Samson is not merely an effective narrative, but also a drama of great psychological depth. Over it's three acts, we witness the slow but inexorable mental resurrection of a man chosen by God who, overcome by remorse, gradually rebuilds his character. Awareness of his error sustains him and helps him to conceive a decisive reversal of his situation. Though held in chains and forever deprived of his sight, Samson nevertheless gradually becomes convinced that his strength is intact. In order to set Israel free, he will succeed in regaining God's mercy and destroying his captors' people at a single blow. This recording was made live during the Namur Music Festival in July 2018.

Skin-tight rubber and lacrosse sticks bring contemporary chic to this timeless fantasy of warriors and witches in Robert Carsen's fun-filled transformation of Handel's first London triumph. Conducting from the keyboard just as Handel himself did, Ottavio Dantone leads a youthful cast of today's luminaries in the dramatic art of Baroque opera, the 'affecting' Sonia Prina, the 'unadorned intensity' of Anett Fritsch and 'fire-breathing flair' (The Observer) of Brenda Rae.

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In his setting of Orlando (drawn from Tasso's Orlando furioso), Handel offers a score of a remarkable dramatic power, diversity and originality. Everything in the opera arouses admiration: the extremely varied scoring, the exuberant vocal writing, the rhythmic invention, the subtle melodies. With a fantastic vocal setup and his always excellent ensemble, Jean-Claude Malgoire has produced a recording that will permanently stay among the very best readings of the score. In words of The Daily Telegraph, "the playing of La Grande ecurie is excellent... Christophe Dumaux gives a fruity account of the tremendous mad scene". French Countertenor Christophe Dumaux made his spectacular professional debut at 22 singing Eustazio in Handel's Rinaldo at the Festival de Radio France, co-produced by the Innsbruck Festival and the Berlin Staatsoper, and released by Harmonia Mundi. He has since been regularly invited by the most prestigious opera houses and festivals including the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne, the Proms, and the Berlin Staatsoper.

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Renowned for their Handel interpretations, Harry Christophers and his award-winning ensemble, The Sixteen, add to their glittering catalogue of Handel discs with this new recording of Jephtha. The last oratorio that he wrote, Jephtha is also often seen as his most profound; the portrayal of Jephtha's suffering is particularly noteworthy for its astonishing sincerity. The Sixteen are joined by a stellar case of soloists including James Gilchrist, Susan Bickley, Sophie Bevan, Robin Blaze and Matthew Brook.

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The oratorios represent one of the apices of Händel’s professional career and they even saved the composer when he was facing repeated crises of his operatic enterprise. These works of his have remained in the European repertoire and even if Händel hadn’t written anything else, his Messiah alone would have earned him immortality.

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Dorothea Seel brings us on this recording a historically informed performance of Handel’s flute sonatas. Performing on flauto traverso, Ms. Seel is accompanied by Luca Gugliemi on Cembalo. Dorothea Seel is a critically acclaimed performer. “…Dorothea Seel was a graceful and gentle flute soloist” (New York Times) “…with quite breathtaking athletic playing and hauntingly elegiac moments.” (Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2014)