Editing Messiah (Handel) (section)

==Recordings==
Many early recordings of individual choruses and arias from ''Messiah'' reflect the performance styles then fashionable—large forces, slow tempi and liberal reorchestration. Typical examples are choruses conducted by [[Henry Wood|Sir Henry Wood]], recorded in 1926 for [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]] with the 3,500-strong choir and orchestra of the Crystal Palace Handel Festival, and a contemporary rival disc from [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] (HMV) featuring the Royal Choral Society under Sargent, recorded at the [[Royal Albert Hall]].<ref>{{cite magazine|authorlink= Herman Klein|last= Klein|first= Herman|url= http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|title= Messiah|magazine= The Gramophone|date= August 1926|page= 39|url-access= subscription|access-date= 23 February 2013|archive-date= 29 January 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130129082659/http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|url-status= live}}</ref>

The first near-complete recording of the whole work (with the cuts then customary){{refn|The numbers customarily omitted were: from Part II, "Unto which of the angels"; "Let all the angels of God worship Him"; and "Thou art gone up on high"; and from Part III, "Then shall be brought to pass"; "O death, where is thy sting?", "But thanks be to God"; and "If God be for us".<ref name=rg/>|group= n}} was conducted by Beecham in 1928. It represented an effort by Beecham to "provide an interpretation which, in his opinion, was nearer the composer's intentions", with smaller forces and faster tempi than had become traditional.<ref name="klein"/> His contralto soloist, [[Muriel Brunskill]], later commented, "His tempi, which are now taken for granted, were revolutionary; he entirely revitalised it".<ref name=blyth>{{cite magazine|last= Blyth|first= Alan|url= http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|title= Handel's Messiah – Music from Heaven|magazine= Gramophone|date= December 2003|pages= 52–60|url-access= subscription|access-date= 23 February 2013|archive-date= 29 January 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130129082659/http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|url-status= live}}</ref> Nevertheless, Sargent retained the large-scale tradition in his four HMV recordings, the first in 1946 and three more in the 1950s and 1960s, all with the Huddersfield Choral Society and the [[Royal Liverpool Philharmonic|Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra]].<ref name=blyth/> Beecham's second recording of the work, in 1947, "led the way towards more truly Handelian rhythms and speeds", according to the critic [[Alan Blyth]].<ref name=blyth/> In a 1991 study of all 76 complete ''Messiahs'' recorded by that date, the writer Teri Noel Towe called this version of Beecham's "one of a handful of truly stellar performances".<ref name=blyth/>

In 1954 the first recording based on Handel's original scoring was conducted by [[Hermann Scherchen]] for [[Nixa Records|Nixa]],{{refn|1=This recording was monophonic and issued on commercial CD by PRT in 1986; Scherchen re-recorded Messiah in stereo in 1959 using Vienna forces; this was issued on LP by Westminster and on commercial CD by Deutsche Grammophon in 2001. Both recordings have appeared on other labels in both LP and CD formats. A copyright-free transfer of the 1954 version (digitized from original vinyl discs by Nixa Records) is available on YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhb3s4E8-CA part 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfQnICqY3j4 part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M48k_QBXKeU part 3].|group= n}} quickly followed by a version, judged scholarly at the time, under Sir Adrian Boult for [[Decca Records|Decca]].<ref name=rg/> By the standards of 21st-century performance, however, Scherchen's and Boult's tempi were still slow, and there was no attempt at vocal ornamentation by the soloists.<ref name=rg>Porter, Andrew, in Sackville West, pp. 337–45</ref> In 1966 and 1967 two new recordings were regarded as great advances in scholarship and performance practice, conducted respectively by [[Colin Davis]] for [[Philips Records|Philips]] and [[Charles Mackerras]] for [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]]. They inaugurated a new tradition of brisk, small-scale performances, with vocal embellishments by the solo singers.{{refn|The Davis set uses a chorus of 40 singers and an orchestra of 39 players;<ref>{{cite magazine|authorlink= Stanley Sadie|last= Sadie|first= Stanley|url= http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|title= Handel – Messiah|magazine= The Gramophone|date= November 1966|url-access= subscription|page= 77|access-date= 23 February 2013|archive-date= 29 January 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130129082659/http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|url-status= live}}</ref> the Mackerras set uses similarly sized forces, but with fewer strings and more wind players.<ref>{{cite magazine|last= Fiske|first= Roger|title= Handel – ''Messiah''|magazine=[[Gramophone (magazine)|The Gramophone]]|date= March 1967|page=66|ref=none}}</ref>|group=n|ref=none}} A 1967 performance of Messiah by the [[Ambrosian Singers]] conducted by [[John McCarthy (conductor)|John McCarthy]] accompanying the [[English Chamber Orchestra]] conducted by [[Charles Mackerras]] was nominated for a [[Grammy Awards|Grammy Award]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Grammy Awards 1968 |url=http://www.awardsandshows.com/features/grammy-awards-1968-218.html |website=Awards and Shows |access-date=6 December 2022}}</ref> Among recordings of older-style performances are Beecham's 1959 recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with orchestration commissioned from [[Eugene Aynsley Goossens|Sir Eugene Goossens]] and completed by the English composer [[Leonard Salzedo]],<ref name=blyth/> [[Karl Richter (conductor)|Karl Richter]]'s 1973 version for [[Deutsche Grammophon]],<ref>{{cite magazine|last= Fiske|first= Roger|title= Handel – ''Messiah''|magazine=[[Gramophone (magazine)|The Gramophone]]|date= November 1973|page=125}}</ref> and [[David Willcocks]]'s 1995 performance based on Prout's 1902 edition of the score, with a 325-voice choir and 90-piece orchestra.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title= George Frideric Handel's Messiah|author=unknown|others= David Willcocks, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, NightPro Orchestra|year= 1995|type= Liner notes|publisher= NightPro|id= NP1001|location= Provo, Utah|url= https://www.discogs.com/David-Willcocks-Mormon-Tabernacle-Choir-NightPro-Orchestra-George-Frideric-Handels-Messiah/release/7245176|access-date= 18 May 2016|archive-date= 11 September 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160911033907/https://www.discogs.com/David-Willcocks-Mormon-Tabernacle-Choir-NightPro-Orchestra-George-Frideric-Handels-Messiah/release/7245176|url-status= live}}{{failed verification|date=January 2025|reason=No liner notes at this URL, so it's an unsuitable citation for the version and forces of this recording.}}</ref>

