This recording was formerly available as Vox-Unique V2U 9000.

This almost unknown, large scale (almost 3 hour) oratorio, The Triumph of Time and Truth, was composed by Handel in Rome in 1707 and revised by him for performances in London’s Covent Garden in 1737 (the version recorded here) and then translated into English, revised again and presented, with new additions, in 1757. The performance recorded here contains, probably, everything Handel composed for this work in its various incarnations, and then some: A brief organ concerto by the composer is added to the second part’s introduction and another pops up before the final chorus; a number from the serenata Acis & Galatea is inserted at one point; and a Saraband for two harpsichords from Handel’s Almira is used as an interlude in Part III. Furthermore, some will recognize the beautiful aria from the original, “Lascia la spina,” which became “Lascia ch’io piango” in Rinaldo, set to another text and very different music.

All that aside, this windy work, in which four characters (here, two sopranos and two male altos) stand for Beauty, Pleasure, Time and Disillusion and duke it out until each characteristic opts to serve a better, higher cause, is definitely worth hearing. It contains the appealing, straighforwardly Baroque (if there is such a thing) style of Handel’s early Italian cantatas, mixed with his later sophisticated choral writing and dramatic recitatives. The singers have plenty to do. Both sopranos–Beauty and Pleasure, who sound uncomfortably alike and therefore cut somewhat into the drama–are excellent, with particular kudos going to Claron McFaddon’s Beauty for her lovely trills (especially in #29, with continuo), and both male altos are agile, involved, and just a bit weak in their lower registers.

The chorus, which is very big and appears to have been recorded from a far greater distance than the soloists, is splendid, as is the orchestra under Joachim Carlos Martini’s leadership. The resonant acoustic makes the soloists sound a bit lonely, but otherwise, no complaints. This remains the only recording of the 1737 omnibus version of the work, and Handel lovers should flock to it.

– ClassicsToday (Robert Levine)

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

Also available on standard DVD

This outstanding live recording is the first ever collaboration between director Luc Bondy, conductor William Christie, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. This recording was taken in December of 2004 at the Opera National de Paris. Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie, does a beautiful job of performing the score by G. F. Handel.

Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Formats: PCM Stereo, 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)

an achingly serious and sober portrayal of Olympian rage and jealousy.

Also available on Blu-ray

This outstanding live recording is the first ever collaboration between director Luc Bondy, conductor William Christie, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. This recording was taken in December of 2004 at the Opera National de Paris. Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie, does a beautiful job of performing the score by G. F. Handel.

Hercules returns from the war with Iole, a princess he fell in love with. Mad with jealousy, Déjanire, his wife, ends up totally insane after poisoning her husband.

Half theatrical performance, half secular oratorio, Hercules wasn’t originally meant to be performed in front of an audience. Luc Bondy chose to show the dramatis personae as ordinary people, victims of their passions. The superb Chorus of the Arts Florissants, both mediator and prosecutor, is the main witness of this tragedy of women’s jealousy.
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REVIEW:

The stand-out performance comes, as it should, from DiDonato as Dejanira, much more the true lead role of the piece. As a showcase for this singer's exquisite tone and agility, the production earns ample gratitude. William Shimell never has an opportunity to earn much sympathy as the titular hero, and so his occasionally brusque, grainy delivery can't be faulted. Besides being exquisite herself, Ingela Bohlin sings a lovely Iole, and Toby Spence's Hyllus gives more evidence of this young tenor's promise, with his light instrument easily grasping Handel's meandering melodic lines.

The irreproachable William Christie and his orchestra and chorus of Les Arts Florrisants get the sharp and detailed recording their performance deserves.

­– Opera Today Picture Format: 16:9
Audio Formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)

HANDEL: Harpsichord Suites Nos. 1- 5

Recorded in 1995, this Esther was first issued as Collins Classics 7040-2 early the following year. Like Hogwood, Harry Christophers recorded the original 1718 version of what has gone down in history as Handel’s first English oratorio.

In point of fact, the complex and still largely unresolved history of Esther suggests that it was not originally composed as an oratorio at all, but rather as a staged work that would have formed a companion to the near-contemporary Acis and Galatea. Like the English masque, Esther was one of the works composed during the period Handel was patronized by James Brydges, later Duke of Chandos, although—unlike Acis and the Chandos Anthems—there is no firm evidence that it was first given at Brydges’s recently completed lavish country home, Cannons. During the 1720s, Esther lay undisturbed as Handel consolidated his reputation as an Italian opera composer, but in February 1732, it re-emerged, firstly in three private performances given in London to celebrate Handel’s forty-seventh birthday, and then two months later in a pirate public performance. Handel’s response, as would frequently be the case when his music was appropriated without authorization, was to perform a substantially revised and expanded version himself on May 2, thus unwittingly laying the foundations for the great series of oratorios that would follow.

