HANDEL, George Frideric (1685-1759)

     Messiah - Oratorio

        Beecham, Royal Phil.                        3 CDs RCA 61266
          Vyvyan, Sinclair, Vickers, Tozzi
        Colin Davis, London Sym.               2 CDs Philips 420865
          Harper, Watts, Wakefield, Shirley-Quirk

        Beecham's  performance  is  a glorious  antithesis  to  the
"period instruments authentic" trend. In an essay that came with my
LPs,  he explains why he opted for a larger than period size  choir
and  rewrote  the  score  to a modern orchestra.  The  singers  are
excellent with Vickers simply fantastic. The sound is from the best
Living  Stereo vintage. A unique moment in the history of  recorded
sound.
        Davis' is the only traditional approach performance  that I
eventually hear, a very good one in fact, mostly as a reference  to
show how extraordinary Beecham's is.

        HAYDN, Joseph (1732-1809)

     Symphony No.83 in g, "Poule"

        Colin Davis, Concertgebouw Orch. + Sym. 83   Philips 420688
        Karajan, Berlin Phil. + Sym. 101 and 104         EMI 566097
        Marriner, ASMF  (82 to 87)               DUO Philips 438727

     Symphony No. 100 in G, "Military"

        C.Davis, Concertg.+ Sym.101,99,97,94,93  DUO Philips 442614
        Marriner, ASMF + Sym. 101 and 59             Philips 420866

     Symphony No. 101 in D, "Clock"

        C.Davis, Concertg.+ Sym.100,99,97,94,93  DUO Philips 442614
        Karajan, Berlin Phil. + Sym. 83 and 104          EMI 566097
        Marriner, ASMF + Sym. 100 and 59             Philips 420866

        Haydn composed more than a hundred symphonies,  among other
works, but these are the ones I heard most often.
        Karajan  was the first on records to offer  a  coupling  of
Poule  and  Clock  symphonies and now  on  CD  comes  with  No.104.
Unfortunately he never recorded the Military for EMI.
        The Military Symphony  is very well performed by Davis  and
Marriner. Philips gave to both excellent sound.

        HOLST, Gustav (1874-1934)

     The Planets, Op. 32

        Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch. + Etc.      (LD) Philips 070226
        Ozawa, Boston Sym.                           Philips 434162

        Engineer Gernot Westhauser did a miracle in the dry Academy
of Music for Ormandy. Ozawa received very good sound from Philips.

     Two Suites for Military Band, Op. 28

        Fennell, Cleveland Winds + Etc.                Telarc 80038

        This  pioneer digital recording  moved Telarc from demented
"direct to disc" business into serious classical recording.

© Copyright 2000 Amilcar Schiappe Pereira          End of section H