This recording by Klemper is one of the two best recordings of Messiah that have ever been done ... in my view. The timing is reverent, not hurried like many of the more recent renditions ... and, for me, evokes the passion and feeling Handel must have felt as he wrote this composition. The soloists and chorus are at their best, again singing with feeling and reverence.

Oh yes, the other recording? Sir Malcom Sargent's rendition with the Huddrersfield Choral Society and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, done for Angel Records in the late '50s or early '60s.

I have both of these recordings on LP. Would I ever love to have them on CD!

I recently bought and viewed the DVD version of this 1969 film of the events of the summer of 1940 when Great Britain had its back to the wall. The film very effectively recreates the various elements facing Britain: scarcity of pilots; outnumbered aircraft; and the constant daily effort to confront the full force of the Luftwaffe in its attempt to defeat the RAF as a prelude to the invasion of England. The sub-plots involving RAF pilot Christopher Plummer and his WAF wife (Susannah York), and the brief depiction of RAF pilot Ian McShane's family and their death in the Blitz only add to the portrayal of the intensity of the event on both the civilian and military population. A valuable addition to any WWII film library.

One minor quibble: the quote from Churchill at the end of the DVD edition was changed from that shown at the end of the video edition. The DVD quote "This is not the beginning of the end ... " was spoken by Churchill following the British victory at El Alamein, whereas his famous reference to the RAF, following the end of the Battle of Britain (and shown on the VHS version) was, of course, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

Without a doubt, "Band of Brothers" was a first-class production all the way. I first saw it compliments of a friend who taped it from the HBO telecast and I watched it over three evenings. It was one of the most moving and riviting experiences I have ever had from a television production ... one that truely portrayed the "sharp end" of war, and its effects on the individuals involved. Full marks to the production crew and cast. This is one series I can highly recommend to anyone with even the slightest interest in the events of World War II.