VA - Handel: Messiah (2025)

Not to be confused with Stephen Cleobury's EMI recording of George Frederick Handel's Messiah, which was released to critical praise in 2009, this live presentation dates from 1994; though both feature the excellent Choir of King's College, Cambridge, this rendition is accompanied by the Brandenburg Consort, while the later performance is played by the Academy of Ancient Music. With two excellent interpretations to choose from, the listener may feel a bit perplexed, but Cleobury's scholarship and dedication to historical and musical accuracy makes choosing one or the other less worrisome. As a consistent conductor who has a fine reputation for always putting the music first, Cleobury doesn't create wide variances between his performances: though the performers' choices in ornamentation, the realization of the continuo part, and the quality of instrumental sonorities differ in specific details, the performances are broadly similar through Cleobury's clear-headed understanding of Baroque practice and his musicians' extraordinary skills. The choir of men and boys is pure in tone and light in texture, and the Brandenburg Consort is rhythmically crisp and resplendent in timbre. The vocal soloists are natural in their declamation and improvised flourishes, and the air of British reserve that some might criticize for its restrained emotions actually holds everyone together and prevents any one singer from sticking out. Probably the only factor that might make one choose the later recording over this one is the less-focused sound, which puts the performers at a slight distance in an overly resonant acoustic. But this by no means ruins the listening experience, and if the 2009 set is unavailable, this is certainly an acceptable and enjoyable substitute.