Famed for it's interpretations of some of Handel's most loved works, The Sixteen marks the start of it's 40th anniversary season by releasing it's first new Handel recording in five years. Handel's pastoral opera is a tale of love, tragedy and liberation. The libretto by John Gay, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses (book XIII), tells of the eternal love between the mortal shepherd Acis and goddess Galatea and how it is doomed by the jealous cyclops Polyphemus. Handel's music beautifully demonstrates the pain and love in such beautiful, dramatic choruses as 'Wretched lovers!' and the grief felt by Galatea in 'Must I my Acis still bemoan'. Staying true to the premiere in 1718, just five singers and nine instrumentalists feature on this intimate recording.
A Musical Journey - Germany: A Musical Visit to the Benedict
Naxos AudioVisual
DVD
$6.99$13.99Save 50%Jul 31, 2012
The Places - the monastery at Ottobeuren was founded in 764 and included buildings from the succeeding centuries, subsequently destroyed by fire. The present buildings date from the beginning of the 18th century, with the church rebuilt under the architect Johann Michael Fischer. It remains a remarkable monument to it's period, and the ornate Abbey Church, with it's frescoes and elaborate rococo decoration is bewildering in it's splendor. The Music - Music accompanying the visit to Ottobeuren consists of choruses from Handel's oratorio Messiah, written in 1741. Of all English oratorios Handel's Messiah has always been the most overwhelmingly popular. It is the least theatrical of all his oratorios and the most purely sacred in it's choice of subject, the Messiah, a compendious version of the coming of Christ, His death and resurrection. The text, by Charles Jennens, drew extensively on the Authorized Version of the Bible, and an additional attraction has always been the large number of choruses included, a larger number than in any other of Handel's oratorios.
The Goossens Messiah, recorded for the first and only time by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus under Sir Thomas Beecham, has stood as a landmark of the classical catalogue for sixty years. Goossens’ richly orchestrated version is set to reach a new audience thanks to Maestro Griffith and DCINY, New York City’s leading promoter of classical music. They gathered at Abbey Road Studios in London in July 2019, to record the work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a chorus comprising of sixty members of The Jonathan Griffith Singers, drawn from around the world and sixty members of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. The new recording has captured the score’s vibrant tone colors in thrilling high-definition sound.
An acclaimed conductor, educator and lecturer, Dr. Jonathan Griffith has led performances across North America, Europe, and Asia. Griffith is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY), which has brought together, under Griffith’s artistic leadership, thousands of musicians and choral singers in concert at prestigious venues across the United States, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Disney Hall. The founder and Music Director of the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, Griffith also oversees DCINY’s mentoring program for conductors. Founded in 1983 as a single choir of 100 of the best singers in the nation, the National Youth Choir is now the flagship ensemble of an Arts Council England National Portfolio youth music organization and registered charity, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain (NYCGB), which runs five membership choirs, a nationwide outreach programme for schools and Music Hubs, and provides professional training for the next generation of choral singers, composers and leaders.
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REEVIEW:
Dishing up a rich, lusciously executed bowl of nostalgia, Jonathan Griffith conducts with evident relish and affection. And if Griffith’s choral forces don’t always have the penetrative heft to cut through the orchestral high jinks at their most excitable, they crown the final chorus with a resplendent ‘Amen’.
Following the success of its 2017 recording Edinburgh 1742: Barsanti & Handel, Ensemble Marsyas returns to the music of the Italian composer Francesco Barsanti who made his home in eighteenth-century Scotland. Having already explored Barsanti’s Concerti grossi-Parte Prima, double horn concerto and his arrangements of Scottish tunes, fans will be pleased to be able to hear more music from this engaging composer. The new album will feature Barsanti’s Concerti grossi -Parte Seconda, composed and published in Edinburgh in 1742, thus completing the Opus 3 collection. Another set from ‘A Collection of Old Scots Tunes’, featuring Elizabeth Kenny and Colin Scobie, plus Handel’s Overture to Atalanta, which was performed by the Edinburgh Musical Society, complete the programme. Ensemble Marsyas’ groundbreaking recording of the Parte Prima enjoyed a rapturous reception, gaining a 2018 ICMA nomination and Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’ and Music Web International ‘Recording of the Year 2017’ accolades. Artistic Director Peter Whelan has once again created an album that provides a fascinating glimpse into eighteenth-century musical life in the Scottish capital.
