Sir John Barbirolli - Just in Time for ChristmasHandel: Messiah - Complete
GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL Messiah, HWV 56 Elisabeth Harwood Marjorie Thomas Gerald English Kim Borg Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus Hallé Orchestra SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, Conductor Recorded King's Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester, UK on 06 December 1964
As far as I know this performance has not yet made the internet rounds. I wonder how it can be that Barbirolli was never asked to record the work or that he never broadcast it with either the Hallé or one of the other other orchestras he frequently conducted. I suppose EMI had plenty of recordings of it in their catalog including the one with Otto Klemperer. Perhaps another English conductor who recorded for EMI had something to do with Barbirolli not getting this plum of an assignment? There was no love lost between the two. "He's a dirtier dog than I thought he was," Barbirolli was heard to say when he found out some of his colleague's backstage machinations.
This performance is a fine one, with of all Barbirolli's trademark characteristics, generous tempi, lovingly sculpted phrasing and a real feeling of gemütlichkeit. The soloists are all first-rate. Elisabeth Harwood was one of the first, if not the first English soprano to be invited by Karajan to sing at the Salzburg Festival. She sang at Covent Garden, the MET, the Scottish Opera and appeared on a number of Gilbert & Sullivan recordings. Sadly she passed away at the age of only 52. Marjorie Thomas, however, lived to be 82 and Mahlerian visitors to the blog will recognize her as the alto soloist in Rafael Kubelik's recording of the Third Symphony (Audite). She was a favorite of Malcolm Sargent and sang in many of his recordings including the EMI Gilbert & Suillivan series with Harwood. Gerald English may be the most versatile of tenors, singing everything from Monteverdi and Telemann to Henze and Ligeti and appearing with performing groups such as the Deller Consort and the Tasmanian Symphony. Kim Borg is well-known as a bass soloist, appearing on many, many famous choral recordings but he also was a composer, studying with Leo Funtek whose orchestration of PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION has gained popularity as the "other" version of the work.
Indeed the only problem with this recording is the sound itself. King's Hall at the Belle Vue entertainment arena was an enormous venue, seating about 7,000 people. The sound, as one might expect, is distant and reverberant but careful restoration work by the Gnome has made it rather listenable. It is far from the worst tape you will ever hear and unless another performance of the complete Messiah is found, this is all we have. Barbirollians will be happy.
And a Merry Christmas from the Gnome and I.
Progress Hornsby Gnome N. Clature
As far as I know this performance has not yet made the internet rounds. I wonder how it can be that Barbirolli was never asked to record the work or that he never broadcast it with either the Hallé or one of the other other orchestras he frequently conducted. I suppose EMI had plenty of recordings of it in their catalog including the one with Otto Klemperer. Perhaps another English conductor who recorded for EMI had something to do with Barbirolli not getting this plum of an assignment? There was no love lost between the two. "He's a dirtier dog than I thought he was," Barbirolli was heard to say when he found out some of his colleague's backstage machinations.
This performance is a fine one, with of all Barbirolli's trademark characteristics, generous tempi, lovingly sculpted phrasing and a real feeling of gemütlichkeit. The soloists are all first-rate. Elisabeth Harwood was one of the first, if not the first English soprano to be invited by Karajan to sing at the Salzburg Festival. She sang at Covent Garden, the MET, the Scottish Opera and appeared on a number of Gilbert & Sullivan recordings. Sadly she passed away at the age of only 52. Marjorie Thomas, however, lived to be 82 and Mahlerian visitors to the blog will recognize her as the alto soloist in Rafael Kubelik's recording of the Third Symphony (Audite). She was a favorite of Malcolm Sargent and sang in many of his recordings including the EMI Gilbert & Suillivan series with Harwood. Gerald English may be the most versatile of tenors, singing everything from Monteverdi and Telemann to Henze and Ligeti and appearing with performing groups such as the Deller Consort and the Tasmanian Symphony. Kim Borg is well-known as a bass soloist, appearing on many, many famous choral recordings but he also was a composer, studying with Leo Funtek whose orchestration of PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION has gained popularity as the "other" version of the work.
Indeed the only problem with this recording is the sound itself. King's Hall at the Belle Vue entertainment arena was an enormous venue, seating about 7,000 people. The sound, as one might expect, is distant and reverberant but careful restoration work by the Gnome has made it rather listenable. It is far from the worst tape you will ever hear and unless another performance of the complete Messiah is found, this is all we have. Barbirollians will be happy.
And a Merry Christmas from the Gnome and I.
Progress Hornsby Gnome N. Clature
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