Christopher Hogwood brought together the worlds of performance and scholarship with infectious enthusiasm—and few recordings bear witness to this as well as the celebrated conductor's legendary 1980 interpretation of Handel’s Messiah. Scholarship means that the edition used is as close as possible to that of the first performance at London’s Foundling Hospital in 1754. But wonderful soloists (including Emma Kirkby’s radiant soprano), a terrific choir and Hogwood’s inspired, handpicked ensemble mean that it simply leaps off the page with joy and sincerity.