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Well, the part about surpassing the Beecham version may have sounded a bit presumptuous, but I don't really mind that.
I don't find anything wrong with taking a personal approach to an already existing (master)piece. Isn't this what all conductors and performers do too? New arrangements of old pieces have a long tradition, like in the the English "In Nomine" culture. Of course, if the point is "to make the Messiah better", it may seem a bit arrogant, but there's nothing wrong with writing down your personal re-interpretation of the piece, with the eyes of a person living in the 21st century.
The point is not whether it is "better" or "worse" than the original. It is simply a personal work based on material provided by Händel and I for one have heard some marvellous pieces that were created in just that spirit. I'd see it much more as a reverence to Händel than as arrogance (as long as you approach the piece with some respect).
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