The source for Esther was Racine’s 1689 Biblical play of the same name, which had recently been translated into English by Thomas Brereton. The author of Handel’s libretto has not been identified, possibly fortuitously given the universally bad press it has been accorded among Handel scholars. As has been pointed out by Handel scholar Winton Dean, there is nothing sacred about the Book of Esther, which is rather a piece of Jewish history that relates how the exiled Jews were saved from massacre at the hands of Haman, chief minister of the Persian King Ahasuerus (Xerses I) by Esther, a member of the Jewish community who has recently become the king’s second wife. The music with which Handel clothed this scenario was to a substantial extent (nine of the 21 numbers) drawn from his recently completed “Brockes Passion,” a German work that he would have had little opportunity to perform in England.

Notwithstanding structural weaknesses and the static nature of much of the action (it is difficult to imagine the work being staged), there is plenty of fine music for Handelians to enjoy. Much of it has a youthful verve and energy that harks back to the composer’s Italian period, while the colorful deployment of the relatively small orchestral forces (harp obbligato in the Israelite Woman’s “Praise the Lord,” a pair of crooning bassoons in Ahasuerus’s “O beauteous Queen,” and thrilling horns in the Priest’s “Jehovah, crown’d” and the succeeding chorus “He comes, he comes,” later to become the opening movements of the second of the Concerti a due cori) provides a constant source of pleasure.

There can be little question that the true heroes of the present recording are Christophers, who conducts the work with a fervent conviction that makes the excellent Hogwood look at times a little prosaic, and his quite magnificent chorus, who sing throughout with an incisive precision, superb articulation, and clarity of diction that is often electrifying. His soloists enjoy somewhat more mixed fortunes, with the good if rather anonymous Esther of Lynda Russell proving no match for that of Hogwood’s Patrizia Kwella, and the highly capable Tom Randle’s Ahasuerus failing to dislodge memories of Anthony Rolfe Johnson at his peak. But Michael Chance sings a wonderful Priest (his intensely moving “O Jordan, Jordan” is one of the highlights of the set) that eclipses that of Drew Minter, and Nancy Argenta provides a poignant reminder of the singer she was with a radiantly joyful “Praise the Lord.” Haman, the one character of real interest (there are surely pre-echoes of Saul in his downfall), is powerfully sung by Michael George, although David Thomas for Hogwood arguably invested the role with greater personality. In general, though, this is a quite splendid performance of a work more often mentioned by historians than heard, a fate it certainly does not deserve. -BRIAN ROBINS, FANFARE

The first English oratorio? It’s hard to imagine a better introduction

This is a particularly welcome and important world-premiere recording. Handel composed Esther in about 1718?20 for James Brydges, the Earl of Carnarvon (and later Duke of Chandos), using a libretto that was anonymously adapted from Thomas Brereton’s English translation of a play by Racine. This slender work, containing only six scenes, lays a strong claim to being the first English oratorio, but Handel seems not to have considered performing it for a public audience until 1732, when the entrepreneurial composer thoroughly revised the score to fit his company of Italian opera singers (including Senesino, Strada and Montagnana, who all sang in English), and enlisted the aid of the writer Samuel Humphreys to expand the drama with additional scenes (which made the oratorio long enough to fill a theatre evening, advantageously fleshed out some of the characters a little bit, and also enhanced the musical attractiveness of the oratorio). This is the historic version of Esther that launched Handel’s oratorio career in London, but it has remained inexplicably neglected in modern times.

Laurence Cummings is one of our finest and most natural Handelian conductors. The Israelite Woman’s sensuous opening number “Breathe soft, ye gales” (featuring recorders, oboes, bassoons, harp, theorbo, five-part strings and organ) is neatly judged by the impressive London Handel Orchestra. The superb choir is enthusiastic and masterful, and the two inserted Coronation Anthems My heart is inditing and Zadok the Priest (the latter given a parody text) are both performed magnificently. James Bowman sounds a little fragile in the most extensive coloratura passages written for Senesino in “Endless fame”, and the part of Mordecai seems uncomfortably low for Susan Bickley (which is not helped by the dragging speed of “Dread not, righteous Queen, the danger”), but in general the soloists form a consistently solid team. Christopher Purves is marvellous as the scheming and bullying evil minister Haman, and is equally good at singing the pitiful and lyrical “Turn not, O Queen, thy face away” when the villain fears his deserved doom.

The all-round excellence of this live concert performance from Handel’s parish church, St George’s, Hanover Square, makes it an essential treat for Handelians.

-- David Vickers, Gramophone [1/2008]

It is interesting to see what uses musical amateurs of Handel’s day made of his scores, and the singing by Nicki Kennedy is excellent.

