Compare performersGeorge Frideric Handel
Messiah, Hallelujah chorus, in three recordings
Messiah, HWV 56 — Hallelujah chorus
Choirs recorded in 1916, 1926 and 1953 sing the chorus’s chordal acclamations and overlapping entries.
Recordings in
this comparison
Choose a recording and press Play. Selecting another card continues playback from the matching point in that recording.
Oratorio Chorus
Edison’s choir recorded the chorus in 1916, with its accompaniment, on one side of a Diamond Disc released that May.
Malcolm Sargent, Royal Choral Society
Royal Choral Society; Royal Albert Hall Orchestra; Malcolm Sargent, conductor
A live Royal Albert Hall performance, with the hall’s orchestra accompanying the Royal Choral Society on 2 April 1926.
Hermann Scherchen, London Philharmonic Choir
London Symphony Orchestra; London Philharmonic Choir; Hermann Scherchen, conductor; Frederick Jackson, chorus master
A quick beat keeps the choral exchanges moving, with the London Symphony Orchestra accompanying a relatively small choir.
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Each strip shows changes in volume within one recording.
Handel sets the choir singing together in chords, then passes a tune from one voice to the next. Edison’s Oratorio Chorus recorded it in 1916; Sargent’s performance comes from the Royal Albert Hall in 1926. Scherchen’s fast 1953 account led Owen Jensen, writing in the New Zealand Listener in June 1954, to joke about “Handelian traffic inspectors”.
Tempo map
Time taken compared with Hermann Scherchen, London Philharmonic Choir: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.
- Oratorio Chorus
- Malcolm Sargent, Royal Choral Society
- Hermann Scherchen, London Philharmonic Choir · reference
Passages compared
Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.
- 01
Orchestral opening and choir entry
0:00 in the referenceThe violins play the rhythm first. The choir enters three bars later, all four voices singing ‘Hallelujah’ together.
- 02
“The kingdom of this world”
1:10 in the referenceThe choir moves together in measured notes above a descending bass. Trumpets and drums fall silent.
- 03
“King of kings”
2:00 in the referenceThe sopranos hold their line above the quick answers in the lower voices, then enter higher with each new phrase.
- 04
Final cadence in D major
3:06 in the referenceChoir and orchestra stop. After the rest the choir sings one broad ‘Hallelujah’, ending on a held D major chord.
Length of each recording
- Oratorio Chorus3:42
- Malcolm Sargent, Royal Choral Society4:25
- Hermann Scherchen, London Philharmonic Choir3:21
These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.
Recording notes
Oratorio Chorus
Edison’s choir recorded the chorus in 1916, with its accompaniment, on one side of a Diamond Disc released that May.
Oratorio Chorus; conductor and accompanying players uncredited
1916
Malcolm Sargent, Royal Choral Society
A live Royal Albert Hall performance, with the hall’s orchestra accompanying the Royal Choral Society on 2 April 1926.
Royal Choral Society; Royal Albert Hall Orchestra; Malcolm Sargent, conductor
2 April 1926, Royal Albert Hall, London
Hermann Scherchen, London Philharmonic Choir
A quick beat keeps the choral exchanges moving, with the London Symphony Orchestra accompanying a relatively small choir.
London Symphony Orchestra; London Philharmonic Choir; Hermann Scherchen, conductor; Frederick Jackson, chorus master
1953
Further reading
- Edison museum catalogue: ensemble, matrix and May 1916 issue
- Edison upstream archive: provenance and public-domain dedication
- Sargent library record: live concert and Electrola matrix
- Sargent upstream transfer and first-issue discrepancy
- Sargent Commons import: 1927 release date
- Scherchen recording and recording-specific European rights notice
- Owen Jensen, New Zealand Listener, 11 June 1954: Scherchen’s fast tempi and clear choral singing
- Exploring Handel’s Messiah: Hallelujah text, voices and instrumentation, pp. 18–20
- Handel, Hallelujah: full score and parts, Joshua Koo’s Mutopia edition
How the recordings are matched
The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.
- Oratorio Chorus: match score 0.962. Matched passages available.
- Malcolm Sargent, Royal Choral Society: match score 0.966. Matched passages available.
Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.