Something's wrong with any English group of professional singers and instrumentalists that can't work themselves up to a sensitive and idiomatic performance of Handel's Messiah, and this group certainly doesn't disappoint. However, I do think that there are performances with more personality--more of a sense of the music's grandeur (Trevor Pinnock on Archiv) or intimacy (The Sixteen on Hyperion). Mind you, there's nothing at all wrong here, and if you do opt for this team, you won't be disappointed. --David Hurwitz

Joan Rodgers (soprano), Della Jones (mezzo soprano), Christopher Robson (counter-tenor), Philip Langridge (tenor), Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox