I would avoid the all-too-obvious choices of Karajan and Bernstein, in
any of their recorded incarnations.  Pearlman and the Boston Baroque to my
mind have the best HIP performance - and my current favorite.  But I also
believe it's a work that can take the weightier modern sound.  Fruehbeck
de Burgos and Davis with the LSO provide good baseline performances, but
nothing mind-blowing.  Shaw on Telarc has some great choral work, but I
dislike the edition he used.  It's one of those which try to improve
Sussmayer.  I'm not saying it can't be done, but I haven't heard it done
yet.  I've not heard any of the Walters, but they sure look intriguing.
I haven't heard Solti either, but the guy is so maddeningly inconsistent,
I wouldn't take a chance, and I've never heard it mentioned by anybody as
one of the great recordings.

Steve Schwartz