‘More joyful‚ more sorrowful‚ more passionate than usual’‚ writes Marc Minkowski of this new Messiah in his introductory essay. The performance‚ recorded at the Bastille Opéra in 1997‚ was apparently designed – this is left largely unexplained in the accompanying booklet – for use in a film. Hence‚ ‘it’s not like the Messiah we’d prepared in concert or the one we would have recorded in a studio’. I’m not quite sure about the joy‚ the sorrow or the passion. I’m certain about the speed. Possibly I have remarked before on Minkowski’s preference for lively tempos. Well‚ there’s some joy in many of the lively numbers: jubilation in the dashing account of ‘And the glory of the Lord’‚ a sparkling‚ almost gigue-like reading of ‘O thou that tellest’‚ finely springy rhythms in ‘For unto us’‚ a true exultancy in ‘Rejoice greatly’‚ and in Part 2 a brilliantly athletic ‘He trusted in God’ and an ebullient ‘Hallelujah’ (though there’s some clumsy orchestral ensemble in the introduction). Sorrow? – well‚ ‘He was despised’ is very soft and gentle‚ but lacks the expressive weight of some performances‚ but certainly John Mark Ainsley’s poised singing brings due grief to the tenor group at the centre of Part 2 (here‚ by the way‚ Ainsley is billed as singing all four numbers‚ but he sounds suspiciously like a soprano in ‘But thou didst not leave’). As to passion‚ there is certainly some of that in the powerful rhythms and dynamic drive to the music early in Part 2. This question of tempo can be tricky. We are all creatures of habit: but I do remember welcoming Colin Davis’s pioneering recording many years ago which shattered our ideas of decorous speeds and made the Messiah seem fresh and new. That is not quite what Minkowski does. I don’t usually listen calculator in hand‚ but I compared his tempos with those of the Pinnock version‚ which can fairly be said to be middle-of-the-road‚ modern-style‚ period instrument‚ and which no one could call sluggish. Minkowski’s timings are often 30-40 per cent quicker‚ rarely less than 15 per cent‚ and once 89 per cent (‘For behold‚ darkness shall cover the earth’). I really do not believe that the full import‚ the seriousness‚ the devotional quality of the work can come through in a performance so rapid. There is no justification for this in contemporary performing practices. On the contrary: Minkowski’s understanding of the Andante of ‘Ev’ry valley’ or ‘O thou that tellest’‚ or the Andante larghetto of ‘For behold‚ darkness shall cover the earth’‚ is not consistent with anything we know about the meaning of those markings. Minkowski draws some excellent singing from his chorus and finds time to shape some of the choral music effectively. He has a large team of soloists. Lynne Dawson shines in the latter part of the work‚ especially with her glowing ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth’. Magdalena Ko½ená has only one item‚ the rare soprano version of ‘But who may abide’‚ and brings to it purity and warmth (the accompaniments in the fast sections‚ by the way‚ do not follow the standard text here). Nicole Heaston‚ if unpersuasive in the Annunciation recitatives‚ sings ‘Rejoice greatly’ with great spirit and precision (but fuller continuo accompaniment would have been appropriate here: the textures sound very bare). The altos are less convincing‚ to my mind – Brian Asawa cool and objective in ‘O thou that tellest’‚ although the duet ‘Come unto Him’ with Heaston‚ seemingly accompanied by string quartet‚ is beautifully done‚ and in spite of some lovely gentle singing Charlotte Hellekant does not quite rise to ‘He was despised’. Ainsley I have already mentioned‚ but I may add that his elegance and his articulation are always a delight. Neither of the basses is in the traditional blustery mould: I thought Brian Bannatyne-Scott a little cool and uninvolved‚ but Russell Smythe gives a clear and shapely account of ‘The trumpet shall sound’ (which incidentally is cut). A group of numbers is omitted in Part 2‚ as often happens in concert performances. This‚ then‚ is quite a challenging Messiah‚ one that might make you re-think your view of the work; but as an interpretation it seems to me less than full-size‚ and I do not think it offers serious competition to the leading versions‚ which I would reckon to be the Christie and the McCreesh‚ and perhaps still the Pinnock referred to above.