Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56 Composed by George Frideric Handel David Evan Thomas, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Midori Suzuki, Soprano Yoshikazu Mera, countertenor Conducted by Masaaki Suzuki 1. Messiah: And without controversy 2. Messiah: Symphony 3. Messiah: Comfort ye my people 4. Messiah: Ev'ry valley shall be exalted 5. Messiah: And the glory of the lord shall be revealed 6. Messiah: Thus saith the Lord 7. Messiah: But who may abide the day of His coming 8. Messiah: And He shall purify the sons of Levi 9. Messiah: Behold, a virgin shall conceive 10. Messiah: O Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion 11. Messiah: For behold, darkness shall cover the earth 12. Messiah: The people that walked in darkness 13. Messiah: For unto us a child is born 14. Messiah: Pifa 15. Messiah: There were shepherds abiding 16. Messiah: And lo, the angel of the Lord 17. Messiah: And the angel said unto them 18. Messiah: And suddenly there was with the angel 19. Messiah: Glory to God in the highest 20. Messiah: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion 21. Messiah: Then shall the eyes of the blind be open'd 22. Messiah: He shall feed His flock 23. Messiah: His yoke is easy, His burthen is light 24. Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God 25. Messiah: He was despised and rejected of men Disc: 2 1. Messiah: Surely, He hath borne our griefs 2. Messiah: And with His stripes we are healed 3. Messiah: All we like sheep have gone astray 4. Messiah: All they that see Him laugh 5. Messiah: He trusted in God that He would deliver Him 6. Messiah: Thy rebuke hath broken His heart 7. Messiah: Behold, and see if there be any sorrow 8. Messiah: He was cut off out of the land 9. Messiah: But thou didst not leave His soul in Hell 10. Messiah: Lift up your heads, O ye gates 11. Messiah: Unto which of the angels said He 12. Messiah: Let all the angels of God worship him 13. Messiah: Thou art gone up on high 14. Messiah: The Lord gave the word 15. Messiah: How beautiful are the feet of Him 16. Messiah: Their sound is gone out 17. Messiah: Why do the nations so furiously rage together 18. Messiah: Let us break their bonds asunder 19. Messiah: He that dwelleth in heaven 20. Messiah: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron 21. Messiah: Hallelujah! 22. Messiah: I know that my Redeemer liveth 23. Messiah: Since by man came death 24. Messiah: Behold, I tell you a mystery 25. Messiah: The trumpet shall sound 26. Messiah: Then shall be brought to pass 27. Messiah: O Death, where is thy sting 28. Messiah: But thanks be to God 29. Messiah: If God be for ever 30. Messiah: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain Amazon.com The Bach Collegium Japan has proved itself in Bach cantatas, but Messiah is as sacred a musical cow as Anglo-Saxons have. Don't be skeptical, though: these Japanese musicians are the equal of any anglophone group. In fact, this performance's only serious weakness is its English soloists: tenor John Elwes and bass David Thomas are admirable artists who have seen better days. The Japanese soloists fare better: Midori Suzuki has an agile, youthful (sometimes fragile) soprano; countertenor Yoshikazu Mera's excellent coloratura and eloquent delivery compensate for any lack of vocal heft. Masaaki Suzuki's choir and orchestra perform with clarity, warmth, excellent English diction, and a sense of wonder not heard since Hogwood's 1980 recording. Messiah-manes may want to program their CD players to mix Suzuki's chorus with, say, Hogwood's or Christie's soloists. --Matthew Westphal August 14, 2002 Reviewer: A music fan from Sweden This is a very fine version of Handels Messiah (Covent Garden version). I mostly like Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan in major works like this, St Matthew and St John passions, Christmas Oratorium (you not find that Christamas Oratorium version seeking "Suzuki" and so on but you find it if you go for one of the singers... "Turk" instead and that disc is one of the best versions of Bachs Christmas Oratorium in my opinion -togheter with Koopmans and Gardiners) and I also like Suzukis version of Monteverdis Vespers. Sum up about THIS one is that is def. one of the best and safest choise for both newcombers and old experts looking for a GOOD PERIOD instrument version and this not sound so much period as McCreesh version does (McCreesh Messiah version is DEF. a bit "harder" but is in my opinion more special... a "brave" version -in a positive way). This version is whatsoever excellent so buy it with no hesitation. I dont want to be without McCreesh OR this Excellent Suzuki. This one also has a nice sound as you could expected from Swedish record label BIS and records engineered/performed in Japan. Reviewer: cdwitmer (see more about me) from Tachikawa, Tokyo Japan We're a "Messiah-singing family" and various versions of Handel's Messiah, including CDs and scores, are heavily used around our house. This is the recording we always come back to as our main reference standard. I haven't heard every single recording that gets good reviews, but I have heard a good half dozen of the most popular recent recordings as well as the standard recordings from the 1970s and 1960s, and this recording tops them all. It isn't a perfect recording by any means, however. For example, BCJ could easily top this recording today by using Robin Blaze in place of Yoshikazu Mera. It never ceases to amaze me that as of this writing Mr. Blaze still doesn't appear in a released recording of Messiah, despite having participated in more than 70 recordings of Renaissance and Baroque choral works to date. A few years ago I heard Mr. Blaze as the Alto soloist with Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, and boy did the sparks fly on Mr. Blaze's solos. Truly wonderful, like nothing I have heard from any Alto soloist previously. BCJ uses Mr. Blaze as a soloist extensively, but director Masaaki Suzuki has told me he has no plans to re-record this work even for release on DVD (which is how BCJ got its recording of Mr. Blaze singing in Bach's Johannes-Passion; Mr. Mera appears on the earlier CD issue). I consider Mr. Mera to be the weak link in this Messiah recording. It's interesting to me that other some reviewers raved about him, because his singing does not impress me all that much -- too lacking in heft. Having said that, I *still* prefer Mr. Mera to many female voices that I have heard singing the Alto solos. The Amazon reviewer was not thrilled with Mssrs. Elwes and Thomas but I have no complaints. Have their voices seen better days? Yes, it must be admitted. But they delivered wonderful performances nevertheless. And contrary to what one reviewer said, Mr. Elwes does *not* have "some truly bizarre pronunciation issues." Among the soloists, it is Soprano Midori Suzuki (wife of cellist Hidemi Suzuki) who really shines. I can see where someone might characterize her voice as "sometimes fragile"; however, I don't know if I would go that far. I think her renditions of the Soprano arias are the best I have ever heard. If I had to subtract any points from her performance, perhaps it might be in her recitatives; for those I tend to prefer The Sixteen's soloist Lynda Russell. As for the chorus, well, I don't think anybody can touch them, even The Sixteen or other top choirs. Even here I don't want to give a perfect score; there are places where I think some nuances of Handel's meaning have not been adequately brought out through the choir's singing technique, but I think that is because of an interpretative decision on Masaaki Suzuki's part, rather than because the chorus couldn't deliver. This is a chorus that delivers exactly what is asked of it. The same is true of the instrumental performers. So, to reiterate: definitely not perfect, but certainly one of the best if not the absolute best Messiah to date, and worth all five of the stars I gave it. July 6, 2002 Reviewer: akom48 (see more about me) from Rochester, NY USA I have always loved "The Messiah" and this recording is pure joy. What makes this recording special is the voice of Yoshikazu Mera. I have read many reviews that say this recording is good but it isn't "the one" to have. I just don't agree with that. Of all the versions of "The Messiah" I have heard, this one is my favorite. It ha...
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