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RECORDINGS |
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| LABEL: |
ONDA |
| CATALOG NUMBER: |
N/A |
| UPC NUMBER: |
0630971000015 |
| NUMBER OF DISCS: |
2 |
| RUNNING
TIME: |
UNKNOWN |
| YEAR RECORDED: |
1995 |
| CD RELEASE DATE: |
OCTOBER 15, 1996 |
| CONDUCTOR: |
JEANNETTE SORRELL |
| ORCHESTRA: |
THE CLEVELAND BAROQUE
ORCHESTRA |
| CHOIR: |
APOLLO'S SINGERS |
| SOPRANO: |
JULIANNE BAIRD,
CHRISTINE BRANDES |
| COUNTERTENOR: |
STEVEN RICKARDS |
| TENOR: |
QUENTIN QUEREAU |
| BASS: |
DEAN ELY, MICHAEL
MCMURRAY |
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DISC ONE
1. Sinfony
2. Comfort ye my people
3. Every valley shall be exalted
4. And the glory of the Lord
5. Thus saith the Lord
6. But who may abide
7. And He shall purify
8. Behold, a virgin
9. Othou that tellest
10. For behold, darkness
11. The people that walked
12. For unto us a child is born
13. Pifa
14. There were shepherds
15. Glory to God
16. Rejoice greatly
17. Then shall the eyes
18. He shall feed his flock
19. His yoke is easy
20. Behold the Lamb of God
21. He was despised
22. Surely He hath borne our grief
23. And with His stripes we are healed
24. All we like sheep have gone astray
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DISC
TWO
1. All they that see Him
2. He trusted in God
3. Thou art gone up on high
4. The Lord gave the word
5. How beautiful are the feet
6. Why do nations rage so furiously?
7. Let us break their bonds asunder
8. He that dwelleth in heaven
9. Thou shalt break them
10. Hallelujah
11. I know my Redeemer liveth
12. Since by man came death
13. Behold, I tell you a mystery
14. The trumpet shall sound
15. Then shall be brought to pass
16. O death, where is thy sting?
17. But thanks to God
18. If God be for us
19. Worthy is the Lamb
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SITE RATING: 6/10
SITE REVIEW:
A good "regional" recording of Messiah, most
surprising to me was the knowledge that Cleveland boasts a Baroque
orchestra, Apollo's
Fire,
who regularly record and perform. This recording suffers from
the
ailment of most recordings of this type: taken from live performances,
it suffers most from the omnipresent live atmosphere - there is
definite
distance between the choir and orchestra, and noticable audience noise
present. The other distraction is harder to quantify, other
than
to say that despite the group being very good for their city, and
perhaps their region, on a larger scale this recording simply doesn't
stand up well against other, starrier Messiahs.
The soloists, orchestra, choir, and director all have
limitations in talent which are amplified when compared to Messiahs
with greater firepower. The conductor, Jeannette Sorrell, is
boasted as being an early-music expert, but her reading seems strangly
idiosyncratic, with more florid, languid moments and heavy strokes
instead of the light, quick apporach I'd expect from a period
instrument performance. The soloists are
varied in their abilities, with basses Dean Ely and Michael McMurray
boasting impressive resonances, while counter-tenor Steven Rickards has
an odd, ghostly tone which I found distracting, and not entirely
pleasant. Also important to note is the severe cuts which
Sorrell
made in the oratorio's second part, leaving this recording wanting for
those desiring to hear the compete work. An intriguing, but
not
wholly satisfying performance.
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