Composer: George Frideric Handel
Performer: Allan Clayton, Andrew Foster-Williams, Iestyn Davies, Julia Doyle, Polyphony
Orchestra: Britten Sinfonia
Conductor: Stephen Layton
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA67800
Release: 2009
Size: 615 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Messiah
CD 01
01. No. 1. Symphony
02. No. 2, Recit. Comfort Ye, My People (Tenor)
03. No. 3, Aria. Every Valley Shall Be Exalted (Tenor)
04. No. 4, Chorus. And the Glory of the Lord Shall Be Revealed
05. No. 5, Recit. Thus Saith the Lord of Hosts (Bass)
06. No. 6, Aria. But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming? (Alto/Bass)
07. No. 7, Chorus. And He Shall Purify the Sons of Levi
08. No. 8, Recit. Behold, a Virgin Shall Conceive, and Bear a Son (Alto)
09. No. 9, Aria with Chorus. O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion (Alto)
10. No. 10, Recit. For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth (Bass)
11. No. 11, Aria. The People That Walked in Darkness Have Seen a Great Light (Bass)
12. No. 12, Chorus. For Unto Us a Child Is Born
13. No. 13. Pifa “Pastoral Symphony”
14. No. 14, Recit. There Were Shepherds, Abiding in the Field (Soprano)
15. No. 15, Recit. And the Angel Said Unto Them, Fear Not (Soprano)
16. No. 16, Recit. And Suddenly There Was With the Angel a Multitude (Soprano)
17. No. 17, Chorus. Glory to God in the Highest
18. No. 18, Aria. Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion (Soprano)
19. No. 19, Recit. Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind Be Opened (Alto)
20. No. 20, Aria. He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd (Alto/Soprano)
21. No. 21, Chorus. His Yoke Is Easy and His Burthen Is Light
22. No. 22, Chorus. Behold the Lamb of God
23. No. 23, Aria. He Was Despised and Rejected of Men (Alto)
CD 02
01. No. 24, Chorus. Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs
02. No. 25, Chorus. And with His Stripes We Are Healed
03. No. 26, Chorus. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray
04. No. 27, Recit. All They That See Him Laugh Him to Scorn (Tenor)
05. No. 28, Chorus. He Trusted in God That He Would Deliver Him
06. No. 29, Recit. Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart (Soprano/Tenor)
07. No. 30, Aria. Behold and See If There Be Any Sorrow Like Unto His Sorrow (Soprano/Tenor)
08. No. 31, Recit. He Was Cut Off Out of the Land of the Living (Soprano/Tenor)
09. No. 32, Aria. But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul in Hell (Soprano/Tenor)
10. No. 33, Chorus. Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates
11. No. 34, Recit. Unto Which of the Angels Said He at Any Time? (Tenor)
12. No. 35, Chorus. Let All the Angels of God Worship Him
13. No. 36, Aria. Thou Art Gone Up on High (Alto/Bass)
14. No. 37, Chorus. The Lord Gave the Word
15. No. 38, Aria. How Beautiful Are the Feet of Them That Preach (Soprano)
16. No. 39, Chorus. Their Sound Is Gone Out into All Lands
17. No. 40, Aria. Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage Together? (Bass)
18. No. 41, Chorus. Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder
19. No. 42, Recit. He That Dwelleth in Heaven Shall Laugh Them to Scorn (Tenor)
20. No. 43, Aria. Thou Shalt Break Them with a Rod of Iron (Tenor)
21. No. 44, Chorus. Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth
22. No. 45, Aria. I Know That My Redeemer Liveth (Soprano)
23. No. 46, Chorus. Since By Man Came Death
24. No. 47, Recit. Behold, I Tell You a Mystery (Bass)
25. No. 48, Aria. The Trumpet Shall Sound (Bass)
26. No. 49, Recit. Then Shall Be Brought to Pass (Alto)
27. No. 50, Aria. O Death, Where Is Thy Sting? (Alto/Tenor)
28. No. 51, Chorus. But Thanks Be to God Who Giveth Us the Victory
29. No. 52, Aria. If God Be For Us, Who Can Be Against Us? (Soprano)
30. No. 53a, Chorus. Worthy Is the Lamb That Was Slain
31. No. 53b, Chorus. Amen
‘No-one, but no-one performs Messiah better every year than the choir Polyphony under the conductor Stephen Layton’ (Evening Standard)
Polyphony and Stephen Layton’s live Messiah at St John’s Smith Square has become one of the highlights of the musical season. The joyful sincerity and urgent brilliance of the performers has brought the familiar story to life again and again. Now this wonderful experience is available on disc, recorded in 2008 for a new release that will surely prove a strong competitor in a necessarily crowded market. Polyphony is joined by the Britten Sinfonia and a quartet of magnificent young soloists – all variously acclaimed as the premier Handel singers of the new generation.