I have a two-CD, 1984 recording of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus performing the Christmas and Easter portions of Handel's Messiah in Orchestra Hall. It is a Decca Record Company recording distributed by London (maybe London 414 396-2?). I have a young dog that recently got a hold of and crunched the CD's so now I need to replace them.
I'm looking for excellent performances and recordings of these works on CD, but not in a digital download. I'm guessing there have been "better" recordings of the Messiah since 1984 in either smaller scale or large productions. Is anyone out there familiar with this Decca/London recording or familiar with other performances/recordings that they would recommend as being even better?