. Their lithe
performance has an admirable clarity
and does not lack power when necessary;
they bring an unhackneyed freshness
to the work.
I honestly cannot see
this recording ever being a main-stream
recommendation for Messiah. It is an
entirely creditable performance with
performers who are not without interest.
With such a strong choral performance
and a fine, modern instrumental accompaniment,
these discs have much to recommend them
so anyone who is curious to explore
the Swedish Messiah tradition can feel
safe buying them.
Robert Hugill
Orchestra from Swedish Radio Symphonics/Gustav
Sjökvist 
