Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Handel’’s one act opera-ballet Terpsichore (1734) is followed by the ballets sequences from his 1735 opera seria, Ariodante. Leading baroque conductor James Richman founded the NYC-based Concert Royal in 1974 and remains its Artistic Director. About soprano Ava Pine: “…perfect balance of passion and intellect…a voice of natural beauty and flexibility” – D Magazine (Dallas, TX) About mezzo Kirsten Sollek: …an appealingly rich alto” – NYTimes; “…elemental tone quality.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Handel Album is the Aulos Ensemble's fifth in a series of critically acclaimed releases for Centaur Records, which include a collection of Christmas music, as well as albums dedicated to Rameau, Telemann and the Bach family. Soprano Dominique Labelle, whose voice has been called "angelic," "silvery," and "vibrant", is noted for her probing explorations of the repertoire from the Baroque to new music. This selection of Handel's masterful operatic arias and other vocal excerpts is interspersed with individual movements from his instrumental Trio Sonata and Concerto masterpieces.

G.F. Handel used material from his composer colleagues, and created his own arrangements of their music. While he arranged countless renditions of his contemporaries' music, he also composed original music of his own. This performance makes us aware of the sheer beauty of this music, which turns into gold in Handel's hands. Whether new or borrowed, these grand concertos are masterfully performed!

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.

Classical Music

Classical Music

A new account of the most important published chamber music work by Handel! The experienced, renowned, and awarded ensemble Al Ayre Espa�ol imbues this performance with their usual drive and intensity. Founded in 1988 by conductor Eduardo L�pez Banzo, Al Ayre Espa�ol sought to challenge the pervading clich�s that often surrounded the performance of Spanish baroque music at that time. The spirit of the ensemble has always been to refute these clich�s with musicological rigor and performance excellence, and they strive to give new life to music from the past, thus o pening it up to contemporary audiences.

Recorded in: St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, London 11-17 January 1991 Producer(s) Tim Oldham Sound Engineer(s) Richard Lee Peter Sheldon (Assistant)

Recorded in: St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, London 30 January-1 February 1989 Producer(s) Martin Compton Sound Engineer(s) Anthony Howell

Classical Music

CDs of opera and oratorio arias and duets by Handel are hardly a rare event. Last year’s 250th anniversary of the composer’s death lead to something of a glut in the market. In this respect, Chandos - under its early music Chaconne label - has made a wise choice in waiting until this year to release this recording of dramatic duets. It enables us to sit back and assess it on its own terms rather than as yet another anniversary act of homage.

And this disc really is worth considering closely. Superbly recorded, it sounds alive, clear and acoustically rich. It also features a well balanced programme, mixing operatic with oratorio duets that cover the full range of emotional experiences endured by Handel’s characters – from painful separation to joyous reunion; and from loving harmony to malign scheming.

The playing from the English Concert under Harry Bicket is excellent. Their performance is a fully ‘authentic’ affair on original instruments, with the usual sections of the baroque orchestra augmented by organ, archlute and baroque guitar. The recording balance brings them more to the fore than is often the case in Handel recordings, and turns them from stage supporters, to fully fledged actors in each of the short scenarios. Take for example the painterly introduction to ‘To thee, thou glorious son of worth’ from Theodora (track 6), or the plaintive flutes that accompany ‘Vivo in te’ from Tamerlano (track 9).

And what of the two soloists – soprano Rosemary Joshua and mezzo Sarah Connolly? Both are experienced Handelians in the recording studio and, more importantly, on stage, and therefore bring an insight, vigour and commitment to each of their roles. Their voices are also sufficiently varied to enable the listener to differentiate between them: Joshua’s is bright and lithe; Connolly’s warm and supple. Occasionally their blend is a little indistinct – in ‘Notte cara!’ from Ottone, for example (track 5) – and Connolly’s characterisation of roles originally sung by male castrati could do with a little beefing up. But for sheer vocal beauty, there is very little to fault.

John-Pierre Joyce, MusicWeb International

"This is what happens when you give every bar of Handel’s music its own raison d’être and breathe every wisp of nuance into his flavourful duets and those prolonged “da capo” arias. This concert, delivered by the English Concert under Harry Bicket, offered two artists of great refinement: Connolly and the elegant soprano Rosemary Joshua. Actually, there was a third great artist here, too: Bicket led his ensemble with both dramatic concision and pungent expression."

-- The Times (London)

Recorded in: St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, London 30 November-2 December 1987