I never cared for Wagner until I heard Vicker's interpretation of Tristan, but hearing him sing Handel is refreshing. Its living proof that that Handel is fully present in Wagner and Wagner also present in Handel, as they are both part of a living, breathing, continuous tradition of performance.
It's so great to see that the greatest Tristan and Otelo of all recorded time could do such great work with Haendel oratorio. Bravo sir, you are missed.
i really enjoyed the voice!! alot, I only wish there was use of a cadenza. I do feel that it was enjoyable but i felt it a little safe even for him not going a bit beyond traditional with given opportunity. maybe just choosing to sing simply for the sake of gracing the piece as written?..
My coach of several years taught me. Your not in Handels league so just sing his notes, do not invent your own. After all you sing better than he did anyway.
Stop with the bickering with all of you. You are suppose to be commenting on this piece not on each other. That is what this comment forum is for - nothing else. In my opinion, Jon Vickers is the best tenor I have ever heard when it comes to The Messiah. I grew up listening to quite a few and he seems to be the best.
Stop with the bickering with all of you. You are suppose to be commenting on this piece not on each other. That is what this comment forum is for - nothing else. In my opinion, Jon Vickers is the best tenor I have ever heard when it comes to The Messiah. I grew up listening to quite a few and he seems to be the best.
Stop with the bickering with all of you. You are suppose to be commenting on this piece not on each other. That is what this comment forum is for - nothing else. In my opinion, Jon Vickers is the best tenor I have ever heard when it comes to The Messiah. I grew up listening to quite a few and he seems to be the best.
Come on now, this is exquisite--powerful, musical, beautiful, inhuman runs for such a massive voice. I have never heard the like of it and likely never will again.
That's what blew me away when I first heard this recording...how such a massive heldentenor voice could navigate such treacherous runs...it's mind-boggling.
Absolutely, it is rare. But in truth, good coloratura is independent of the weight or range of one's voice. It is a function of excellent support (thus leaving the pressure off the vocal folds so that they can do their fioraturae with ease).
I always pity those people for whom one version of an aria is the "best". There are far more singers than there are really good arias. If there were only one singer for each aria then very soon you would run out of things to listen to.
I first loved the Simoneau version. Although they are both Canadian, Vickers and Simoneau could hardly be more different. Both were exceptional.
I sang in the chorus once bhind Charles Bressler - a Handel/Baroque specialist. He was good too.
"I always pity those people for whom one version of an aria is the "best"."---I can't agree more with this statement. There are so many great performances that it's near impossible to call one the defined best.
Note that there will always be renditions we *like* the best, but this is purely opinion, and should be treated as such.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
do you have the Simoneau version ? If you have it, can you please send it to me (or post it, if you want to share it with everybody) ? I can't find it anywhere, but I have no doubt it would be amazing, considering everything I heard by Simoneau so far ; he's my favorite tenor.
Alas, the only copy I have is the one in my head.
I knew Simoneau a little. My ex-wife was his student at the San Francisco Conservatory of music. Several of my friends also studied with him. Unfortunately he wasn't that good a teacher.
I only heard him sing live once. I loved Simoneau's voice but Vickers was the best tenor I ever heard.
I am always thrilled by this. He sings with total conviction, sensitivity to the words and amazing agility for such a magnificently huge voice. Bravo Jon you are unmatched! And Sir Thomas Beecham admired him greatly too.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Please, don't get me wrong. Jon Vickers sings this aria well enough--that's undeniable. Still, I think calling his rendition the best performance ever is stretching the truth. Vickers sings this aria well. But John Mark Ainsley, in my opinion, sings this aria better.
Any fool that would say that Handel would have objected to such a voice as his is just that, a fool. Every note is carefully placed, in tune and executed with both power and musicality. That's Vickers for you. The master. :D
As to the singing-this might be the very best tenor work in history-yes an overstatement in some peoples minds.I hear every note as it is expressed with wonderful musicality and with a full-bodied approach to the aria.This is Handel as it should be sung-not as it usually is... with that white sounding, prissy, glass slipper wearing approach that i...well- extremely off-putting-IMHO.I have this recording and love to play it during Xmas-usually on the way to rehearsals for something else...lol
Well said. a mark of a good singer, IMO, regardless of voice type, is his or her ability to sing all styles, languages, with orchestra, piano, chamber group etc. Big Jon can do it all. Just unreal talent.
