In My Changer, 12/23/02

Georg Frederic Handel

The Messiah

Arleen Auger, sop; Anne Sofie von Otter, alt; Michael Chance, countertenor; Howard Crook, tenor; John Tomlinson, bass

English Concert and Choir, cond. Trevor Pinnock

Deutsche Grammophon Archiv

Every year, I think, "Ah, the Messiah sucks, overplayed," and think I won't listen to it at holiday time. Every year, I end up listening to it in its entirety three or four times. The reason? I simply cannot stand Messiah highlights, those mostly upbeat numbers plucked from an amazingly diverse score to stand as representative of the entire work. "But who may abide," "And he shall purify," "He trusted in God," and the opening sinfonia are just four of the pieces that help give the whole oratorio a much more complex and rewarding texture than what you hear on the radio or in the shopping mall. In the context of the whole work, the "Hallelujah!" chorus and "For unto us a child is born" are natural outgrowths of the musical drama as Handel has managed it, and have their full impact.

Trevor Pinnock and his soloists do a great job bringing it to ya. For my money the most impressive is Michael Chance, the male alto, who brings a scathing tone to the "For he is like a refiner's fire, and who shall stand when he appeareth?" section of "But who may abide." But I have to give the ultimate prize to Anne Sofie von Otter, who delivers a simply ravishing version of "He was despised," making it beautiful and sorrowful in the same way Renaissance painters found the nobility in a wounded Christ. Hearing it is always one of the highlights of my holiday season.

James Brown

Greatest Hits Volume 2: The 70s

Universal

Not much need be said about how cool this is, except that I eventually hope, over the course of my life, to amass a collection of James Brown such that I do not need to resort to greatest hits CDs. Particular recent favorites have been "Sex Machine," "Down and Out in New York City," and "The Payback." In particular, I have found a blunt profundity in "Down and Out"'s lines "Yes, the cold wind blows in New York City/And the streets no place to be but there you are." Something about the hopelessness and endurance of that line stands out from all the perfectly judged and delivered lyrics as especially matching the bleak horn hits and downcast message of the song as a whole. And it's still sooooo funky. Get up, get on up.

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