Gramophone Award Winner 2007 Baroque Vocal. Linn Records is delighted to present 'Messiah', George Frideric Handel's most famous oratorio. This is the first recording to seriously explore the version and performing forces that Handel used for his legendary Dublin premiere. The research was carried out by the performer, director and lecturer John Butt and the performance recreated by the acclaimed choral group the Dunedin Consort. The Dublin version of 'Messiah' is unique in several important ways and the resultant Linn recording signifies an exciting and historically considered representation of 'Messiah' as enjoyed by the Dublin audience of 1742. The challenge in this recording was to try and recapture something of the freshness of the first public performances, imagining what it was like to hear the work for the very first time, when many moments must have been quite unexpected. The 'Nativity' section of this work, which includes the well-known chorus 'For Unto Us', makes this a timely release. 2006 marks the tenth anniversary of Dunedin Consort, an ensemble that 'has done so much to transform the vocal life of Scotland' (The Herald). The dynamic ensemble has rapidly established its presence in the artistic life of its home country, captivating audiences in venues throughout Scotland, from remote Highland churches to major concert halls. The consort has appeared on programmes on the BBC and BBC4 television and been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Scotland. The Consort recorded 'In The Beginning' (LINN CKD117), works by Copland and Barber, for LINN Records in 2003 (glowingly sung and recorded - The Daily Telegraph).

Sonya Yoncheva has devoted her second solo album to the music of Handel, showing another facet of her wide-ranging repertoire. Being an alumna of William Christie's Le Jardin des Voix, the Baroque era formed her musical understanding at an early stage of her career, laying the foundation for her versatile and broad-reaching repertoire. Currently praised as "the best Traviata in the world at present" (Die Welt), Sonya Yoncheva is one of today's fastest rising opera stars. She is a regular guest at the world's leading opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House and Wiener Staatsoper. A great composer of vocal music, Handel based some of his most beautiful operas and oratorios on the enchanting sensibility of the feminine voice. His heroines are strong, independent women determining their own destiny - attributes Sonya relates to in all respects.

-----

REVIEWS:

No soprano these days sings Bellini’s Norma, then Verdi’s Violetta, then Tchaikovsky’s Tatiana, then releases an album of Handel arias, all in a few months. A singer might do them all in a single career, but hardly in a single season. Unless that soprano is Sonya Yoncheva, the brilliant 35-year-old Bulgarian whose silky, flexible voice effortlessly shifts from Handel’s quicksilver Baroque runs to Tchaikovsky’s Romantic heft.

– New York Times (Zachary Woolfe)

She displays ample agility, and a sense of whooping joy, in Morgana’s ‘Tornami a vagheggiar’ – a Handelian show-stopper – and lives each phase of Agrippina’s baleful scena ‘Pensieri, voi mi tormenti.’ Yoncheva is surprisingly, and effectively, restrained in ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’, ornamenting the repeats tastefully, and brings a flirtatious lightness of touch to Cleopatra’s entrance aria ‘Non disperar.’
– Gramophone

Gems of baroque music spirit and virtuosity, Handel’s concertos for organ and orchestra were composed to serve as intermezzos during his oratorios. Played at the time by Handel himself – he was known to be an unequaled organist, these agile, tender and poetical pieces reveal a singular color… which Gaétan Jarry will interpret on the new “grand” positive organ built by Quentin Blumenroeder for Versailles: at last an organ that can convey Handel’s music in all its beauty! Responding to the instrumental jubilation expressed by the Marguerite Louise musicians, Handel’s motets for one voice and orchestra will bring the audience the fire and freshness of his composition, in the exceptional interpretation of the soprano Chiara Skerath, a fine finale for this program full of jubilation and grace.

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)

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.

Handel is best known to the wider public for his large-scale choral and orchestral works, but his organ music is equally precious. It was the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels who, diverting him from a career in the law, spotted his exceptional abilities on the instrument. By the age of seventeen, Handel was already the resident organist at the Domkirche in Halle, and he was later to defeat Domenico Scarlatti in a contest of virtuosity during his time in Rome. Martin Haselböck and the Orchester Wiener Akademie have recorded the Organ Concertos opp.4 and 7 in the prestigious Vienna Musikverein, world-famous for its acoustics. Haselböck plays on the hall’s imposing Rieger organ in what is one of its very first recordings. Inaugurated in 2011, it is the fourth organ in the Musikverein since the hall opened in 1870. With its considerable dimensions – much larger than the organs Handel used to play on – the instrument offers a tonal palette rich in contrasts.

REVIEW:

The performances, while undoubtedly in good Baroque style (the period Wiener Akademie are excellent), offer the latent thrill of a large instrument in a large hall. If for some this might not seem the stuff of a definitive recording, it is certainly fun to listen to.

– Gramophone

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir present an intimate and stirring performance of Handel's Messiah. This 2-CD recording of the full score on period instruments features a stellar cast of soloists including Karina Gauvin, Robin Blaze, Rufus Muller and Brett Polegatol. Tafelmusik presents this baroque masterpiece with the spirit and vitality of Handel's own 18th-century productions. A perennial favorite with audiences and critics alike, Tafelmusik's Messiah has garnered glowing reviews year after year.

Described by librettist Charles Jennens with typical English understatement as “a fine entertainment,” Handel’s Messiah was initially controversial as a biblical oratorio written for secular theatres. Within years it was however being “received with universal applause” and its composer’s purpose in delighting and charming his listeners has made this masterpiece an international favorite ever since. This eye-catching, audiovisual recording of Handel’s masterpiece with its cast of renowned soloists captures the 2016 Easter concert in the impressive Baroque Basilica of Klosterneuburg, Austria.