I don't thinks Vickers strayed too far from "Art" singing-no pop, a la Pavarotti!His strong "head" voice enabled him to sing softly-surely one of the more difficult challenges for spinto/heldontenor fach voices.I'm not sure that the song cycle "Dichterliebe"sung to a great extent by Vickers with head voice always wins fans,but it demonstrates a technical ability few singers can match.Imagine any of those old Melocchi schooled singers like Del Monacco singing softly.I don't think they could.IMHO
You can hear what I mean on a concert version recording done at a concert sung at Carnegie Hall(1967).The Handel is wonderful, and the Dvorak songs are masterfully presented, but the Schumann song cycle is, well...unusual.Cheers.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Vickers sings this decently, but saying this is Handel as it should be sung opinionated drivel, I'm afraid. Proper Baroque singing style calls for passion, which Vickers displays, as well as precise articulation and dynamic variation, both of which Vickers eschews here. For thrilling Baroque tenor singing, check out John Mark Ainsley's EV'RY VALLEY.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
As Handel's premiere mezzo--I premiered no less than 5 Handel opera roles--I think I'm more qualified to discuss proper Baroque performance practice. Vickers does a decent job, given his voice type and training, but this is NOT exemplary Baroque singing.
If this is directed at me - "Put up some clips of yourself" - then what can I say? I have several YouTube posting of myself singing. I even have some postings of myself lecturing on technical subjects. I have posted my real name and my real image. I am hardly hidden.
Almost all the opera singers on YouTube are better than I ever was. Certainly Vickers was in a different league altogether.
Comment removed
MSMCT1 1 month ago
Totally agree! handel souns so much better when it's sung by bigger voices
deeefie 3 months ago 2
@deeefie Like Joan Sutherland!
ChrisStockslager 2 months ago
SO glad this is shared on YouTube. An awesome rendition.
NoMoosic1 3 months ago
thankyou, mr vickers, for taking this aria out of the realm of the tiny tenor.
Operaandchant90 5 months ago
Great work by the young Vickers, w/Sir Thomas Beecham. .. Compare this with the remarkable recording of Aksel Schiotz.
jhb134 1 year ago
¡Admirable, Jon Vickers!!!. Descanse en Paz.-
melopedia 1 year ago
I never cared for Wagner until I heard Vicker's interpretation of Tristan, but hearing him sing Handel is refreshing. Its living proof that that Handel is fully present in Wagner and Wagner also present in Handel, as they are both part of a living, breathing, continuous tradition of performance.
MisterSenseless 1 year ago
It's so great to see that the greatest Tristan and Otelo of all recorded time could do such great work with Haendel oratorio. Bravo sir, you are missed.
godofmusic17 2 years ago 9
i really enjoyed the voice!! alot, I only wish there was use of a cadenza. I do feel that it was enjoyable but i felt it a little safe even for him not going a bit beyond traditional with given opportunity. maybe just choosing to sing simply for the sake of gracing the piece as written?..
BadBoiLeO 2 years ago
My coach of several years taught me. Your not in Handels league so just sing his notes, do not invent your own. After all you sing better than he did anyway.
I love the simplicity of the ending.
BRAVO
charles43110 2 years ago
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Stop with the bickering with all of you. You are suppose to be commenting on this piece not on each other. That is what this comment forum is for - nothing else. In my opinion, Jon Vickers is the best tenor I have ever heard when it comes to The Messiah. I grew up listening to quite a few and he seems to be the best.
malmsteen1969 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Stop with the bickering with all of you. You are suppose to be commenting on this piece not on each other. That is what this comment forum is for - nothing else. In my opinion, Jon Vickers is the best tenor I have ever heard when it comes to The Messiah. I grew up listening to quite a few and he seems to be the best.
malmsteen1969 2 years ago
Stop with the bickering with all of you. You are suppose to be commenting on this piece not on each other. That is what this comment forum is for - nothing else. In my opinion, Jon Vickers is the best tenor I have ever heard when it comes to The Messiah. I grew up listening to quite a few and he seems to be the best.
malmsteen1969 2 years ago 7
Come on now, this is exquisite--powerful, musical, beautiful, inhuman runs for such a massive voice. I have never heard the like of it and likely never will again.
crabbe88 2 years ago 18
That's what blew me away when I first heard this recording...how such a massive heldentenor voice could navigate such treacherous runs...it's mind-boggling.
mxl2003 2 years ago 4
Absolutely, it is rare. But in truth, good coloratura is independent of the weight or range of one's voice. It is a function of excellent support (thus leaving the pressure off the vocal folds so that they can do their fioraturae with ease).
And Vickers clearly had that. How masterful!
aaronsande 2 years ago 3
@aaronsande Great anwswer, greetings!
chrisibzu 1 year ago
@chrisibzu Glad you liked it...I'm surprised I knew that much so long ago, looking back now! LOL
aaronsande 1 year ago
I always pity those people for whom one version of an aria is the "best". There are far more singers than there are really good arias. If there were only one singer for each aria then very soon you would run out of things to listen to.
I first loved the Simoneau version. Although they are both Canadian, Vickers and Simoneau could hardly be more different. Both were exceptional.
I sang in the chorus once bhind Charles Bressler - a Handel/Baroque specialist. He was good too.
Agorante 3 years ago
"I always pity those people for whom one version of an aria is the "best"."---I can't agree more with this statement. There are so many great performances that it's near impossible to call one the defined best.