The resounding success Handel’s Messiah encountered the first time it was presented in Dublin in 1742 set the scene for its future. The oratorio depicts the Sacred History of Christ in three parts: the Nativity, Christ’s Passion and Resurrection and finally, Redemption. The alternance of airs and choirs is perfect and Handel’s musical knowledge infallible. Messiah quickly became the composer’s most successful work. It was played thirty-six times during his lifetime and has continued to be presented to modern day, embodying just how majestic and sublime music can be. During its première in London, King George II was so moved by the mythical Hallelujah! that he could not help but leap to his feet, with the entire audience following his lead. In the sumptuous Royal Chapel at Versailles, Hervé Niquet leads four impassioned soloists and a tremulous choir to the height of Handel’s most resplendent baroque edifice!
The Power of Love: Arias from Handel Operas / Forsythe, Sorrell, Apollo's Fire
Avie Records
CD
$19.99Oct 01, 2015
One’s first impression of this CD, in an aria from Orlando comparing Love to the Wind, with its bouncy coloratura and light attitude, might mistakenly be that soprano Amanda Forsythe is “one of those coloratura songbirds,” albeit a very good one. This would be selling her short: yes, she’s most certainly a superb singer, with staggering agility and high notes perfect and free, but she uses every note in her well placed, many-hued voice. Sudden plunges into a not-quite chest voice on words like “dolor” (sadness) color and vary the experience of the aria.
And the next aria, “Geloso tormento” from Almira, with its obbligato oboe and aggressively unhappy strings, gives Forsythe even more emotional room: like any good “early music” soprano, she can sing without vibrato, but what she does with the first two words of the aria are special. The second syllable of “geloso” is attacked white and she sings a crescendo on it, adding vibrato; “tormento” finds a rolled “r” and a shudder on “men”. She embellishes freely and dramatically in the da capo section (here and in each other such aria).
It is a joy to hear a singer rethinking much of this familiar music without ever distorting it, such that the CD’s 55 minutes of singing (broken up with four expertly played orchestral excerpts from Terpsichore) truly impresses like a first hearing. And you never tire of Forsythe, as you might with other light-and-high-voiced singers. A bauble such as Atalanta’s flirtatious “Un cenno leggiadretto” from Serse has such character that it enchants anew. She has no fear of leaning on her voice but she never forces or makes an ugly sound; drama comes from inflection and diction.
Armida’s enraged recit “Dunque I lacci” and the anguished “Ah! crudel” that follows from Rinaldo are tragic in scope and sound, heavy with rage and sadness. The brief, insane B section that pops out of Armida’s deranged mind, “O infidel”, filled with tommy-gun coloratura, is a spectacular display, and Forsythe sadly lopes into the da capo with a voice filled with desolation. Morgana’s “Tornami a vagheggiar” from Alcina is sung for fireworks, and they light up the sky.
Jeanette Sorrell leads the period instruments of Apollo’s Fire devoid of any affectations, and the band plays smoothly and expertly. This is clearly Forsythe’s show and the orchestra and conductor offer great support. I could go on but find no need to; I hope you get my point. This is a knockout recital by a major American soprano.
Certainly, the 'quietest time of year' is also the time when music is to be most frequently heard - not only in public, in shops or markets, but also in the countryside, where Christmas is the time when perhaps the most singing is done. The music author Marius Schneider once underlined this fact by writing:"God hungers for songs." And thus the time which celebrates the symbolic birth of the Lord is a great time for music - even for people who may have no direct religious beliefs. With this 5CD-Set Capriccio presents in total 100 Classical Christmas titles, sung by most famous choruses and soloists. And draws a bow from the high classical Christmas Oratorio by Bach to more simple songs from the country side. And of course the most famous song can't be missed: "Silent Night, Holy Night."
At the beginning of the Sixties, one of the pioneers of the modern philology, Karl Richter, finally recorded, in German, the first modern discographic edition of Handel's Der Messias, which has here been restored. Karl Richter is best remembered for his interpretations of Bach and Handel. His performances were known for their intense and festive manner. He avoided tempo fluctuations that were common in interpretations of his era, and he devoted much attention to ensemble balance. His recordings are notable for "discipline, rhythmic tautness and expressive intensity." This production features soloists Maurice Andre, Hedwig Bilgram, Elmar Schloter, as well as the Muenchener Bach-Chor and the Muenchener Bach-Orchester.
