What are you listening to?

[Jared]

There are too many of them at the expense of some neglected Handel works - the point Jared was making I think...
I am by no means a lover of Handel, but, even so, I have 3 Messiah's (C. Davis/Pinnock/McCreesh)

Christophers, Pinnock & McCreesh for me...

it is interesting Darren how over the course of time, our tastes within the classical sphere are to a certain extent, diverging in different directions...

[Jared]

Church musician confession: I've never been to hear a performance of the Messiah and I don't own it on CD.

call me naive if you like, but I do find that surprising coming from a lover of Purcell's music...

[bombasticDarren]

Bruckner - Symphony No.7 (Simon Rattle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, EMI)

[Diapason]

Church musician confession: I've never been to hear a performance of the Messiah and I don't own it on CD.

call me naive if you like, but I do find that surprising coming from a lover of Purcell's music...

I like a lot of Handel, but some I find a bit 'obvious' if that makes sense. Still, my main issue with Messiah is its ubiquity, and I also get a kick out of shocking my fellow church musicians with the revelation!

[Diapason]

This is just superb:

[fergus]

Church musician confession: I've never been to hear a performance of the Messiah and I don't own it on CD.

I am sure that you are aware that Monkstown do a "Messiah For All" every year....you could go along to that one year and let rip!!!

[fergus]

A Schumann evening starting with the wonderfully lyrical Piano Concerto....





....followed by....





....and a very pleasant time was had!

[bombasticDarren]

R. Strauss - Don Quixote (Paul Tortelier/Rudolf Kempe, Staatskapelle Dresden, EMI)

[bombasticDarren]

Haydn - Symphony No.14 (Roy Goodman, The Hanover Band, Hyperion)

[Jose Echenique]

There are too many of them at the expense of some neglected Handel works - the point Jared was making I think...
I am by no means a lover of Handel, but, even so, I have 3 Messiah's (C. Davis/Pinnock/McCreesh)

Christophers, Pinnock & McCreesh for me...

it is interesting Darren how over the course of time, our tastes within the classical sphere are to a certain extent, diverging in different directions...

Do you want to know how obsessive/compulsive I am?
Here are some of the Messiahs I own:

1.Thomas Beecham.
2.Malcolm Sargent.
3.Adrian Boult.
4.Colin Davis 1.
5.Neville Marriner 1 (his Argo recording, infinitely better to the Philips remake).
6.Raymond Leppard (treasurable for his exemplary quartet: Felicity Palmer, Helen Watts, Ryland Davies and John Shirley-Quirk).
7.Christopher Hogwood.
8.John Eliot Gardiner.
9.Nikolaus Harnoncourt 1 (TELDEC).
10.Ton Koopman (ERATO).
11.Trevor Pinnock.
12.William Christie.
13.John Butt & Dunedin Consort.
14.Ivars Taurins & Tafelmusik.
15.Gabieli Consort /McCreesh.
16.René Jacobs.
17.Nikolaus Harnoncourt II (DHM).
18.The Sixteen/Christophers.
19.Richard Hickox.
20.Georg Solti (Odd, I know, but the soloists are good).
21.Frieder Bernius (surprisingly good version).

And I am not counting 3 or 4 in the Mozart orchestration.