Handel: Messiah Huddersfield Choral Society

• John Wainwright (1723-1768):
• 1 Christians Awake 02:03
• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759): Messiah, HWV 56:
• 2 Part I: Sinfonia 03:12
• 3 Part I: Recitative: Comfort ye my people (Tenor) 03:04
• 4 Part I: Aria: Every valley shall be exalted (Tenor) 03:16
• 5 Part I: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed (Chorus) 02:46
• 6 Part I: Recitative: Thus saith the Lord (Bass) 01:24
• 7 Part I: Aria: But who may abide the day of His coming (Alto) 04:18
• 8 Part I: And He shall purify the sons of Levi (Chorus) 02:35
• 9 Part I: Recitative: Behold, a virgin shall conceive (Alto) 00:33
• 10 Part I: Aria: O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion (Alto) 05:24
• 11 Part I: Recitative: For behold, darkness shall cover the earth (Bass) 02:19
• 12 Part I: Aria: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light (Bass) 03:18
• 13 Part I: For unto a child is born (Chorus) 03:54
• 14 Part I: Pifa 03:10
• 15 Part I: Recitative: There were shepherds abiding in the field (Soprano) - Accompagnato: And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them (Soprano) - Recitative: And the angel said unto them (Soprano) 01:05
• 16 Part I: Accompagnato: And suddenly there was with the angel (Soprano) 00:18
• 17 Part I: Glory to God in the highest (Chorus) 02:00
• 18 Part I: Aria: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (Soprano) 04:21
• 19 Part I: Recitative: Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened (Alto) - Duet: He shall feed His flock (Alto, Soprano) 05:57
• 20 Part I: His yoke is easy, His burthen is light (Chorus) 02:17
• 21 Part II: Behold the Lamb of God (Chorus) 03:16
• 22 Part II: Aria: He was despised and rejected of men (Alto) 10:46
• 23 Part II: Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Chorus) 02:00
• 24 Part II: And with His stripes we are healed (Chorus) 01:47
• 25 Part II: All we like sheep have gone astray (Chorus) 03:49
• 26 Part II: Recitative: All they that see Him Laugh Him to scorn (Tenor) 00:45
• 27 Part II: He trusted in God that He would deliver Him (Chorus) 02:08
• 28 Part II: Recitative: Thy rebuke hath broken His heart (Tenor) 01:49
• 29 Part II: Arioso: Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow! (Tenor) 01:24
• 30 Part II: Recitative: He was cut off out of the land of the living (Tenor) 00:17
• 31 Part II: Aria: But thou didst not leave His soul in Hell (Tenor) 01:53
• 32 Part II: Lift up your heads (Chorus) 03:06
• 33 Part II: Aria: Thou art gone up high (Alto) 03:23
• 34 Part II: The Lord gave the word (Chorus) 01:05
• 35 Part II: Aria: How beautiful are the feet of Him that bringeth glad tidings of salvation (Soprano) 02:23
• 36 Part II: Their sound is gone out into all lands (Chorus) 01:21
• 37 Part II: Aria: Why do the nations so furiously rage together (Bass) 02:49
• 38 Part II: Let us break their bonds asunder (Chorus) 01:44
• 39 Part II: Recitative: He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn (Tenor) 00:14
• 40 Part II: Aria: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron (Tenor) 01:55
• 41 Part II: Hallelujah! (Chorus) 03:49
• 42 Part III: Aria: I know that my Redeemer liveth (Soprano) 06:29
• 43 Part III: Since by man came death (Chorus) 01:52
• 44 Part III: Recitative: Behold, I tell you a mystery (Bass) 00:35
• 45 Part III: Aria: The trumpet shall sound (Bass) 04:07
• 46 Part III: Recitative: Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written (Alto) - Duet: O Death, where is thy sting (Alto, Tenor) 01:18
• 47 Part III: But thanks be to God (Chorus) 02:07
• 48 Part III: Aria: If God be for us, who can be against us? (Soprano) 05:07
• 49 Part III: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain (Chorus) 03:06
• 50 Part III: Amen (Chorus) 04:33
• Total Runtime 02:18:11

Info for Handel: Messiah

The Huddersfield Choral Society continue their esteemed relationship with Signum Records with arguably the best-loved musical work of all time Messiah, more than two and a half centuries on from that celebrated first performance in Dublin’s New Music Hall in April 1742.

