Of all the hundreds, maybe thousands of versions of
Handel's Messiah on the market, ranging from full symphonic treatments with big professional choirs to sober, earnest oratorio-society readings, to the various kinds of authentic-performance recordings, this 1959 performance by the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and
Huddersfield Choral Society under
Malcolm Sargent is notable for representing one extreme of the spectrum. This is Handelian gigantism at its most determined. You live in Liverpool and want to sing in a big choir? Come on in; there's always room for one more. You want trombones, clarinets in the score? Fine, write 'em in. You're dismayed that these days the sun does indeed set on the British Empire? No need to worry; here's enough pomp and circumstance to last you another 50 years. The chief value of this disc is historical, and the sampler version may be preferable for listeners who don't want to sit through three discs' worth of choruses like "For unto us a child is born," which can only be called lumbering in this reading. But it's also worth noting that the soloists, especially tenor
Richard Lewis, are actually very elegant;
Sargent, in his zeal to create large contrasts, pretty much leaves the soloists alone to do their thing (except for some unfortunate swirling woodwinds from time to time). If your approach to
Handel can be summed up with the phrase "Supersize me," this may be for you, and even for others it's a diverting reminder of how the early twentieth century heard Messiah when it was one of just a few Baroque works in the repertory of concert music.