Listened to my latest thrift find Messiah last night, Klemperer on Angel with Scwartzkopf, Gedda and Hines.
Also have the Mormon Tabernacle Columbia with Ormandy and the Phila; Farrell and Warfield. Plus the London conducted by Boing-ing with (of course) Sutherland and Krause.Gedda makes the Angel worthwhile but I can't stand Schwartzkopf.
The Mormons do a good job but not really very 1740'ish.
I haven't listened to the Sutherland yet.
Vinyl and Music Asylum favor the Beecham, Hogwood and Marriner sets which I plan to acquire.
I had the pleasure of hearing the small-ensemble-with-modern-instruments road show Robert Shaw Chorale live in college back in the sixties which I still remember as incredible. And it's also available, I discover, on vinyl.
Recommend any of these or others?