Linn: CKD285

Handel: Messiah

(Dublin version, 1742)

This is the first recording to seriously explore the version and performing forces that Handel used for his legendary Dublin première.The research was carried out by director and lecturer John Butt and the performance recreated by the acclaimed Scottish choral group the Dunedin Consort, with soloists taken from within the choir. The Dublin version of The Messiah is unique in several important ways and the resultant Linn recording signifies an exciting and historically considered representation as enjoyed by the Dublin audience of 1742.The challenge in this recording was to try and recapture something of the freshness of the first public performances, imagining what it was like to hear the work for the very first time, when many moments must have been quite unexpected.