MUSIC FOR A ROYAL WEDDING / VARIOUS

HANDEL: AMINTE E FILLIDE LUCREZIA ARMIDA

VERITAS X2 SERIES is the leading range of early music recordings on the market. This new batch of ten essential reissues introduces into the Veritas range, for the first time, key recordings from the historic Erato catalogue. John Eliot Gardiner is at his best in this milestone recording showcasing the full splendor of Handel's music. Among the first historically-informed versions of these beloved choral works, the Dixit Dominus initially sold more than 500,000 copies around the world.

Serse is one of Handel's latest and most frequently performed operas, famous for it's marvelous opening aria "Ombra mai fu." At the center of the confusing tragicomedy, very loosely based upon the life of Xerxes I of Persia, is a powerful and lovesick royal eccentric, King Serse. Rising opera star Gaelle Arquez in the title role of Serse "scintillates with her nimble, luminous mezzo-soprano", singing "irresistibly beautiful, impassioned, furious - but never mean" (Frankfurter Rundschau). Frankfurt's excellent Opern- and Museumsorchester contributes "all sorts of refinements" to this "musical smash hit" (Deutschlandfunk) and "In Frankfurt Tilman Kohler ensures a three-hour short abundant and furious banquett... a great evening of opera." (Deutschlandfunk).

Max Emanuel Cencic excels with his celebrated and award-winning production of George Frideric Handel's masterpiece Arminio at the International Handel Festival Karlsruhe. The remarkable counter-tenor Cencic, who dedicates himself to the revival and performance of the music of the 18th century, demonstrates once more that Baroque singing can be both technically brilliant and at the same time modern and emotionally engaging. His enchanting staging of Arminio is the fulminant revival of the heroic story. When premiered in 1737 at London's Covent Garden, Arminio strangely received only six performances, despite being praised as "a miracle" and "in every respect excellent and vastly pleasing" by contemporaries. Handel's opera fell into oblivion - until Cencic put it into the limelight, resulting in the "rehabilitation of the piece" (FAZ). Cencic's production of Arminio, which created a furor when performed at the Theater an der Wien, features the ensemble Armonia Atenea under the baton of George Petrou and stars the stage director in the leading role: "Cencic is not only as counter-tenor but also as stage director at the peak of his success" (S�ddeutsche Zeitung).

At Salzburg Festival, Cecilia Bartoli shines as Ariodante with her dazzling coloratura in a highly acclaimed new production by the German director Christoph Loy, who is known for his clever psychological stagings. Loy turns Handel's splendid baroque opera into an exciting and differentiated reflection on gender roles. A high-class ensemble, first and foremost a brilliant Cecilia Bartoli in the trouser role of the knight Ariodante who effortlessly switches between cheerful and lamenting virtuoso singing makes the production a true triumph. At her side perform audience favorite Rolando Villazón as Lurcano and young American soprano Kathryn Lewek, praised by critics as a “true discovery“ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Gianluca Capuano at the podium of the Musiciens du Prince – Monaco “provides for elegance, richness of color and a sensitive, stirring realization of the ingenious score.“ (Kurier). “Cecilia Bartoli is a league of her own!" (Der Standard). "The singing was sensational" (LA Times)

Triumphantly premiered in 1724 at the King’s Theatre in London, George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto masterfully combines human emotions: Triumph with sorrow, despair with happiness and love with profound melancholy in the face of the transience of all earthly life. Star director Keith Warner creates a production that imaginatively blends silent film and baroque opera, delightfully echoing Mankiewicz’s legendary Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton. An excellent cast of singers is led by two of the world’s leading countertenors: Bejun Mehta and Christophe Dumaux. Louise Alder shines as the seductive Cleopatra. Patricia Bardon, Simon Bailey and Jake Arditti are further highlights in this extraordinary group of singers, while Ivor Bolton provides the appropriate soundtrack on the podium of the Concentus Musicus Wien. “Many of the excellent singing actors present themselves in top form.” (Kurier) “A triumph! A must for baroque opera fans.” (Kronenzeitung) “A finely balanced mixture of poetry and comedy, of cinematic action and touching contemplation.” (Der Standard)

Julia Bullock, Joyce DiDonato and Jakub Józef Orlinski star in Katie Mitchell’s thrilling new production of Handel’s Theodora in an alternative modern-day reality, Theodora, a religious fundamentalist, plots for the resistance against the Roman occupation. But when her secret plan to destroy the Roman embassy is discovered, she learns the true brutality of her oppressors. Not heard in Covent Garden since the 18th Century and sung in the original English libretto by Thomas Morell, Theodora is a tour de force for soloists and chorus alike, with ensembles, duets and arias of profound depth and beauty. This new interpretation, conducted by Baroque specialist Harry Bicket, shines a new, feminist light on the story.

STRINGS - THE DEFINITIVE COLLE

This selection is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording.

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.