HANDEL Cantatas: So Pleasing the Pain Is. 1,2 With Roving and with Ranging. 1,2 To Lonely Shades 1,2 & • Nicki Kennedy (sop); 1 Sally Bruce-Payne (alt); 2 The Brook Street Band (period instruments) • AVIE 2153 (2 CDs: 118:57 Text and Translation)

& HANDEL Songs: 1 An answer to Collin’s complaint. Dear Adonis, beauty’s treasure. The forsaken nymph. I like the am’rous youth. Love’s but the frailty of the mind. ’Twas when the seas were roaring. Transporting joy

This recording is titled “Handel’s English Cantatas.” The three works consist of 13 arias and three duets from three Handel operas, Giulio Cesare, Ottone , and Flavio , with new English texts and arranged for two violins and basso continuo . The arrangements have been attributed to Handel, but this claim is very doubtful. The form of each work, a series of arias ending with a duet, without linking recitative, is otherwise unknown in Handel, and there is no evidence that Handel had any part in putting these works together. The notes to this recording make as good a case as can be made for Handel’s involvement, but I remain unconvinced. The works themselves make enjoyable listening, since the music is taken from three of Handel’s best operas, and it is interesting to see what uses musical amateurs of Handel’s day made of his scores.

The performances are generally enjoyable. Nicki Kennedy is the more pleasing of the two soloists. Sally Bruce-Payne has a large voice that does not sound like it is always completely under her control, and she has an annoying habit of giving a very strong accent to some words; for example, in So Pleasing the Pain Is her overstress produces too strong an emphasis on some syllables. Fortunately, she manages to control this tendency most of the time. The Brook Street Band, consisting of two violins, cello, and harpsichord, plays expertly, and one hardly misses the full orchestra for which these works were originally written.

According to the catalog of Handel’s works in the New Grove , these three cantatas were arranged for different voices than those assigned to them here: So Pleasing the Pain Is for tenor and baritone, With Roving and with Ranging for soprano and baritone, and To Lonely Shades for soprano and tenor. The notes are silent on the arrangements made for this recording.

There are two English cantatas that are accepted as legitimate. Look Down, Harmonious Saint , a single recitative and aria, is not included here but can be found as a supplement to Robert King’s recording of Acis and Galatea . The second, Venus and Adonis , survives in fragmentary form as two arias with harpsichord accompaniment. Those two arias, Dear Adonis, beauty’s treasure and Transporting joy , are included here in a group of seven songs. Many songs have been attributed to Handel. A few years ago, Somm released a recording of all of the songs of unquestioned attribution. Four of them are included here, though one ( An answer to Collin’s complaint ) is performed in a harpsichord arrangement. The forsaken nymph and the two arias from Venus and Adonis are recording premieres. All are excellently sung by Nicki Kennedy.

The three newly recorded items make this recording a must for dedicated Handelians, and the three English cantatas make interesting listening.

FANFARE: Ron Salemi

Handel: Dettingen Te Deum & Te Deum in A Major

DNO presents a new production of Händel's last Italian opera, Deidamia, staged by the American David Alden. No known literary source has been linked directly to this opera, which is set at the time of the Trojan War. After an oracle has predicted the death of Achilles at Troy, Achilles disguises himself as a woman and takes refuge at the court of Lycomedes, whose daughter Deidamia falls in love with the young Greek. Amorous developments and tricks of disguise expose the truth and Achilles is forced to take his place at the side of his countrymen in the battle against the Trojans. Comedy and tragedy are bedfellows in this opera, and the title role in particular covers the entire expressive spectrum, from flirtatious love song to heartfelt lament.

George Frideric Handel DEIDAMIA

Deidamia – Sally Matthews
Nerea – Veronica Cangemi
Achille – Olga Pasichnyk
Ulisse – Silvia Tro Santafé
Fenice – Andrew Foster-Williams
Licomede – Umberto Chiummo
Nestore – Jan-Willem Schaafsma

Concerto Köln
Ivor Bolton, conductor

David Alden, stage director

Recorded live at the De Nederlandse Opera, March and April 2012

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German
Running time: 208 mins
No. of DVDs: 1


R E V I E W:

HANDEL Deidamia • Ivor Bolton, cond; Sally Matthews (Deidamia); Veronica Cangemi (Nerea); Olga Pasichnyk (Achille); Silvia Tro Santafé (Ulisse); Andrew Foster-Williams (Fenice); Umberto Chiummo (Licomede); Jan-Willem Schaafsma (Nestore); Concerto Köln (period instruments) • OPUS ARTE 1088 (DVD: 228:00)

By the time that Deidamia was composed in 1740, George Frederick Handel had already suffered the misfortune of having his entire Italian opera enterprise, for which he had been famed and which had earned him a fair amount of money, collapse in the wake of The Beggars Opera and its successors. The first performance on January 10, 1741, at the Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre in London was, to put it mildly, received poorly, and it was withdrawn after only three performances. The English audiences no longer wanted to hear about the opera seria gods and heroes, and there is nothing more entertaining than a simple plot with obvious situations and simple characters, none of which this piece has. In short, perhaps he wanted just one more stab at his former glory, or maybe librettist Paolo Antonio Polli convinced him that this would be work to revive the fortunes of opera seria in Italian. Whatever the case, the lack of success convinced the composer that the genre was dead as a doornail, and he then moved on to the less expensive (and English) oratorio.

