‘Tis That Season…

… wherein I listen to my favorite performance of The Messiah at least a couple times a day.  I would listen to it more but do not know how to create and download an mp3 to put on my venerable pocket player.  Anyone know how to do that?

Were I ever to question the existence of The Divine this piece of music and the sublime alto Delphine Galou would draw me back to orthodoxy.  (I am so enamored by her voice I once considered taking Mrs. Barn to New York City (!) to see her in concert.  I have only been to New York City (!) twice for something resembling pleasure, once to review the Shellac Research Archive at Brooklyn Polytechnic and once to see the Roentgen Exhibit at the Met.  So, Miss Galou  ranks up there with shellac history and one of the greatest furniture makers who ever lived.  Just thinking about going to New York City (!) now gives me the shakes.)

This spare and virtouso performance of The Messiah is simply flawless to my tastes.  Performances by huge choirs and orchestras strike me as bloated and do not appeal to me as much.

Prior to discovering this version by a historic music company from Prague (?) my favorite was the 1966 version by the Robert Shaw Chorale, presented as a chamber music piece with only a couple dozen voices and roughly an equal number of musicians.  Magnificent.  I’ve had that one on vinyl for nearly 50 years.  Time to get out the turntable and maybe listen to this and the other 3,000 albums I’ve got.