****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
For evaluations of the content, I might refer anyone interested in this set to an earlier box (now out of print and often rather expensive) from Virgin, which was comprised of discs 3-7 of this newer edition; the product page for that previous box features several reviews by veteran listeners such as Ralph Moore and Giordano Bruno (among others), both of whom offer strong praise for these recordings.Handel: Saul; Alexander's Feast; The Choice of Hercules [Box Set]Since the back cover image above is not explicit about who is playing what, I copied the personnel listing from elsewhere on the web.(As far as the shibboleth of this collection goes, I enjoyed this MESSIAH quite a bit; though I have definitely preferred some other recordings of it, such as those directed by Karl Richter (the one in English), Rene Jacobs (HIP approach, on HM), and Colin Davis (Philips), all three of which are remarkably different from one another and from the MacKerras included below.)Disc 1-2: MESSIAHElizabeth Harwood (soprano), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo), Paul Esswood (countertenor), Robert Tear (tenor), Raimund Herincx (bass-baritone)English Chamber Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers, Sir Charles MackerrasDisc 3-5: SAULSir Thomas Allen (Saul), Robert Tear (Jonathan), Paul Esswood (David), Charles Daniels (Abner), Sally Burgess (Merab), Margaret Marshall (Michal), Gareth Morrell (Doeg), Martyn Hill (The Witch of Endor), Matthew Best (Apparition of Samuel), Christopher Gillett (An Amalekite)English Chamber Orchestra, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Sir Philip LedgerDisc 6-7:ALEXANDER'S FEASTHelen Donath (soprano), Sally Burgess (mezzo), Robert Tear (tenor), Sir Thomas Allen (baritone)English Chamber Orchestra, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Sir Philip LedgerandTHE CHOICE OF HERCULESHelen Donath (soprano), Helen Watts (alto), James Bowman (countertenor), Robert Tear (tenor)English Chamber Orchestra, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Sir Philip LedgerDisc 8:CORONATION ANTHEMS 1-4 [The King Shall Rejoice; Zadok the Priest; Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened; My Heart is Inditing]Paul Smy (treble), Michael Chance (countertenor), Charles Daniels (tenor), Gerald Finley (baritone)English Chamber Orchestra, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Sir Philip LedgerandDIXIT DOMINUS, HWV 232Teresa Zylis-Gara (soprano), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo), Martin Lane (tenor), Robert Tear (tenor), John Shirley-Quirk (baritone)English Chamber Orchestra, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Sir Philip LedgerDisc 9:TE DEUM IN D MAJOR 'DETTINGEN', HWV283Ruth-Margaret Pütz (soprano), Emm Lisken (alto), Theo Altmeyer (tenor), Franz Crass (bass)Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester, Wolfgang GönnenweinandJUDAS MACCABAEUS, HWV 63 [highlights only]Karl Christian Kohn (bass) ju judasChor der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Forster
