Messiah Concert 2026
There are a LOT of recordings of “Messiah” available, and I would suggest a wide range of listening/watching – whether via YouTube, Spotify, downloads, CDs or even vinyl! Don’t let yourself get stuck with one reading or one set of tempos.
My own love is given to the early-music recordings:
• From 1978 – one of the first real early music Messiah performances – Hogwood et al – I now find it a little too spiky, but it was a ground-breaker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdlyoEpCV9k&t=1204s
• From 1982 – the best recording, but no visuals – John Eliot Gardiner & Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque soloists – a little less rabidly "early", but clean and precise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snc68cHdSBU&t=4782s (with picsD
During the COVID shutdown, we watched this documentary - Messiah at the foundling Hospital:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3RRsi6cOPM
or there’s this, by Howard Goodall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65hexaHXdU4
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There are a couple of sites where you can find scores for computer work:
1. http://www.cafe-puccini.dk/Handel_Messias.aspx
(this is probably the simplest one, but gives you the vocal parts only – no accompaniments)
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20071013183528/
http://singharmony.com/samples/messiah_scores.php?Local_Session=439e49a67d722bcb5491ee8882377cbb
(this is a scanned set of choruses in the more usual piano score format)
-Brigid, Chorus Conductor
Additional Resources Recommended by Members:
rehearsalarts.com
"Emphasized-voice" recordings for the Messiah, by Rehearsal Arts. They're about $40 Cdn for the set (your choice of S/A/T/B).
cyberbass.org
For every chorus of Messiah it plays the piano part--you can choose to listen to the tutti file or your part enhanced. You can also easily change the recording to faster and slower, which is helpful for learning the fast runs.