Under the title I vanni occulti, ensemble Al Ayre Espanol, led by maestro Eduardo Lopez Banzo offers us it's personal vision of Handel's Sonatas Op. 2. The phrase comes from the oratorio Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno (The Triumph of Time and Dillusion, 1707). The reference to this aria is not anecdotal, because Sonata No. 1 in this Op. 2 contains references to this music- an aspect that, hardly surprisingly, constitutes a characteristic element of the composition technique of the maestro from Halle. Over the course of his life, Handel composed 20 trio sonatas, 12 of which were published in London in two different collections: six sonatas were published in 1733 as Op. 2 and another seven printed in 1739 as Op. 5. In a disguised allusion to the vanitas allegory and the fleeting passage of time, Al Ayre Espanol presents, just three years after it's recording of Op. 5, an introspective version of Op. 2, which completes and, at the same time, complements the group's first rendition of Handel's trio sonatas. The two recordings form a single project that offers the listener a passionate and impassioned, southern and Mediterranean version of this exquisite chamber music. This version is marked by the emergence, with particular expressive intensity, of the two aesthetic poles present in the chamber music universe of Handel: the most contained lyricism combined with the most explosive fury.
George Frideric Handel was one of those rare composers who excelled in works sacred and secular, instrumental and operatic, leaving us extraordinary masterpieces in every field of music. Already renowned in Italy, Handel made himself known in London with Rinaldo in 1711, which was such a success that he decided to remain in England for good. It is still regarded as one of his greatest operas. Set during the Crusades, Rinaldo is a lavish spectacle that tells a story of love, magic, struggles for power and ultimate reconciliation. Pier Luigi Pizzi's acclaimed production brings us into a 'dreamlike, unreal... world of spells and incantations'. (Epoca). This production by Pier Luigi Pizzi, conceived in 1985 for Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia, has traveled since to some twenty major opera houses worldwide. Discounting practical cuts and a few displacements of musical numbers, it's durable attraction lies in the gorgeous costumes and scenery, a stylish paragon of Hyperbaroque eschewing both literalism and cheap provocation. It is performed at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, which was the first theatre to reopen after lockdown. The set design and direction perfectly respond to the current safety measures.
George Frideric Handel was one of those rare composers who excelled in works sacred and secular, instrumental and operatic, leaving us extraordinary masterpieces in every field of music. Already renowned in Italy, Handel made himself known in London with Rinaldo in 1711, which was such a success that he decided to remain in England for good. It is still regarded as one of his greatest operas. Set during the Crusades, Rinaldo is a lavish spectacle that tells a story of love, magic, struggles for power and ultimate reconciliation. Pier Luigi Pizzi's acclaimed production brings us into a 'dreamlike, unreal... world of spells and incantations'. (Epoca). This production by Pier Luigi Pizzi, conceived in 1985 for Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia, has traveled since to some twenty major opera houses worldwide. Discounting practical cuts and a few displacements of musical numbers, it's durable attraction lies in the gorgeous costumes and scenery, a stylish paragon of Hyperbaroque eschewing both literalism and cheap provocation. It is performed at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, which was the first theatre to reopen after lockdown. The set design and direction perfectly respond to the current safety measures.
CPO's previous release with the soloists and ensembles of the Boston Early Music Festival was awarded two prestigious prizes. The recording of Charpentier’s opera La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs received the Grammy Award for the Best Opera Production in February 2015 and recently won the Klassik-Echo 2015, again for the Best Opera Recording of the Year. Prior to this double success, other productions by cpo and BEMF had been nominated for Gramophone Awards. In the category of the Best Opera Production these were Ariadne by Johann Georg Conradi and Thésée and Psyché by Jean-Baptiste Lully. In addition, Thésée and Psyché received nominations in the category honoring Baroque Vocal Works.
Now the American ensemble joins forces with successful soloists like Aaron Sheehan and Teresa Wakim for our production of Handel’s opera Acis and Galatea in the version of 1718, which was composed for the landed estate of the Earl of Carnarvon and does not recycle music from the earlier version. Both Acis and Galatea and the cantata Sarei troppo felice heard here represent decisive turning points in Handel’s career. The Italian cantata came at the beginning of the one and half decades spent by Handel in the service of patrons. Acis and Galatea marks the highpoint of this phase and therefore, like the cantata before it, clearly renders recognizable the musical means available to him in the private ensembles of his employers. Moreover, Acis and Galatea contains the musical and textual seeds of the English oratorio, which after 1742 completely supplanted opera compositions.
