Customer Reviews

Handel's Messiah

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was younger, I used to go to the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir's performances of Messiah at Roy Thomson Hall, accompanied by the Toronto Symphony. I loved it for the sheer power of numbers and the force that so many voices and instruments can exude. It sent shivers up my spine. But now that I'm older and wiser, it's quality that sends the shivers going up my spine and Tafelmusik is my favourite. Although their home venue of Trinity-St.Paul's Church has excellent acoustics, Koerner Hall where this was recorded is pitch-perfect and it is one of the best venues in the GTA for a classical recording such as this. Ivars Taurins is an old master at coaxing the best out of his charges, many of whom have been with the choir and/or the orchestra for as long as he has, which last season celebrated 30 years of music making together. And with that much history and experience behind them, they get it right. I've heard each of the soloists perform this piece before, but not with each other. I found it most satisfying how they complement and balance each other in a way I've not experienced before. If you've had the pleasure of attending one of their performances, you'll want this CD to re-ignite the passion of the Christmas story that you remembered feeling at that concert you attended, however long ago. And if you give tickets to a concert this Christmas, this CD would be the perfect companion piece to round out their experience. If you can't get to one of their performances, putting on a pair of head phones with this CD in the player is sure to send shivers up your spine, especially during the Halleluja Chorus. The Tafelmusik Messiah is one Christmas tradition that I'm grateful to have started and will forever continue.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir’s LIVE recording of Handel’s Messiah is a great double CD set for the holiday collection. Soprano, Karina Gauvin; Countertenor, Robin Blaze; Tenor, Rufus Müller and Baritone, Brett Polegato create a dazzling group of soloists that vocally balance each other very well. The Choir, Orchestra and Soloist create an amazing rendition of this classic work.

Received it as gift and really enjoying the quality of the recording as well as the music. I love the grandeur and the intimacy of the work.

It has become a wonderful seasonal tradition in December to attend a Handel's Messiah concert performed by the Tafelmusk Baroque Orchestra and the Tafelmusik choir in Toronto. The amazing orchestral and choral quality is uniquely enriched by the wonderful soloists invited to perform each year. This particular recording is graced with the exquisite Canadian soprano, Karina Gauvin, and tenor, Rufus Müller as well as Robin Blaze, countertenor and Brett Polegato, baritone.

It used to be such a long piece of music for me... now it feels like it is never long enough to fully enjoy every nuance of this great piece of music. Thank you again Tafelmusik for a great treat! Now I can listen to it in the comfort of my home during a dreary and cold winter night whenever I wish.

New release - Handel's Messiah - Hurray and Halleluia - Wow! A dark rainy day where I am today, but the "sun" is shining in my home as this new CD pours forth its glorious music. Thank you Tafelmusik once again for keeping the "sunshine" in my life.

After hearing this on CBC a few weeksago I'm delighted to have received it before Advent is over. Much as I love the performance of my newest Messiah, I'm disappointed to find only Disc 1 has ID3 tags for the tracks, leaving me having to type in 28 details for these on the second disc before adding the music to my library. (Otherwise the second disc would get lost in all the other Tracks 01, 02, 03, etc.) Not the end of the world, but maybe someone should fix this before burning more discs for distribution. The only information I'm really missing are the performers of some of the movements as this information isn't in the enclosed booklet. So I'm afraid this is rated 4 stars instead of the 5 I really wanted to use.

This is a very good recording of the Messiah. The choir, orchestra and soloists are all very good especially the counter-tenor.