Described by librettist Charles Jennens with typical English understatement as “a fine entertainment,” Handel’s Messiah was initially controversial as a biblical oratorio written for secular theatres. Within years it was however being “received with universal applause” and its composer’s purpose in delighting and charming his listeners has made this masterpiece an international favorite ever since. This eye-catching, audiovisual recording of Handel’s masterpiece with its cast of renowned soloists captures the 2016 Easter concert in the impressive Baroque Basilica of Klosterneuburg, Austria.

The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin and its chief conductor Justin Doyle present Handel’s Messiah, together with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and an all-British quartet of outstanding soloists, consisting of Julia Doyle (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor) and Roderick Williams (bass). Messiah is not only Handel’s most famous work, but equally one of the cornerstones of British choral culture. Soon after the work’s premiere, a tradition of mass performances full of pomp and circumstance took root, with the Hallelujah as a showstopper. This new period-instruments recording, however, aims to bring the piece back to the size and intimacy of the 1742 premiere in Dublin. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has a substantial PENTATONE discography, including Handel’s Concerti grossi Op. 6 and Op. 3, (released in 2019 and 2020), Telemann’s opera Miriways (2019) and CANTATA with Bejun Mehta (2018). The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Justin Doyle, Julia Doyle, Tim Mead, Thomas Hobbs and Roderick Williams all make their PENTATONE debut.

-----

REVIEW:

The list of solid performances of Handel's Messiah, HWV 56, from outside Britain is growing longer, and this one, released in 2020 just in time for sacred music season, is a case in point. All four soloists and the conductor are indeed anglophones, and they offer much to enjoy. Veteran baritone Roderick Williams is in fine voice, and the silvery soprano of Julia Doyle has a classic Handelian sound with a nice bloom at the top, but Messiah succeeds or fails on its chorus, and the work of the RIAS Kammerchor is as impressive as that of the soloists. The historical instruments of the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin add sharpness in the trumpets and drums. Listeners new to historical performance will find a satisfying and friendly instance of it here.

– AllMusic Guide (James Manheim)

WATER & FIREWORKS

Handel’s violin sonatas have been staples of the repertoire for generations, but there has been considerable confusion about their authenticity. Early editorial practice saw to it that several authentic works were published for instruments such as flute and oboe, but more recent scholarship has established that originally they were written for the violin. All the sonatas are full of Handel’s dashing bravura and his gift for expressive slow movements, providing a series of beautifully proportioned masterpieces. Ariadne Daskalakis’s recording of the Tartini Violin Concertos (8.570222) was welcomed with acclaim for its ‘grace and lyrical poetry’. (MusicWeb International)

Music Director Nicholas McGegan leads Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and an acclaimed cast of soloists in this rarely performed masterpiece of Handelian opera. Writing of the live performance of the opera, the New York Times said, “Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, led by Nicholas McGegan, gave a performance of Handel’s ‘Teseo’…that confirmed its leading position in the field.” The cast, led by the glowing soprano Dominique Labelle, as the witch Medea, and the outstanding lyric soprano Amanda Forsythe in the title role is buoyed by the “irrepressible positive energy” (New York Times) of the Orchestra under McGegan’s direction.
The performances were recorded live at First Congregational Church, Berkeley, CA on April 13-14, 2013.

This, one of Handel's most approachable, delightful, and least-confusing operas, dating from 1709--his "Italian" period--has been well recorded in performances led by John Eliot Gardiner (Philips) and Nicholas McGegan (Harmonia Mundi). Both are complete--and more than three hours long. This present recording pares down the opera to two hours and 45 minutes--mostly in the recitatives (which are wonderfully written, dramatic, and help develop character, but also which, much to my shame, I didn't miss a bar of), and in the loss of two or three arias. (At the close of the opera, Juno descends to bless the marriage of Ottone and Poppea; here her music is missing, and that's a loss.) Even in such a "reduced" state the work's witty competition between two manipulative women--Agrippina, who wants her son Nero to be emperor and will do almost anything to get him there, and Poppea, who loves the slandered Ottone and wants the power that will come with his being named emperor--and the interplay of the lusty Nero, the somewhat slow-witted Claudius, and Agrippina's hangers-on, Pallas and Narcissus, is vivid and clear.

The cast is excellent, with a few standouts. Thierry Grégoire, as Ottone, rises to great heights in his second-act lament, complete with stunning, sad trills. Ingrid Perruche's Poppea is a tough cookie from the start, and she cajoles throughout. She has a lovely tone and is fluent in coloratura; she makes much of all of her arias, but she really shines in the last act's "Bel piacer". Nigel Smith sings Claudius' music with proper pomposity, and even manages the low-Cs in his second-act aria. Veronique Gens' Agrippina is conniving and rich-toned; indeed, the role lies in an almost mezzo range and she seems perfectly comfortable. Philippe Jaroussky, a very high, bright, fluent countertenor, takes some getting used to--he sounds much like a woman most of the time--but he's a brave, expressive singer and he creates a Nero who vibrates. The others in the cast are very good, although Fabrice di Falco, the Narciso, begins by sounding like an old lady.

Jean-Claude Malgoire's leadership is bright and perky, with the recits paced conversationally, and his band plays well--the winds are particularly spicy. This is a live recording, and at the start Jaroussky is off-mike for a minute and occasionally other voices are not quite centered, but the audience is remarkably quiet. A duet in Act 1 for Claudio and Poppea ends a bit raggedly, but the "liveness" of the occasion excuses it. In short, this is recommended--it's a good show.
--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL: Veronique Gens, soprano; Philippe Jaroussky, male alto; Ingrid Perruche, soprano; Nigel Smith, baritone; Thierry Gregoire, male alto; Bernard Deletre, bass; Fabrice Di Falco, male soprano; AlainBuet, bass; La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy/Jean-Claude Mal GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL: Agrippina.