This fascinating 1961 recording of Handel's Messiah has not been available for some time. Over the years many customers have enquired about it, piquing my interest in Kenneth McKellar's voice. (Before now I had only heard him singing Scottish songs on Andy Stewart's 1960s White Heather Club TV show!) It is therefore good news that Newton Classics, the new label dedicated to reissuing neglected classics, has seen fit to release it. I must admit from the outset that, considering myself a baroque 'purist', I was not expecting to enjoy this recording, and the first track reinforced that view - Boult takes the opening Sinfony at snail's pace, spending five minutes on music nowadays performed in three, the orchestra sounding bloated in a Stokowskian manner. Yet things change for the better with McKellar's stately entry at Comfort ye, my people. His voice is big, fitting the scale of the performance, but fluid, and his breath control in Ev'ry valley is exemplary. Even George Malcolm's harpsichord playing can be heard! The dense orchestral textures of the next chorus, And the glory, come as a shock, the lustiness and enthusiasm of the LSO Chorus's singing almost overpowering, the musical statements very correct rhythmically but over-aggressive by today's tastes. But thereafter the style of the choral singing improves - well articulated despite the weight of numbers, very well balanced, and in tune. Although tempi are generally slower, some choruses are taken surprisingly fast. David Ward's commanding bass solos are a revelation. He can sing quietly and tenderly (as in But who may abide), but displays an uncommon agility and accuracy in For he is like a refiner's fire. He has a real sense of drama, sings with intelligence, and his performance of The trumpet shall sound (taken at a good lick) is electrifying. Grace Bumbry's duskytoned mezzo is well-suited to this work; she sings her recitatives and arias in a very straightforward manner that would not sound too out of place today. And what of the late, great Joan Sutherland? Her interpretations, more than any of the others, display the gulf in performance tradition between 1961 and 2010. Anything slow and with a hint of 'holiness' is delivered with what we now consider to be over-sentimental swooping, and consonants are rarely heard. Yet her ornamentation is inspired (sometimes over-inspired), and her brightness of voice in Rejoice greatly is a delight. The same can be said of her dazzling performance of Let the bright seraphim at the end, where three 'bonus' arias from McKellar are also included. One is from Jephtha, where the dramatic expressiveness and freedom of his recitative is astounding; two are from Judas Maccabaeus, and suit his voice especially well. In the final section of Sound an alarm! McKellar more than holds his own against the massed strings and brass of the LSO. It may be old-fashioned, but it still has the power to move and thrill - a verdict that I would apply to the rest of this set.

Reviewed by Anne McAlister