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Haim, Emmanuelle
Handel: Messiah
2CD
28 Oct 2014
Barcode: 0825646240555
Composer: Georg Friedrich Handel
Other participants: Lucy Crowe, Tim Mead, Andrew Staples, Christopher Purves
Following several acclaimed albums of Handel’s operatic and choral masterpieces (including a triumphant Giulio Cesare with Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra and the oratorio La Resurrezione with British soprano Kate Royal), French harpsichordist and conductor Emmanuelle Haïm at last brings her fresh, expressive approach to Messiah. Joining her on a musically and spiritually uplifting journey for this long-awaited recording is Haïm’s own choir and period-instrument orchestra, Le Concert d’Astrée, with four of the UK’s finest Handelian singers. Having begun her career as a brilliant harpsichordist and protegee of Baroque pioneers William Christie and Christophe Rousset, Haïm has a long history with Messiah. She is invited regularly to conduct the work in France (this album was recorded during performances at the Opéra de Lille in December 2013) and the United States – as in 2012 with the New York Philharmonic. For this complete recording, Haïm opted for an intimate Baroque sound, without reducing the power and impact of this perennial seasonal favourite. “I made the choice of four British singers, with a single countertenor rather than two altos – the configuration used in 1752 at Covent Garden,” she explains.
“The vocal ornamentation, as sung by the outstanding solo quartet...sounds entirely stylish and idiomatic...Haïm’s choir for this work, too, comprises mainly native English-speakers, and it shows in their trenchant diction. Their Hallelujah is magnificent...One of the most dramatic and exciting Messiahs in recent memory.” (The Financial Times)
"This is definitely a Messiah worth listening to; lively and varied, it really is a new injection of life into an old favourite work and a recording that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the existing benchmarks." (Presto Classical)
“The vocal ornamentation, as sung by the outstanding solo quartet...sounds entirely stylish and idiomatic...Haïm’s choir for this work, too, comprises mainly native English-speakers, and it shows in their trenchant diction. Their Hallelujah is magnificent...One of the most dramatic and exciting Messiahs in recent memory.” (The Financial Times)
"This is definitely a Messiah worth listening to; lively and varied, it really is a new injection of life into an old favourite work and a recording that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the existing benchmarks." (Presto Classical)
Audio sample & Tracklisting
Disc 1 | |
01 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: Grave - Allegro moderato - Emmanuelle Haïm |
02 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "Comfort ye my people" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
03 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
04 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
05 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts" (Bass) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
06 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "But who may abide the day of His coming?" (Alto) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
07 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "And he shall purify" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
08 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive" (Alto) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
09 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion" (Alto, Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
10 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth" (Bass) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
11 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "The people that walked in darkness" (Bass) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
12 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "For unto us a child is born" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
13 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: Larghetto e mezzo piano - Emmanuelle Haïm |
14 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "There were shepherds abiding in the field" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
15 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
16 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "And the angel said unto them" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
17 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "And suddenly there was with the angel" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
18 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "Glory to God in the highest" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
19 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
20 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "Then shall the eyes of the blind be open'd" (Alto) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
21 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd" (Alto, Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
22 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 1: "His yoke is easy, His burthen is light" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
23 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Behold the Lamb of God" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
24 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "He was despised" (Alto) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
25 | Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "The trumpet shall sound" (Bass) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
26 | Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "Then shall be brought to pass the saying" (Alto) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
27 | Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "O death, where is thy sting?" (Alto, Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
28 | Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "But thanks be to God" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
29 | Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
30 | Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" - Amen (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
Disc 2 | |
01 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Surely He hath borne our griefs" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
02 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "And with His stripes we are healed" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
03 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "All we, like sheep, have gone astray" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
04 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
05 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "He trusted in God" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
06 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Thy rebuke hath broken His heart" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
07 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Behold, and see, if there be any sorrow" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
08 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "He was cut off out of the land of the living" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
09 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
10 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
11 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Unto which of the angels said He at any time" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
12 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Let all the angels of God worship Him" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
13 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Thou art gone up on high" (Alto) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
14 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "The Lord gave the word" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
15 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "How beautiful are the feet" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
16 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Their sound is gone out into all lands" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
17 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Why do the nations so furiously rage together" (Bass) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
18 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Let us break their bonds asunder" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
19 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "He that dwelleth in heaven" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
20 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron" (Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
21 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 2: "Hallelujah!" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
22 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "I know that my Redeemer liveth" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
23 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "Since by man came death" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
24 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "Behold, I tell you a mystery" (Bass) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
25 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "The trumpet shall sound" (Bass) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
26 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "Then shall be brought to pass the saying" (Alto) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
27 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "O death, where is thy sting?" (Alto, Tenor) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
28 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "But thanks be to God" (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
29 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Soprano) - Emmanuelle Haïm |
30 | Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Part 3: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" - Amen (Chorus) - Emmanuelle Haïm |