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(Handel Messiah - Sir Thomas Beecham (Rca)
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Christmas Eve. What a perfect time to listen to Handel’s Messiah. WNYC pulls out all the stops with this broadcast of Sir Thomas Beecham's classic 1959 recording. And just wait till you see who the performers are...
This is a Messiah from the late romantic British tradition, with a lush orchestration by Sir Eugene Goosens, a huge chorus, and some of the biggest operatic voices of the day: soprano Jennifer Vyvyan, mezzo Monica Sinclair, tenor Jon Vickers, bass Giorgio Tozzi, alto Catherine Robbin, and tenor Bruce Fowler. Handel himself couldn't have imagined the grandeur of his masterpiece in this performance. Would he have approved? It's impossible to say, but the results are certainly impressive.
But first, just to warm us up, some traditional and not so traditional Christmas music, from “I Wonder as I Wander” to Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Turn out all the lights but those on your tree, and perhaps a candle or two, and settle back for an evening a great Christmas music.
This is a Messiah from the late romantic British tradition, with a lush orchestration by Sir Eugene Goosens, a huge chorus, and some of the biggest operatic voices of the day: soprano Jennifer Vyvyan, mezzo Monica Sinclair, tenor Jon Vickers, bass Giorgio Tozzi, alto Catherine Robbin, and tenor Bruce Fowler. Handel himself couldn't have imagined the grandeur of his masterpiece in this performance. Would he have approved? It's impossible to say, but the results are certainly impressive.
But first, just to warm us up, some traditional and not so traditional Christmas music, from “I Wonder as I Wander” to Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Turn out all the lights but those on your tree, and perhaps a candle or two, and settle back for an evening a great Christmas music.
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