The Sixteen has performed Messiah almost 150 times (the 150th performance will take place on 3rd December at the Barbican in London) and over the years the two have become synonymous with one another. Arguably the most famous oratorio ever written and certainly Handel’s best known work, Messiah needs little introduction. Composed in a staggering 24 days, Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742 where it received a rapturous welcome. Not so the following year when it premiered in London to a distinctly hostile reception! It wasn’t until Messiah began to be presented in charity performances at the Foundling Hospital in London that the public started to embrace the work we now regard as Handel’s greatest composition.
Harry Christophers first conducted Messiah in 1985 but since then his interpretation has changed and developed and this new recording demonstrates an accomplished expertise, honed over the past 23 years.
Harry Christophers:
"I have conducted Messiah more than 150 times [with The Sixteen and other ensembles] and always find something new and unexpected in it; it changes according to venue, audience, mood and singers. I adapt to my soloists, just as Handel would have done. Although it's a well-known work, can I ever say I fully understand what it is capable of? No. As with all great art, you never quite have its measure."
Messiah was released on 1st September and is accompanied by a Limited Edition Bonus CD containing tracks from The Sixteen’s other celebrated Handel recordings.
"What a winning combination: Handel’s Messiah, the most popular oratorio ever written, sung by The Sixteen, the most richly sonorous of the early music choirs." The Daily Telegraph (London)
For more information visit www.thesixteen.com
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