Handel and Haydn Society presents this powerful and uplifting performance of Handel’s perennial holiday classic as arranged by Mozart. In 1787, Mozart was commissioned to revise Messiah in a way that intensified and enriched Handel’s work. Making certain to maintain Handel’s dramatic effects, what makes this arrangement Mozart’s are not the cuts he made, which were few, but his remarkable orchestral additions, which give the piece added texture, complexity, and meaning. The end product is Handel’s innate narrative ability combined with Mozart’s unparalleled orchestration, creating a result that is nothing short of genius. Performed by the expert Handel and Haydn Society Period Orchestra and Chorus, this is a recording that is stirring in its authenticity and its honesty, making it a classical holiday staple that will withstand the test of time.

Disc One:

Part the First

1. Overture
   
2. Recitative: Comfort Ye
   
3. Aria: Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exalted
   
4. Chorus: And The Glory Of The Lord Shall
   Be Revealed
5. Recitative: Thus Saith The Lord Of Hosts
   
6. Aria: But Who May Abide The Day Of
   His Coming
7. Soloists And Chorus: And He Shall Purify
   The Sons Of Levi
8. Recitative: Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive
   
9. Aria: O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings
   To Zion
10. Chorus: O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings
    To Zion
11. Recitative: For Behold, Darkness Shall
    Cover The Earth
12. Aria: The People That Walked In Darkness
    Have Seen A Great Light
13. Soloists And Chorus: For Unto Us A Child
    Is Born
14. Pifa
    
15. Recitative: There Were Shepherds Abiding
    In The Field
16. Recitative: And The Angel Said Unto Them
    
17. Recitative: And Suddenly There Was With
    The Angel
18. Chorus: Glory To God In The Highest
    
19. Aria: Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter Of Zion!
    
20. Recitative: Then Shall The Eyes Of The Blind
    Be Open'd
21. Aria: He Shall Feed His Flock Like A Shepherd
    
22. Soloists And Chorus: His Yoke Is Easy
    

Part the Second

23. Chorus: Behold The Lamb Of God
    
24. Aria: He Was Despised And Rejected Of Men
    

Disc Two:

Part the Second

1. Chorus: Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs
   
2. Chorus: And With His Stripes We Are Healed
   
3. Chorus: All We Like Sheep, Have Gone Astray
   
4. Recitative: All They That See Him
   
5. Chorus: He Trusted In God That He Would
   Deliver Him
6. Recitative: Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart
   
7. Aria: Behold, And See If There Be Any Sorrow
   
8. Recitative: He Was Cut Off Out Of The Land
   Of The Living
9. Aria: But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul In Hell
   
10. Chorus: Lift Up Your Heads
    
11. Recitative: Unto Which Of The Angels Said
    He At Any Time
12. Chorus: The Lord Gave The Word
    
13. Chorus: How Beautiful Are The Feet
    
14. Chorus: Their Sound Is Gone Out Into All Lands
    
15. Aria: Why Do The Nations So Furiously Rage Together
    
16. Chorus: Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder
    
17. Recitative And Aria: He That Dwelleth/
    Thou Shalt Break Them
18. Chorus: Hallelujah
    

Part the Third

19. Aria: I Know That My Redeemer Liveth
    
20. Chorus: Since By Man Came Death
    
21. Recitative: Behold I Tell You A Mystery
    
22. Aria: The Trumpet Shall Sound
    
23. Recitative: Then Shall Be Brought To Pass
    
24. Duet: O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?
    
25. Chorus: But Thanks Be To God
    
26. Recitative: If God Be For Us
    
27. Chorus: Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain
    
28. Chorus: Amen