While Johannes Somary's 1970 Vanguard recording of Handel's Messiah provides an early example of authentic period re-creation -- it is a complete performance of the 1966 Watkins Shaw edition, with pared-down choral and orchestral forces, appropriate ornamentation, and a continuo alternating between harpsichord and organ -- it sounds a little stilted and awkward by contemporary standards. The rhythms have more than enough snap, and Somary's tempos are respectably brisk, but the Amor Artis Chorale and the English Chamber ...
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While Johannes Somary's 1970 Vanguard recording of Handel's Messiah provides an early example of authentic period re-creation -- it is a complete performance of the 1966 Watkins Shaw edition, with pared-down choral and orchestral forces, appropriate ornamentation, and a continuo alternating between harpsichord and organ -- it sounds a little stilted and awkward by contemporary standards. The rhythms have more than enough snap, and Somary's tempos are respectably brisk, but the Amor Artis Chorale and the English Chamber Orchestra seem a bit stiff in what was for the time a new way of playing Baroque music, and some uncertainty is detectable in the solo singing. Tenor Alexander Young and bass Justino Diaz both attempt some decorative improvisation in their arias, but their discomfort is apparent in the dubious intonation; and while soprano Margaret Price and contralto Yvonne Minton are better with hitting the right pitches, they are nonetheless a little unclear in their embellishments. Even so, this is a...
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Add this copy of Messiah Complete to cart. $19.99, good condition, Sold by Meadeco Media rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from VINE GROVE, KY, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Vanguard Classics.
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