Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire offer a unique release of Handel’s Messiah: a 3-disc set including 2 CDs and a DVD, presenting a dramatic approach which explores the work as the theatrical entertainment which Handel intended – an oratorio being a dramatic work, and Handel’s bold declaration that Messiah was “A Sacred Oratorio.” While the theatrical/spiritual duality caused criticism in Handel’s lifetime, Sorrell believes it is one of the key reasons the work continues to speak so directly to modern audiences. The DVD includes footage from rehearsals, concerts and recording sessions, interviews with soloists, principal players and Sorrell.

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Recorded live in concert, 12 and 13 December 2008, with additional recording sessions on 16 and 17 December, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Exception CD1, tracks 2-3 and CD2, track 1 recorded in February 2010