NINE GERMAN ARIAS

A new production by Opera de Lille

A new production by Opera de Lille

Handel's success with Italian-style opera in London had passed it's initial peak by 1729. Lotario - a tale of revenge and heroism based on events in the life of Holy Roman Empress Adelaide of Italy - was the first of a new series of works intended to revive interest and challenge society's new 'vile taste' for satire and light entertainment. Despite being one of Handel's least-known operas, it displays his renowned talent for writing convincing drama with melodically rich and emotionally charged arias. This live recording is performed on period instruments by the Handelfestspielorchester Halle.

The innovative Baroque style that served as the primary livelihood in establishing Les Arts Florissants' impeccable reputation is portrayed again in this release of Handel's Acis and Galatea. Conducted by the ensemble's founder, William Christie, Gramophone notes that his new version is "a polished and strongly characterized performance, finely recorded", being the first recording anyone should try.

Acis and Galatea, variously described as a pastoral, a 'little opera' and a masque, is one of Handel's most popular works. It is a delectable succession of pastoral airs, love-lorn lyrics, and sprightly or mourning choruses, spiced by the pungent and unforgettable interjection of the one-eyed giant Polyphemus, who destroys the idyll of the shepherd Acis and the nymph Galatea. Handel had first turned to the subject in a cantata written in Naples in 1708. His English work, formally a masque, went through several stages until this two-act version of 1739, written principally by John Gay and graced by Handel's exquisite music.

Handel: The Great Choruses

Featuring Tony Award winner Lachanze, Tony Award Nominee J. Robert Spencer, MiG Aylesa from Rockstar: INXS, and the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart, HANDELS MESSIAH ROCKS brings the renowned beauty of Handel's Messiah the Western worlds most famous oratorio to contemporary audiences with rock music at it's center.

HANDEL GREAT HITS

This performance replaces the John Eliot Gardiner as my new No. 1 Acis. It’s easy to understand why this brief work was the composer’s most popular during his lifetime: the quick, charming, and eventually touching libretto (probably by John Gay and Alexander Pope, no less) is more than supported by Handel’s crisp, memorable tunes that even at their most sentimental are never maudlin, and at their jolliest are truly toe-tapping.

The Italian opera at the Haymarket had closed and Handel was happy to receive a commission from the Earl of Carnarvon (later Duke of Chandos) to present a “pastoral entertainment” at his country estate. Merrily devoid of superfluous shepherds and nymphs, it tells its bizarre tale of woe with five singers (and an extra soprano for the choruses in this recording).

Christian Curnyn leads with zip and sharp, woody attacks (very few metal strings are used), and there is a spring in the quick movements. “Oh ruddier than the cherry” never has sounded so passive-aggressively witty, recorder obbligato and all–and Neal Davies, once the joking is over, is a dark, cruel Polyphemus as well. Tenor Allan Clayton is the least drippy Acis on disc, and in “Love in her eyes sits playing” sounds utterly enthralled with the love of his Galatea. And who wouldn’t, in Lucy Crowe’s performance, with a cooing “As when the dove”, and a heart-breaking “Heart the seat of soft delight”. Coridon’s “Would you gain the tender creature” never has sounded better than it does here sung by Jeremy Budd. Benjamin Hulett makes a fine, mellifluous Damon.

If you’re uncertain, just listen to the opening three-minute Sinfonia: jolly, with cleanly articulated, rhythmically apt strings and the oboes and recorders toodling along, with its dark coda a masterful 15-second scene change. And the flawless diction of the opening chorus is just a taste of what’s to come. Sound is wonderfully warm and realistic. Buy this.

– ClassicsToday (Robert Levine)

HANDEL: HARPSICHORD SUITES AN

HANDEL: RINALDO MALGOIRE, COT

Includes march(es) by George Frideric Handel. Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Charles Groves. Soloist: E. Power Biggs.

This set is offered at a special price: two discs for the price of one.

JEPHTHA