Note that there will always be renditions we *like* the best, but this is purely opinion, and should be treated as such.
mxl2003 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
do you have the Simoneau version ? If you have it, can you please send it to me (or post it, if you want to share it with everybody) ? I can't find it anywhere, but I have no doubt it would be amazing, considering everything I heard by Simoneau so far ; he's my favorite tenor.
tenor9216 2 years ago
Alas, the only copy I have is the one in my head.
I knew Simoneau a little. My ex-wife was his student at the San Francisco Conservatory of music. Several of my friends also studied with him. Unfortunately he wasn't that good a teacher.
I only heard him sing live once. I loved Simoneau's voice but Vickers was the best tenor I ever heard.
Agorante 2 years ago
Faustina Bordoni would be greatly offended by a 21st century person taking her name and purporting to speak on her behalf.
CharlotteinWeimar 3 years ago
I am always thrilled by this. He sings with total conviction, sensitivity to the words and amazing agility for such a magnificently huge voice. Bravo Jon you are unmatched! And Sir Thomas Beecham admired him greatly too.
CharlotteinWeimar 3 years ago 4
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Please, don't get me wrong. Jon Vickers sings this aria well enough--that's undeniable. Still, I think calling his rendition the best performance ever is stretching the truth. Vickers sings this aria well. But John Mark Ainsley, in my opinion, sings this aria better.
FaustinaBordoni 2 years ago
Any fool that would say that Handel would have objected to such a voice as his is just that, a fool. Every note is carefully placed, in tune and executed with both power and musicality. That's Vickers for you. The master. :D
eeli1 3 years ago 12
Wonderful to hear such flexibility in such a huge voice --
stevevandien 3 years ago 11
yesssss
TerrancePogue 3 years ago
As to the singing-this might be the very best tenor work in history-yes an overstatement in some peoples minds.I hear every note as it is expressed with wonderful musicality and with a full-bodied approach to the aria.This is Handel as it should be sung-not as it usually is... with that white sounding, prissy, glass slipper wearing approach that i...well- extremely off-putting-IMHO.I have this recording and love to play it during Xmas-usually on the way to rehearsals for something else...lol
vickersman 3 years ago 6
Well said. a mark of a good singer, IMO, regardless of voice type, is his or her ability to sing all styles, languages, with orchestra, piano, chamber group etc. Big Jon can do it all. Just unreal talent.
cjondoran 3 years ago 7
I don't thinks Vickers strayed too far from "Art" singing-no pop, a la Pavarotti!His strong "head" voice enabled him to sing softly-surely one of the more difficult challenges for spinto/heldontenor fach voices.I'm not sure that the song cycle "Dichterliebe"sung to a great extent by Vickers with head voice always wins fans,but it demonstrates a technical ability few singers can match.Imagine any of those old Melocchi schooled singers like Del Monacco singing softly.I don't think they could.IMHO
vickersman 3 years ago 3
You can hear what I mean on a concert version recording done at a concert sung at Carnegie Hall(1967).The Handel is wonderful, and the Dvorak songs are masterfully presented, but the Schumann song cycle is, well...unusual.Cheers.
vickersman 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Vickers sings this decently, but saying this is Handel as it should be sung opinionated drivel, I'm afraid. Proper Baroque singing style calls for passion, which Vickers displays, as well as precise articulation and dynamic variation, both of which Vickers eschews here. For thrilling Baroque tenor singing, check out John Mark Ainsley's EV'RY VALLEY.
FaustinaBordoni 3 years ago
well... nothing you say changes my mind...this is how it should be sung
vickersman 3 years ago 9
This comment has received too many negative votes show
As Handel's premiere mezzo--I premiered no less than 5 Handel opera roles--I think I'm more qualified to discuss proper Baroque performance practice. Vickers does a decent job, given his voice type and training, but this is NOT exemplary Baroque singing.
FaustinaBordoni 3 years ago
fine...best wishes
vickersman 3 years ago 2
Put up some clips of yourself. You're awfully full of yourself, and the rest of us would love to see why that is!
aaronsande 2 years ago 2
If this is directed at me - "Put up some clips of yourself" - then what can I say? I have several YouTube posting of myself singing. I even have some postings of myself lecturing on technical subjects. I have posted my real name and my real image. I am hardly hidden.
Almost all the opera singers on YouTube are better than I ever was. Certainly Vickers was in a different league altogether.
Agorante 2 years ago 2
It is rumuroed that Jon Vickers recorded Comfort Ye and Every Valley on the first attempt.
rdailey05 3 years ago 3
Indeed... he was a master singer...
WiseMonki 3 years ago
My favorite recording of this music. The chirping, additional orchestration tells me it must be the Beecham stereo set of MESSIAH.
billyguns2 3 years ago
You are right, it is indeed from the Beecham set.
mxl2003 3 years ago