Messiah was written with Handel's usual speed in 1741 for performance in Dublin, some of it rehearsed briefly by inadequate singers in Chester, as he made his way to Holyhead to embark for the voyage. The first performance was given at the New Music Hall in Fish-amble Street, Dublin, on 13th April, 1742, in aid of charity. The first London performance took place in Lent 1743 at Covent Garden, but the work failed to please, in part because of reservations that some held about the suitability of such a sacred subject for a theatre. Messiah only achieved it's lasting success after performances in 1750 in aid of the Foundling Hospital, established ten years earlier by Captain Thomas Coram. At his death in 1759 Handel left a fair copy of the score and all parts to the Hospital, an institution that continued to benefit from annual performances of the work. The Scholars Baroque Ensemble: The scholars Baroque Ensemble was founded in 1987 by David van Asch with the idea of complementing the "a-capella" work of the vocal ensemble The Scholars. This group, consisting also of the soprano Kym Amps, counter tenor Angus Davidson and tenor Robin Doveton, has had worldwide success during the last twenty years. The members of THE Scholars Baroque Ensemble are all specialists in the field of Baroque music and play original instruments (or copies) using contemporary techniques, singers and players work together without a director to produce their own versions of great masterpieces such as the St. John Passion by Bach, the 1610 Vespers by Monteverdi, Dido and Aeneas and The Fairy Queen by Purcell, the Messiah and Acis and Galatea by Handel, all of which are being released by Naxos. Concert performances by the ensemble have been highly praised by critics and audiences alike.

Tracklist:

The Messiah (Highlights): Sinfonia
The Messiah (Highlights): Comfort Ye My People... Every Valley S
The Messiah (Highlights): And The Glory Of The Lord
The Messiah (Highlights): Behold A Virgin Shall Conceive... O Th
The Messiah (Highlights): For Unto Us A Child Is Born
The Messiah (Highlights): Pifa
The Messiah (Highlights): Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter Of Zion
The Messiah (Highlights): Then Shall The Eyes Of The Blind Be Op
The Messiah (Highlights): He Was Despised And Rejected Of Men
The Messiah (Highlights): How Beautiful Are The Feet Of Him
The Messiah (Highlights): Why Do The Nations So Furiously Rage T
The Messiah (Highlights): Hallelujah!
The Messiah (Highlights): I Know That My Redeemer Liveth
The Messiah (Highlights): Behold, I Tell You A Mystery...The Tru
The Messiah (Highlights): Worthy Is The Lamb...Amen

UPC: 730099425827
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 8.28.95
Format: CD

The Scholars Baroque Orchestra - Messiah (CD)