Mine is "Worthy of the Lamb" (the Amen Chorus). Maybe it's two parts, but is usually on a single track together:
So often the Hallelujah Chorus gets the limelight, but this Amen Chorus is absolutely beautiful.
(tried to post the image of the CD but not working) It's likely the English Concert & Choir. Pinnock.
+1 Here, being a tenor, and having sung it many times, I agree the whole thing is great but the "Christmas Part" was always my favorite part to sing; especially these pieces. Maybe maybe by the "Lenten and Easter Part" I was tired.
Very hard question. I am quite fond of the Passion choruses but I must admit that Worthy is the Lamb and the Amen chorus are right up there. That opening chord for "Worthy" is guaranteed to send shivers down the spine. The Amen chorus is a wonderful summation of the oratorio but is far too often messed up by a quirky performance from the conductor. Too slow and ponderous. Too fast and "musically correct". Too marcato. Too legato.
Haven't listened to it in ages. I have the Robert Shaw CD on Telarc. But I've always enjoyed the male vocal parts in the first section. Every Valley...
I always get a chuckle in "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted" at the line "the crooked straight" (and the rough places plain, etc.): the melody vacillates up and down before resting on a single sustained note. In other words, the contour is crooked on the word "crooked" and straight on the word "straight." That never gets old for me.
"He was Despised" is my favorite aria from the work. Definitely not the type of music most today associate with the key of E-flat major. It works well with only a little bit of ornamentation from the soloist and, although I'm not usually big on countertenors, I enjoy Suzuki's version with Yoshikazu Mera here.
I think I'll agree with the OP that the Amen fugue is my favorite chorus from the work, although maybe I'm just being contrarian by not choosing the most famous...
These might be considered slight movements in contrast to some of the others, but I have always loved "O death, where is thy sting?" and the chorus right after it "But thanks be to God." They have been a great comfort to me at necessary times, perhaps because the gentle unsettled questioning tone of "O death" is so easy to relate to.
Aria: He shall feed His flock like a shepherd (Isaiah 40:11) - Come unto Him all ye that labour (Matthew 11:28-29)
Chorus: Lift up your heads, O ye gates (Pslams 24:7-10)
Aria: I know that my Redeemer liveth (Job 19:25-26, I Corinthians 15:20)
"He shall feed... Come unto Him" Beecham rendition, Pastoral Symphony and "Lift up your heads" Malcolm Sargent, and "For unto us..." either as well as "I know that my Redeemer liveth".
I enjoy the whole thing, it is always an occasion to go to a performance of it, well, some performances at any rate! I played the piano once accompanying a very elderly choir who performed the Hallelujah Chorus. Not an experience that I shall easily forget, try as I might!
On records, Isobel Baillie singing "I know that my redeemer liveth" on the 1946 Sargent set is one of the most beautiful sounds ever made by a voice on record. I do love the tremendous wallop of the choruses on the 1959 Beecham set- Jon Vickers is outstanding on that too. A friend of mine who is studying music at Goldsmith's told me he always found much of the Messiah insipid- I got him the Beecham set, he doesn't now! One more that sprang to mind, and I dug it out and played it just to be certain that memory wasn't gilding the lily, is Peter Dawson's recording of "Why Do The Nations". A splendidly vigorous account, and Dawson's breath control is phenomenal. (Whilst I'd got that record out, I also played his recording of "Oh! My Warriors" from Elgar's "Caractacus"- that's superb too!)
That's a very hard question. I like the entire work a lot! If I had to pick a favorite section, It would have to be the section with the Soprano singing "There were shepherds abiding in the field", "and lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them", "and the angel said unto them", "and suddenly there was with the angel", and the Chorus "Glory to got in the highest".
Carolyn Watkinson's deeply emotional 'He was despised' in Christopher Hogwood's Messiah. For overall admiration from note to note I can't stop wondering about Paul McCreesh translucently conducting the Messiah:
I came in to post this, only to find it had already been posted by the OP.
I had the pleasure of seeing The English Concert and Choir themselves under Harry Bicket play Messiah on Tuesday. This last chorus is simply beautiful.
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