Christmas music

Does anyone have a favorite (sonically and in terms of performance) version of Handel's Messiah? I have a very dissapointing version with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on CD. I think the performances are good (it's hard to tell), but the sound is all mushed together, it's hard to hear.

My mother was severely reprimanded in high school (Quaker boarding school)for listening to the messiah on a record player, nearly inaudible. Music was reserved only for special occasions, and for the whole group. Maybe that's why she played her collection of Messiah 78's (was it really 8 discs?) regularly and happily when I was growing up.

- Eric

My favorite Messiah is the Trevor Pinnock recording:

Hmmm... Lucky you, Christmas music lovers!
You can grab Christmas CDs in any supermarket for $2.99;
HMV and Tower Records in NY sell them sealed for $.99 each in the clearance crates or even by pounds like potatoes!
I've got Boney-M this way just to bring some religious flavour in my collection.

Hey Tireguy, I also love Christmas music during this season. My favorites in order of preference (maybe) are:

Louis Armstrong And Friends, "What A Wonderful Christmas"
Ella Fitzgerald, "Wishes You A Swinging Christmas"
The Manhattan Transfer, "The Christmas Album"
Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song"
Peggy Lee, "Christmas Carousel"
Frank Sinatra, "The Sinatra Christmas Album"

Biggest disappointment was last year's purchase of Take 6's "He Is Christmas". Gimmicky and way too affected in that "soul diva sings the national anthem" kind of way. Could have been great. By the way it's always amazing to hear how beautifully natural voices can sound on old mono recordings such as on the Armstrong disc. The a cappella chorus on "Silent Night" sounds unbelievable. One can hear very distinctly each individual singer's tone quality as opposed to on even a great (musically) modern recording like Manhattan Transfer's where voices get congealed and indistinct in the electronic ambience.

Happy Holidays!

Eric, the best version I have is the Harmonia Mundi "Messiah Highlights." [HMT 7907120]

You might want to check out this link to CDNow to see if you would like the complete "Messiah" offering from the Hyperion label. (I just ordered it myself.)

http://cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=236229290/pagename=/RP/CDN/CLASS/muzealbum.html/itemid=444401

Charlie