When I finally heard the Gardiner recording I wept from the clarity, power and spirituality that grabbed my heart anew. This is now my definitive Messiah recording. The reviewer who thought Gardiner was eccentric, possibly is in love with his older, slower, bigger, grander Messiahs. I cannot say those recordings are terrible for they taught me to love Handel. I just believe that Gardiner really got it right (the way Handel wanted it). I personally find Hogwood tedious and wooden.

Period performance usually does take some time to get accustomed to. Don't start with the Messiah as your first period performance recording. Begin with some other Handel oratorios (Judas Maccabeas, Occaisional Oratorio), Bach cantatas, or baroque operas to get used to the sound and the style. Then go back to Messiah once you ear is used to the period style/sound.

I recommend the Gardiner version above all other period performances, though there are other great ones. Gardiner's phrasing, shading, dynamics, balance and tempos hit the mark for me. Gardiner's Messiah lives every time I listen to it.

(P.S. The "eccentric" reviewer's comment about boy sopranos is not likely true, Handel did use female (choral) sopranos, at least with some frequency; and his soprano soloists were probably always women.)


Clarity of line and transparency of sound with a likving purpose to every note   July 6, 2002
Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This recording of this wonderful work has many virtues. It is a small ensemble with skilled singers and a very gifted conductor. Remember this is contrapuntal music with many simultaneous lines - not just a melody with harmony.

Gardiner lets us hear everything and it is wonderful. He also makes everything we here a choice. It is all on purpose. That doesn't mean deliberate or frozen. Heavens no! This piece is alive and every note is going somewhere for a reason. There are surprising interpretations as well. Sharp stacattos, dramatic pauses, strong contrasts. If we take just "Worthy is the Lamb" and the final "Amen" fugue as a case, we note that he comes in strong on the first statement of "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!". But on the second repeat, it is more of a marvellous contemplation. And the Amen begins very soft as if the chorus is part of the beatific vision and builds. After the first orchestral interlude the chorus comes in strong, but the tempo never picks up. It is rather slow throughout. That allows for a more massive feeling as things seem to mount to the infinite. It may not be my personal preference, but I certainly admire and respect Gardiner for showing me another approach and convincing me of its power and worth.

While this version lets the music carry the drama rather than letting the singers emote as if this were a romantic era opera, there is plenty of emotion and range in this recording. The ornamentation is tastefully done and does add to the expessivenes of the work. "The Trumpet Shall Sound" sounds terrific. Sometimes the natural trumpet can be played out of tune, but Crispian Steele-Perkins nails it. The "Hallelujia Chorus" is actually sung rather than roared and that is nice change. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of energy and power, but it is full volume all the way through. And every word can be understood.

Just imagine if we had heard it this clearly from our childhood and we could have avoided all those misunderstanding of what was being sung!

This is a recording I am very happy to own and it is music making I am grateful to be able to hear again and again. This is wonderful stuff!


Messiah "Burn-Out" Sufferers - This is the cure   November 26, 2004
Randolph R. Wagner (Houston, Texas United States)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Having sung and played this piece since my elementary school years, I was on the verge of a major case of "Messiah burn-out". There are only so many mediocre and frankly horrible performances of this work one can stand before this insidious malady wrecks one's enjoyment of this over-exposed work of genius.

When I first heard Gardiner's recording in the late 80's, I was instantly cured and have weathered many more lousy performances since with no waning of my enthusiasm for this work (I can't say the same for Orff's Carmina Burana and Beethoven's 9th). I even shelled out the extra dollars for the unneccesary three CDs (it's nice to know it can now be purchased on a two CD version).

Quite frankly, the choral singing cannot be bettered. The excitement that Gardiner's forces convey with their clean, crisp and often breath-taking performance make this recording a first choice.

Since this recording was released, there have been a number of outstanding period performances that have been added to the catalog. They have much to offer too. I, for one, will always revert to this version, though, in homage to its role in restoring my enthusiasm for the piece.


One of The Best Overall Versions Available   May 19, 2000
Fred Chung (San Francisco, CA)
20 out of 24 found this review helpful

The Messiah is such a multifaceted ensemble work that I think it's almost impossible to find the "perfect" recording. I've found something I like and something I dislike in pretty much every version I've ever come across, and I've found that not even my favorite version (this one) can keep me interested all the time: sometimes I'm in the mood for the "period-instruments" approach, but sometimes I really have a hankering for the full-blooded Georg Solti chorus and modern orchestra.

Having said all that, this is a great recording! The pluses are many and the minuses are few. As with most period-instrument recordings, the tempos are quick and the orchestra sound is clear and bright -- everything moves along at a brisk pace. Unlike many other period-instrument recordings, however, it never sounds too light or insubstantial -- Gardiner strikes an amazingly ideal balance between freshness and grandeur. The virtuosity of the Monteverdi Choir is breathtaking -- they sing the fast parts real fast -- and the soloists are not only technically accomplished, but they also sing with real feeling, especially Margaret Marshall, who is outstanding in both "Rejoice Greatly" and "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth."

What are the minuses? Well, there are a few idiosyncratic tempo and dynamic decisions -- most notably, the "Hallelujah" chorus starts softly and then crescendos to the end. But these are far less irritating than the many, many idiosyncrasies that exist in other versions (such as in the grossly overrated McCreesh recording on the Archiv label). No, the biggest drawback about this version is the cost -- they could easily have fit all the music onto two CDs, as it takes up less than 140 minutes total, but instead they decided to spread it out over three full-priced CD's. Ouch.

Notwithstanding the high price, if you're only going to get one version of the Messiah, I agree with those folks who say that this is the one to get. If you're going to get a few versions, you might also want to try the mid-price Colin Davis version and/or the still-full-price(?) Solti. The one to avoid, as mentioned above, is the recent McCreesh recording, which inexplicably has received critical raves, even though the sound quality is not good (the chorus sounds like they're singing in a cave), the soloists are boring (except Dorothea Roschmann), and worst of all, there are many questionable decisions by McCreesh on tempos and dynamics.


Solid version with real choral dynamics   November 17, 2000
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

I think what distinguishes this fine interpretation of Messiah is that Gardiner gets more out of his chorus than on any other recorded version of this work.

On Hogwood's version, which to my ears is the best all-round version of Messiah, the choir is all male - boy sopranos and male altos. This creates a sound which on some pieces like the Hallelujah Chorus and Worthy Is The Lamb leaves you a little unsatisfied. The all male choir doesn't pack the whollop and punch some of the grander chorale pieces call for. Gardiner's Monteverdi Singers make use of all adult mixed choir, and you can really hear the difference on some of the numbers.

The soloists - especially the soprano - seem to be going through the motions - lacking the technical accuracy of Hogwood's soloists, while demonstrating nothing special or new in the way of interpretation. Their diction is perfect, singing clear - but when Marshall sings "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth," she sounds unconvincing. Don't get me wrong - they are still better than the soloists on many available versions - I just feel that Gardiner could have pulled better performances out of them. If one solo on this album had been done with half the inspiration of "Behold the Lamb of God" - this would be THE definitive version.

However, this set is worth the price just to hear a Hallelujah Chorus with tempo changes and dynamics. Gardiner's interpretative powers when handling the orchestra and choir are phenomenal. The strength of this recording is the orchestra and chorus. A joy to listen to.