Handel: Messiah

Eliot Gardiner’s Messiah states its revisionist position from the get-go: in the opening movement, the orchestra plays its opening chords without any melodrama, and the singer delivers the opening phrase on the beat and matter-of-fact: “Comfort ye.” This Messiah has places to go and be, and the best of those are the fast movements, where Gardiner’s brisk tempos and lean textures make for a propulsive Messiah that will have listeners on to their next holiday appointment in 2 hours and 17 minutes.