Huddersfield Choral Society has come to be known as one of the top choral societies in the UK. A recent review of Messiah in concert reads: “Conducted by Jane Glover, it moved at the brisk pace that we now expect... The singers of the Choral Society continue to demonstrate that, trained by chorus master Joseph Cullen, they have the technical ability to resolve the dichotomy of being a large choir, equipped for monumental, Victorian oratorio performances, yet must sing with the rhythmic responsiveness, the clarity and the lightness of touch, that has become the norm. The orchestra was the Northern Sinfonia; and it is hard to believe that – apart from specialist baroque ensembles – there is a band which is better equipped to accompany current Messiah performances.” (Huddersfield Examiner)

... this splendid account, recorded in Huddersfield last December, … has been refined by the influence of the early-music movement. The buoyant chorus, under Glover's incisive direction, goes from strength to strength." (The Times)

“Glover's emphasis on firm tempi and natural articulation pushes this version to the head of the queue, for newcomers and adepts alike … this is a rugged and utterly musical Messiah.” (Choir & Organ)

"… a modern symphonic chorus in good form, well drilled by chorus master Joseph Cullen and thoroughly prepared for the considerable demands of Jane Glover's fleet-footed interpretation … Elizabeth Watts and Catherine Wyn-Rogers add deep emotional impact to the performance." (Classic FM Magazine)

Huddersfield Choral Society
Northern Sinfonia
Elizabeth Watts, soprano
Mark Le Brocq, tenor
Catherine Wyn-Rogers, alto
James Oldfield, bass
Jane Glover, conductor

Huddersfield Choral Society
Since its foundation in 1836, Huddersfield Choral Society has developed an international reputation as the UK’s leading choral society, under a succession of distinguished principal conductors and chorus masters. The present chorus master is Joseph Cullen, with Darius Battiwalla deputy chorus master.

The choir’s special quality is the unique ‘Huddersfield Sound’ – a thrilling full-bodied and firm blended tone, flexible enough for both the most shattering climaxes and for the softest but most focused pianissimos.

The Society promotes its own professional subscription concert season in Huddersfield Town Hall, its home since 1881. The choir also visits other major concert halls in the UK and abroad, regularly broadcasts for radio and television, and has a long history of pioneering recordings. Recent repertoire includes established works such as Verdi’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Britten’s War Requiem as well as world and UK premières including Agamemnon’s Tomb (John Pickard) and Messages (Jonathan Harvey). In recent years the choir has travelled to France, Japan, the Czech Republic, Belgium, as well as to festivals in the UK from Cheltenham to Orkney.

But Handel’s Messiah is perhaps the work most closely associated with the Society, performed at least annually since 1864 and still attracting capacity audiences at the two Christmas performances in Huddersfield. Lightness and flexibility combine with awesome grandeur to bring this choral masterpiece to life for contemporary audiences. The special 175th anniversary season which this recording marks has seen a number of performances of Messiah by the Society throughout the UK, including The Sage Gateshead, Stratford-upon-Avon (guests of the Stratford-upon-Avon Choral Society), and The Barbican on Good Friday.

Mindful of its 175 year history and of the need to encourage young people to become the choral singers of the future, the Society supports three junior choirs – the Youth Choir, Young Voices and Chamber Choir. The choirs are directed by professional musicians and have their own independent concert programmes.

Jane Glover
Music Director of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque since 2002 and recently named Artistic Director of Opera at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Jane Glover made her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975, conducting her own edition of Cavalli’s L’Eritrea. She joined Glyndebourne in 1979 and was Music Director of the Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1981 to 1985; and she was Artistic Director of the London Mozart Players from 1984 to 1991. In continual demand on the international opera stage, Ms Glover has appeared with numerous companies including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Berlin Staatsoper, Royal Danish Opera, Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Australia, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. Known chiefly as a Mozart specialist, she has conducted all the Mozart operas regularly, all over the world, since her initial performances of them in Glyndebourne in the 1980’s.

Ms Glover’s concert engagements similarly take her all over the world. She has performed with all the major symphony and chamber orchestras in Britain, repeatedly at the BBC Proms, as well as with orchestras in Europe, the US, the Far East and Australasia. In recent seasons she has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, the St Louis Symphony, the Orchestra of St Luke’s (Carnegie Hall), the Philharmonia, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the London Mozart Players and the City of London Sinfonia, as well as the period orchestras the Philharmonia Baroque, and the Handel & Haydn Society. She has appeared at the Mostly Mozart Festivals in both New York and London. She is also especially known for her experience in the choral repertoire, and was Music Director of both the London and the Huddersfield Choral Societies.

Jane Glover studied at the University of Oxford, where, after graduation, she did her D.Phil. on 17th-century Venetian opera. She holds honorary degrees from several other universities, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music. She was created a CBE in the 2003 New Year’s Honours.

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