When looking for a clip to post in the Merry Christmas thread I ran across a performance by Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque.
Normally I listen to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra version I have on disk. The CSO version is pretty huge, bloated, grand and not really in the spirit of a baroque era performance, but still really enjoyable.
The stripped down version by the Boston Boroque is a really fun quick paced version and I'll probably pick it up on disk if it is available.
If you have any passing liking of classical music you should listen to this, as it is a Christmas tradition and is just an unbelievably transcendent and beautiful work by Handel.
While I've been listening to classical music my whole life I think this work and performance might be pretty enjoyable and accessible to those who generally don't listen to classical music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH3T6YwwU9s
