Hallelujah

Handel's oratorio Messiah has tended to become linked inextricably with Christmas in the UK but in fact only part of the work concerns the Nativity and there isn't any real reason why it can not be performed at any time of the year. When I first began to explore classical music, Messiah was a piece that I had a prejudice against because I bracketed it with some of Elgar's works as a kind of bastion of the British establishment and old fashioned early 20th century values. Certainly there are some hideous versions with massive choirs and full scale symphony orchestras but as I grew to love other Handel works, I began to re-evaluate Messiah and now realise what a great work it is, on a par with the other oratorios. This version on a double cd is a pared down period instrument recording with modest forces and it brings out the detail in the work very effectively and plays to my tastes in baroque performance. The players are Les Arts Florissants under William Christie and there is a fine cast of soloists with sopranos Barbara Schlick and Sandrine Piau, counter tenor Andreas Scholl, tenor Mark Padmore and bass Nathan Berg. It is also a beautifully presented release with in hardback format with extensive notes and lavish illustrations.