Reviewing the plot, it is not really difficult to see why no one really cared back then. The situation, known from Homer’s Iliad, is that Achilles is hiding out in Scyros among the maidens, a plot by his mother to avoid an oracle (and we all know how this sort of thing turns out). Under the name of Pirra, she, er, he continually goes against the stereotype by preferring hunting to maidenly games, much to the chagrin of Deidamia, the daughter of King Lycomedes of Scyros, who has fallen in love with him and fears for his discovery. Meanwhile, her confident Nerea warns of the approach of several Greeks, including Odysseus, who is also in disguise. Lycomedes invites all and sundry to a hunt, perhaps not realizing in his senility that Achilles’s true self will be revealed. In the meantime, the Amazon Phoenix has fallen in love with Nerea, and during the hunt all are amazed that Pirra, now portrayed as an Amazon, has killed the quarry. Odysseus, under the name of Antilochus, pays court to her, ahem, him, and Deidamia feels she has been betrayed, while Phoenix is now convinced that Pirra is none other than the disguised Achilles (and one wonders what gave her that idea). Well, to make a long story short, the Homeric ruse of Odysseus hauling in a pile of weapons and some girlish things reveals the disguise. At the end, Deidamia turns to Antilochus, only to find that her Plan B is none other than a Greek hero, so her best choice is to marry Achilles quickly and for him to leave her forever to die at Troy.

As opera seria plots go, it is not as hoary as some, in that the characters are more or less drawn from the epic. The twists and turns, however, are typical and who is getting angry at whom is never easy to follow. In this DVD, taken from a Netherlands Opera production from March 2012, the modern setting makes the thing seem even more odd. It opens with Lycomedes sitting on a lighthouse shaped like a column, and the Greeks arrive in a submarine (probably a Kursk class, but I digress). The remainder is set amid seaside beach boulders and resorts replete with stainless railings, chilled champagne buckets, and comfy chairs. The hunting scene has a variety of odd weapons, including an oversized slingshot, and the costumes are an eccentric mix of modern dress, ball gowns, togas, and red and black “camouflage” uniforms with crested helmets. All of this is played against a single cumulus cloud in a blue sky, presumably the Aegean location. I suppose it is no better or worse than most “updates,” but for a baroque opera it lacks a certain class or gravitas.

The music is wonderfully composed, with the requisite da capo arias, which Handel orchestrated with considerable sensitivity. The playing by the Concerto Köln is accurate and finely drawn, and both Sally Matthews and Olga Pasichnyk, the latter who has a nice rich voice, complement each other, as does the rather powerful soprano of Silvia Santafé’s Ulisse/Odysseus. Umberto Chiummo is far more of a bass presence, more Polyphemus than the hapless Licomede. In short, the musical portions are just fine, which should make enduring the odd sets possible. For those wanting a libretto, however, none is provided, but of course there are subtitles in four languages. So, the bottom line is this: There probably won’t be another DVD of Deidamia in the future, so for the visual portions one must put up with the dramaturgical mishmash. The musical background, however, is good enough so that one can (and maybe should) close one’s eyes to savor the final effort by an iconic composer in a genre in which he excelled.

FANFARE: Bertil van Boer

HANDEL: Deborah

Includes work(s) by George Frideric Handel. Conductor: Jeremy Summerly.

Recorded in: L'Église de la Nativite de la Sainte Vierge, La Prairie, Quebec 21-26 September 1990 and 3-4 June 1991 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ben Connellan

Review:

Mallon's new recordings with his Canadian period instrument ensemble offers honest, unfussy readings...while the Aradia Ensemble rarely wants for urbanity, warmth and clarity, a certain under-characterisation can merge one concerto into another.

– BBC Music Magazine

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Handel’s Concerti Grossi contain some of the finest orchestral music of the eighteenth century. The Op 6 collection brims with a wealth of variety, colour, and dance rhythms—Polish and Pastoral dances, courtly and fast ones—and Handel’s customary self-borrowings and indeed borrowings from other composers. The combination of full orchestra with a concertino solo group of two violins and cello allows both breadth and intimacy, producing concertos in the fullest sense. On this recording Kevin Mallon incorporates the later oboe parts for Concertos Nos 1, 2, 5 and 6, using them as a model for most of the other concertos. When the oboes are silent, flutes or recorders are added, in line with eighteenth-century practice.

Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3, Nos. 1-6