JJ Orlinski has the most fire out of them all. And this clash point with the orchestra is, in my opinion, fantastic. Scholl is my favourite too. However, Orlinski wins, I think. His recording was made and broadcast live. The other countertenors here are also fantastic but only Orlinski can keep his masculine colour throughout the whole register. The contralto is great too (very energetic). According to my preference: 1. Orlinski . 2. Scholl (close second).3 Mera, Summers, Mead-all great, though hard to choose the best for me...
Jakub- consider the dramatic challenge offered by the message.... this is not an announcement of a coming garden party serving thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches
1. Hillary (the most emotive and convincing), 2. Yoshikazu (lovely color and fullness). 3. Andreas(flawless, soaring) 4. Jakub (a little harsh) 5. Tim (a little too restrained, but very accurate) --- Who knows how much the recording affects the rendition. But Handel takes the cake!! :) Thanks.
All great but Mera wins hands down for me. Such a shame he stopped singing this sort of music, and Richard Strauss too. Four Last Songs by him would have been magnificent.
They are all amazing singers, but emotionally I feel closer to Orlinsky and Schol. I don't know which one of the two moves me the most. Thank you Daniel for your great job.
For me, Andreas Scholl is the best counter in the world, but still behind Yoshikatzu Mera. He's absolutely alone in his class. I also appreciate Tim Meat and J.J. Orlinski very much. With these two, Tim Meat is just the all-rounder, no matter which composer he interprets, it's perfect. JJ Orlinsky is the most characterful. He has his own unique way of singing. But it doesn't suit all composers. Hilary Summer's voice as a female alto is not comparable to the male voices in its perfection, but she completely lacks this special countertenor sound.
HILARY SUMMERS. She is so attuned to the baroque sensibility of theatrics as well as precision. There is often a temptation with baroque singing to keep it smooth and even, focusing on straight tone and melisma, and it just flies in the face of what baroque music should be in my opinion. But Hilary is able to find the life, fire, and FUN in this song. Because my god is it a fun song.
They are all very appealing . I prefer the Summers voice . Its more emotional . But they all make for repeated listening . The colours the phrasing . ❤❤❤❤❤
Gostaria de corrigir a apreciação que fiz há umas semanas atrás pois, na verdade ,e ouvindo novamente acho que,Bem hajam neste caso, a melhor interpretação é a de Andreas Scholl. Gostava ainda de agradecer a todos estes contratenores por nos presentearem com as suas belíssimas vozes, produto não só de talento natural como também de trabalho longo e árduo. Bem hajam🙏🙏🙏
When judging (lol) we need to take into account that Orlinski's rendition was recorded during a live concert. So most likely it has not been filtered (much)... I do not know what it is like in the case of the others performing here... I can hear different (a bit strange, artificial) sound in the recordings of Mera and Summers... Is it only my hearing (hallucination) or in fact something has been done? Especially in the fast tempo parts...
@@baroqueandbeyond And so was the Summers. Her rendition is from the Cleobury/Brandenburg Consort/Choir of King’s College version found here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YU7VxFoPIeI.html To me, this is the best interpretation of Messiah I've heard.
Todas las versiones son muy buenas, es difícil decidir, pero me encanta la voz del japonés Mera, su voz me enamoró cuando le escuché en las cantatas de Bach. Lástima su temprana muerte.
Andreas Scholl has a lovely rich tone throughout his range, with the necessary firepower for the fast sections. I liked Summers’ ornamentation, but after the countertenors, I found her voice a little too fruity. Mead (or his conductor) sets a good pace in the slower sections - no danger of dragging. Great ornamentation. An interesting exercise listening to the various interpretations.
In this collection I would prefer Team Mead's performance. But in my humble opinion namely Sara Mingardo performed the alto part in Handel's Messiah really convincing.
Pawel, I too love Sara Mingardo but not in this instance as her English pronunciation is just not convincing enough. I think we need two lists one for the countertenors and one for the contraltos/mezzos. Just so many wonderful interpretations to choose from! Summers doesn’t have the biggest voice (fortunate enough to have seen her several times on stage) but as well as the unique timbre she delivers a lovely line. And for the gents, what about Iestyn Davies?
En tant que petit Français qui maîtrise mal la langue de Shakespeare je pourrais traduire maladroitement la prestation de Mister Orlinski en mot-à-mot : "But who may abide" par "Mais qui fait un bide?". Vous aurez beau le placarder en format affiche 60x80 cela ne changera rien. Ou alors, payez lui un vocodeur. Ah bon? Il en utilise déjà un? entendons nous bien. Cela n'est pas tant à Jakob Orlinski que j'en veux. Il fait ce qu'il peut et ce qu'on lui demande de faire, c'est plutôt votre faux jeux dégradant qui consiste à influencer nos pauvres têtes molles en placardant la photo d'un concurrent en format du double de ses "adversaires" (qui n'ont strictement rien demandé à personne, en outre). Bas rock from beyond.
The alto version of this was written for the Castrato Gaetano Guadagni - Emma Kirkby sings a transposition for soprano. This was not designed for bass - that was a very different version.
