G. F. Handel: Messiah (Schirmer Vocal Score) (G. Schirmer's Editions of Oratorios and Cantatas)

Anyone attending a Messiah sing-along is most likely to fit in when using this old favorite edition. The musicological work has been superseded by Watkins Shaw's edition for Novello, but his piano reductions are idiosyncratic. This piano-vocal score has no measure numbers or rehearsal figures, but the reduction is pianistic in scope. The choral lines are in smaller type but are workable. The price is of course also highly attractive. Listeners who truly love this work may be interested in the full orchestral score--also at a great price--from Dover, edited by Alfred Mann. --William R. Braun