By the end of the 1970s the quest for authenticity had extended to the use of period instruments and historically correct styles of playing them. The first of such versions were conducted by the early music specialists [[Christopher Hogwood]] (1979) and [[John Eliot Gardiner]] (1982).<ref>{{cite magazine|last1= Vickers|first1= David|last2= Kemp|first2= Lindsay|title= Classics revisited – Christopher Hogwood's recording of Handel's Messiah|url= http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/classics-revisited-christopher-hogwood-recording-of-handel-messiah|magazine=[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]|date= 10 April 2016|access-date= 18 May 2016|archive-date= 16 August 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160816023346/http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/classics-revisited-christopher-hogwood-recording-of-handel-messiah|url-status= live}}</ref> The use of period instruments quickly became the norm on record, although some conductors, among them [[Georg Solti|Sir Georg Solti]] (1985) and Sir Andrew Davis (1989) continued to favour modern instruments. ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' magazine and ''[[The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music]]'' highlighted two versions, conducted respectively by [[Trevor Pinnock]] (1988) and [[Richard Hickox]] (1992). The latter employs a chorus of 24 singers and an orchestra of 31 players; Handel is known to have used a chorus of 19 and an orchestra of 37.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title= George Frideric Handel: Messiah|author=Clifford Bartlett|others= Richard Hickox, Collegium Music 90|year= 1992|type= Notes|publisher= Chandos|id=[https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%200522 0522(2)]|location= Colchester, Essex|url= http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%200522.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120321204204/http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%200522.pdf|archive-date= 21 March 2012}}</ref> Performances on an even smaller scale have followed.{{refn|A 1997 recording under Harry Christophers employed a chorus of 19 and an orchestra of 20.<ref>Heighes, Simon. [http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDD22019 Notes to Hyperion CD CDD 22019] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021141727/http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDD22019 |date=21 October 2012 }} (1997)</ref> In 1993, the Scholars Baroque Ensemble released a version with 14 singers including soloists.<ref>{{cite magazine|last= Finch|first= Hilary|url= http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|title= Handel – Messiah|magazine= The Gramophone|date= April 1993|page= 109|url-access= subscription|access-date= 23 February 2013|archive-date= 29 January 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130129082659/http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/gramophone-launches-new-digital-archive-app|url-status= live}}</ref>|group= n}}

Several reconstructions of early performances have been recorded: the 1742 Dublin version by Scherchen in 1954, and again in 1959, and by [[Jean-Claude Malgoire]] in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Messiah-arranged-Georg-Friederich/dp/B000025U9K/ref=sr_1_20?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1309652325&sr=1-20|title= Handel: Messiah (arranged by Mozart)|publisher= Amazon|access-date= 3 July 2011|archive-date= 3 July 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200703055353/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Messiah-arranged-Georg-Friederich/dp/B000025U9K/ref=sr_1_20?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1309652325&sr=1-20|url-status= live}}</ref> In 1976, the London version of 1743 was recorded by [[Neville Marriner]] for Decca. It featured different music, alternative versions of numbers and different orchestration. There are several recordings of the 1754 Foundling Hospital version, including those under Hogwood (1979), [[Andrew Parrott]] (1989), and Paul McCreesh.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.amazon.com/Handel-Messiah-R%C3%B6schmann-Gritton-McCreesh/dp/B000001GYW|title= Handel: Messiah. Röschmann, Gritton, Fink, C. Daniels, N. Davies; McCreesh|publisher= Amazon|access-date= 3 July 2011|archive-date= 3 December 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101203162014/http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Messiah-R%C3%B6schmann-Gritton-McCreesh/dp/B000001GYW|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name= Presto>{{cite web|url= http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/57653/George-Frederic-Handel-Messiah|title= Handel: Messiah. All recordings|publisher= Presto Classical|access-date= 3 July 2011|archive-date= 13 January 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110113043323/http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/57653/George-Frederic-Handel-Messiah|url-status= live}}</ref> In 1973 David Willcocks conducted a set for [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] in which all the soprano arias were sung in unison by the boys of the [[Choir of King's College, Cambridge]],<ref>{{cite magazine|last= Fiske|first= Roger|title= Handel – ''Messiah''|magazine=[[Gramophone (magazine)|The Gramophone]]|date= June 1973|page=84|ref=none}}</ref> and in 1974, for Deutsche Grammophon, Mackerras conducted a set of Mozart's reorchestrated version, sung in German.<ref name=blyth/>