Handel: Works for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord / Aziz, Yamamoto
First Hand Records
CD
$21.99Apr 17, 2020
This is the first time a whole album of Handel featuring viola da gamba has been published. Includes the premiere recording of Kassel Sonata No. 5 George Frideric Handel is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of the baroque era, known especially for his operas, oratorios, concertos and keyboard works. His chamber works include a fine selection of solo and trio sonatas with basso continuo, written for a variety of instruments such as the violin, recorder and transverse flute. In Handel's lifetime the viola da gamba (or viol, as it is also known), was highly regarded in some parts of Europe and Handel featured the instrument in numerous works. In the eighteenth century, the practice of performing music written for other instruments was fairly common, and countless examples of instrumental transcriptions of varying kinds survive from this period. Included in this album are several transcriptions of works of Handel's, as well as pieces which are attributed to him such as the Sonata in C major with Obbligato Harpsichord and a sonata from a recently unearthed collection called the Kassel Sonatas, which here is a premiere recording. Aziz's previous FHR album 'Risonanze' (FHR83) has received much critical acclaim. 'This is a recording to be reckoned with' (American Record Guide)
Handel: Total Eclipse - Music for Handel's Tenor / Sheehan, Stubbs, Pacific MusicWorks
Naxos
CD
$19.99Apr 12, 2019
John Beard was a young tenor who came to George Frideric Handel’s attention when still a teenager. He inspired the great composer to give new focus to the tenor voice within his English oratorios. Beard was Handel’s ideal in his demands for ‘articulate utterance of the words and a just expression of the melody’- a collaboration that climaxed in Handel’s creation of the first truly great tenor part as the hero in Samson. Grammy Award-winning tenor Aaron Sheehan steps into John Beard’s shoes equipped with a voice of ‘shining quality and deep sensitivity’ (The New York Times).
Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 Nos. 7-12 / Forck, Ancient Music Academy Berlin
PENTATONE
SACD
$21.99Jan 17, 2020
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin continue their Handel trilogy with this recording of the last six concerti grossi of the composer’s Op. 6. Originally designed as attractive interludes to English oratorio performances, Handel’s concerti grossi soon gained fame as some of the most appealing orchestral music of the baroque era. With these pieces, written in London towards the end of his career, Handel paid tribute to the immensely popular concerti grossi of Corelli while simultaneously proving his mastery, incorporating all musical styles of his times into his work. The players of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, led by their concertmaster Bernhard Forck, demonstrate why many consider them the best baroque ensemble of today. The concerti grossi Op. 6 are concluded with this second instalment, and a recording of the concerti grossi Op. 3 will complete the trilogy. The ensemble’s first PENTATONE album, Cantata (2018) with countertenor Bejun Mehta, won a Diapason d’or. Their 2019 recording of the first six Op. 6 concerti grossi was hailed as “immaculately played … free of fashionable eccentricities” by The Sunday Times, while Klassik praised the ensemble’s playing as “eloquent”.
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REVIEW:
The group, by the standards of 2020, is large, but the ensemble is precise and quite impressive in the fugues and the other contrapuntal movements in which Handel attempted to outdo Corelli, his model in these works. These pieces are to Corelli what Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are to Vivaldi: dense yet brilliant takes of the form. These performances succeed on their own terms, and there is still plenty of life in this approach.
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir present an intimate and stirring performance of the highlights of the baroque masterpiece Handel’s Messiah. This CD recording of the full score on period instruments features a stellar cast of soloists. Tafelmusik presents this baroque masterpiece with the spirit and vitality of Handel’s own 18th-century productions. “Superhuman”, “spot-on”, “crisp” and “inspired” are just a few of the words critics have used to describe Tafelmusik’s Messiah. A perennial favourite with audiences and critics alike, Tafelmusik’s Messiah has garnered glowing reviews year after year. “I cannot remember a Messiah presentation as uniformly ‘spot-on’ as this year’s by Ivars Taurins’ Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra.” - The Globe and Mail
