Handel’s Messiah is already very well represented on the market with dozens of existing recordings and new productions appearing at regular intervals. Yet this is a very special version, carefully crafted by the Prague-based Collegium Vocale and Collegium 1704 under the baton of Vaclav Luks, founder of the ensemble and one of the most exciting conductors of the Baroque and Classical repertoire. The fine young singers Giulia Semenzato, Benno Schachtner, Krystian Adam, and Krešimir Stražanac joined the ensembles for two moving live performances in Prague’s Rudolfinum in March 2018, and those performances are now presented here. Collegium 1704 and the Collegium Vocale 1704 were founded in 2005. Since 2007, Collegium 1704 has been ensemble in residence of the St. Wenceslas Music Festival in Ostrava and a regular guest at leading European festivals and concert venues in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and more.
