HANDEL : Harpsichord Suites Nos. 1 - 8

This is a beautiful recording of Handel's Messiah, performed by OSJ at St John’s Smith Square in London on 5th March 2016. This double CD features Nardus Williams (soprano), Roderic Morris (sountertenor), Christopher Turner (tenor), Bozidar Smiljanic (bass) and OSJ Voices with Jeremy Jackman (chorus master) performing a re-orchestration by John Lubbock for Wind Orchestra, Soloists and Choir, with John Lubbock (conductor).

Handel, G.F.: Giove in Argo [Opera]

TRIO SONATAS

HANDEL IN LONDON

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.

HANDEL: Cantatas (HWV 82, 142 and 150)

The Coronation of King George II was a magnificent event, deploying great pomp and ceremonial, elevated by music of an equal splendor. Handel, the celebrated opera composer, was commissioned by the new king to compose the music for this grand ceremony which was due to be held at Westminster Abbey. His antiphons stood by ceremonial works by other composers such as Henry Purcell, John Blow, Thomas Tallis, John Farmer, Orlando Gibbons and William Child, intermingled with superb fanfares and processions of drums. The result is one of the most beautiful ceremonial works ever written for a coronation in England.

This release celebrates the 300th anniversary of Handel's great Brockes-Passion: a long-neglected masterpiece by this most brilliant composer. Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music are joined by a stellar line-up of soloists in this recording, the culmination of two years of scholarly research. To create its new edition of the score (Handel's original being long-lost), the Academy of Ancient Music assembled a team of scholars and musicologists from the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, King's College London and more, to work alongside Music Director Richard Egarr and editor Leo Duarte.

Consulting 15 manuscript sources from 11 collections in 5 countries, they have produced the most substantial edition of this work yet, including as appendices extra movements and Charles Jennens' partial English translation in their world premiere recordings. A deluxe 220-page album booklet accompanies this release, featuring new contemporary artworks inspired by Handel's Brockes-Passion, full notes, the first contemporary publication of the original Kurrentschrift text alongside the modern German libretto and a brand new English translation, several additional articles, details of other composer's take on Brockes' visceral libretto, and much more. This album is perhaps the most definitive guide to this astonishing work yet published.

Soprano Elizabeth Watts takes the limelight as the Daughter of Zion, with tenor Robert Murray and bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum as Evangelist and Christ respectively. They are joined by Tim Mead as Judas, Gwilym Bowen as Peter, and Ruby Hughes, Rachael Lloyd, Nicky Spence and Morgan Pearse as Faithful Souls, amongst others. The Academy of Ancient Music, and the Choir of AAM, recorded this new release around a 300th anniversary performance on Good Friday 2019 at London's Barbican Hall. The Academy of Ancient Music's exploration and re-discovery of Handel's Brockes-Passion has been a fascinating journey of discovery that is only the beginning, in the modern era, for this major work of Handel's. "A gruesomely graphic work to break Bach's monopoly" (Financial Times)

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REVIEW:

From the French-style opening tableau, the only extended chorus in the work, Egarr and his responsive forces hardly put a foot wrong. The superb playing and singing of the AAM go beyond mere notions of good Handelian style, while all the soloists ‘live’ their roles with operatic vividness. The words – overly sentimental or brutal for modern taste – always matter.

– Gramophone

It was Stefan Zweig who wrote a particularly colorful description of Georg Friedrich Händel’s “Messiah.” In his “Sternstunden der Menschheit” he creates a living story from the spirit of the work, and in the process allows his readers to glance over Händel’s shoulders whilst he is composing. He revealed the timelessness of one of the most impressive compositions in the history of music. In September 2019, the Gaechinger Cantorey orchestra and chorus under their principal conductor and intendant of the International Bachakademie Stuttgart Hans-Christoph Rademann have recorded this epic work of sacred choral music at St. Margaret’s Church in Gotha, Thuringia, together with an excellent quartet of soloists.

Classical Music

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

This Handelian diptych, the brainchild of the director Pierre Audi, was conceived in a style of great purity, right down to the costumes, the decors and the sumptuous chiaroscuro lighting. In order to replicate this aesthetic, reminiscent of Renaissance paintings, with the greatest possible fidelity, the performances, filmed in high resolution, are being released on BLU RAY only. Christophe Rousset and his orchestra convey exceptional fervor in this music, here served by the finest Handelian voices imaginable, foremost among them Sandrine Piau, who enjoyed a genuine triumph in the stage production. Nor can one forget the dramatic performance of Jeremy Ovenden in Tamerlano, or the beauty of the voices of Ann Hallenberg, Sophie Karthauser, Delphine Galou and the countertenor Christophe Dumaux. Christophe Rousset writes of this production: “…In Alcina, Handel gives us one of his most dramatically accomplished scores, in which each character follows a wholly individual trajectory, and the different “stages” of love are delicately handled.”

Why yet another Messiah? ‘I went through the different scores that exist and decided on the very interesting 1754 version, which features five soloists. You must remember that, when Handel arrived somewhere to perform his oratorio, he had soloists of varying standards available to him. So he quickly revised his score accordingly... All this is directly related to the reality of Handel’s situation as a concert promoter. In those days, to earn a living from his music, a composer absolutely had to get his works performed and make a profit on the evening. The idea of not retouching a work to avoid “spoiling” or “distorting” it is a much more modern one. There must be around a dozen versions of Messiah (I won’t list them all). The 1754 version is rarely played because it calls for five soloists: two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass... I’ve opted here for an operatic interpretation, taking its cue from the drama inherent in this account of the life of Christ.’ (Herve Niquet) This deluxe edition also includes a fascinating portrait of Herve Niquet, an interview organised around thirty keywords (from ‘Dance’ to ‘Nerves’) that sheds new light on one of the most atypical conductors on today’s musical scene.

This deluxe package presents the oratorio on two CDs, issued in a hardcover book that explains not only the background of Messiah, but also Niquet’s quasi-operatic interpretation, which emphasizes the spiritual drama of the work and removes it from the overly reverent tradition that prevailed from the 19th century until the 1980s. Highly recommended.

– All Music Guide

Classical Music

The oldest Bach choir in the United States, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem celebrates it's 120th birthday in 2018. Since it's founding in 1898, the now famous choir has attracted thousands of visitors from across the United States and beyond to the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival in Pennsylvania. According to a note on the score, the Song for Saint Cecilia's Day (HWV 76) - usually referred to as the Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day - took just 10 days to compose, between September 15 and 24, 1739. The Ode is not an oratorio but rather a sequence of movements, comprising instrumental pieces, declarative recitatives, expressive arias, and powerful choruses that extol music and it's patron saint. With Cassandra Lemoine, Benjamin Butterfield & The Bach Festival Orchestra, directed by Greg Funfgeld, this is a glorious release.