Handel's the Messiah
The vocal quartet of soloists on this recording of Messiah is one of the best balanced. The singers are English, and they have been around for many years. Their interpretations of Messiah are known to audiences and congregations all over Britain. April Cantelo, whose singing of the soprano arias is splendidly forthright and confident, is heedful to the underlying drama of the text. The upper range of her voice is more than clear: it has a silvery edge to it that she uses with uncommon intelligence, so that even a short passage like "And suddenly there was with the Angel . . ." remains fixed in the mind as a moment of genuine biblical drama. Her "Rejoice greatly" and "I know that my Redeemer liveth" are also magnificent and afford ready proof of sheer technique as well as a remarkable control of timbre. Helen Watts, in her deeply-felt interpretation of "He was despised", gives what is the best performance on record. Her voice is rich without being overopulent; it has all the qualities of a fine contralto without any loss of mobility. Wilfred Brown adds lustre to the tenor solos in a unique and personal way. The timbre of his voice is neither heroic nor lachrymose, but it has individual qualities that add up to something far more impressive than those. His intonation is rocksteady, and his upward range so well developed that the high notes in "Thou shalt break them" emerge almost effortlessly. Brown's vivid performance of this aria is one of the most praiseworthy in the entire set, for he sings the words as if he really meant them. "Every valley" is beautifully phrased and evokes a verdant pastoral picture which Handel was surely aiming at. Roger Stalman's fine bass voice is heard to advantage in "But who may abide." "Why do the nations", with all its ferocious roulades, holds no terrors for this singer. He has great powers of sostenuto as well as ample flexibility.