In her recording of Suites for Keyboard, two-time Debut Audience Award winner Daria van den Bercken approaches Handel’s music with an adventurous spirit that invokes the music’s joy and lightness. As BBC 3 put it, “Her joy in Handel’s ingenuity shines through.” The album is a part of a larger, multimedia initiative called Handel at the Piano. Through videos and non-traditional stages and platforms, van den Bercken directly connects her performance to the public. “I want everybody to hear this music, to get to know this music,” says the pianist. Online videos give everyone a chance to witness her antics; in one particular stunt, van den Bercken ventures out into the streets of Amsterdam for a literal moving performance. Attached to the back of a car, her piano graces the public with every note she plays as they move about the city, sometimes stopping along the way for passersby to listen. Daria van den Bercken’s recording of Handel’s Suites for Keyboard is as uplifting and dynamic as van den Bercken’s approach to public performance. It is as inviting as the pianist herself, who recently hosted an in-home performance for strangers she had approached in the street.

HANDEL: HARPSICHORD SUITES AN

BERLITZ PASSPORT - THE MUSIC O

Handel: Great Choruses from the Messiah

CANTATA DA CAMERA JACOBS, KUI

CDs of opera and oratorio arias and duets by Handel are hardly a rare event. Last year’s 250th anniversary of the composer’s death lead to something of a glut in the market. In this respect, Chandos - under its early music Chaconne label - has made a wise choice in waiting until this year to release this recording of dramatic duets. It enables us to sit back and assess it on its own terms rather than as yet another anniversary act of homage.

And this disc really is worth considering closely. Superbly recorded, it sounds alive, clear and acoustically rich. It also features a well balanced programme, mixing operatic with oratorio duets that cover the full range of emotional experiences endured by Handel’s characters – from painful separation to joyous reunion; and from loving harmony to malign scheming.

The playing from the English Concert under Harry Bicket is excellent. Their performance is a fully ‘authentic’ affair on original instruments, with the usual sections of the baroque orchestra augmented by organ, archlute and baroque guitar. The recording balance brings them more to the fore than is often the case in Handel recordings, and turns them from stage supporters, to fully fledged actors in each of the short scenarios. Take for example the painterly introduction to ‘To thee, thou glorious son of worth’ from Theodora (track 6), or the plaintive flutes that accompany ‘Vivo in te’ from Tamerlano (track 9).

And what of the two soloists – soprano Rosemary Joshua and mezzo Sarah Connolly? Both are experienced Handelians in the recording studio and, more importantly, on stage, and therefore bring an insight, vigour and commitment to each of their roles. Their voices are also sufficiently varied to enable the listener to differentiate between them: Joshua’s is bright and lithe; Connolly’s warm and supple. Occasionally their blend is a little indistinct – in ‘Notte cara!’ from Ottone, for example (track 5) – and Connolly’s characterisation of roles originally sung by male castrati could do with a little beefing up. But for sheer vocal beauty, there is very little to fault.

John-Pierre Joyce, MusicWeb International

"This is what happens when you give every bar of Handel’s music its own raison d’être and breathe every wisp of nuance into his flavourful duets and those prolonged “da capo” arias. This concert, delivered by the English Concert under Harry Bicket, offered two artists of great refinement: Connolly and the elegant soprano Rosemary Joshua. Actually, there was a third great artist here, too: Bicket led his ensemble with both dramatic concision and pungent expression."

-- The Times (London)

London Early Opera continue their new series of Handel's works with the second volume of pieces composed in Italy. Both volumes of Handel in Italy explore the young composer's Italian years through his cantatas, sacred pieces, operatic works and instrumental compositions. Featuring performances from internationally acclaimed soloists, the sopranos Sophie Bevan and Mary Bevan with their uncle, baritone Benjamin Bevan, conducted and conceived by Bridget Cunningham.

Acknowledged without reservation as the greatest composer working in England in the 18th century, Georg Frideric Handel is revered worldwide as a master composer. His Harpsichord Suites are among the finest instrumental works of the period, we are privileged to present exquisite performances by Gilbert Rowland, one of Europe's foremost harpsichordists.

"It is impossible to praise this new release too highly. The harpsichord, a copy of a two manual French harpsichord after Goermans (Paris 1750), built by Andrew Wooderson in 2005, is a lovely instrument. The combination of Handel, Gilbert Rowland, Wooderson’s fine harpsichord, the recording venue at Holy Trinity Church, Weston, Hertfordshire and the recording engineer John Taylor is unbeatable providing, as it does, a collection of these wonderful suites that I will return to again and again."

-- The Classical Reviewer

Classical Music

Already during his lifetime Handel's "Messiah" became his most frequently performed work, achieving virtually cult status. The many outstanding choruses in this oratorio are among the most beloved, well known pieces in the history of choral music. This new release contains all of the choruses from the internationally acclaimed recording conducted by Frieder Bernius. The special sound and musical refinement displayed by his ensembles - the Stuttgarter Kammerchor and the Barockorchester Stuttgart - which, according to the MDR Figaro (April 2009) breathe "liveliness and new energy" into the work, make it a most musically exciting listening experience.

This is a reissue of a performance originally released on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi in Europe, one of the label’s final offerings before it was dissolved in 2008, and an import rarity that found little distribution in what was left of record retail in the US at the time. It was a shame because the recording features truly great performances in glorious, audiophile-quality sound of some of Handel’s most important and beloved orchestral works. Thankfully, Arcana has chosen to make it available once again.

For years my two longstanding reference recordings of this–the later, grander 1749 revision of the Royal Fireworks Music–were performances by Jordi Savall directing Le Concert des Nations (Astrée, now AliaVox) and Trevor Pinnock with the English Concert (DG Archiv), and I enjoyed both for different reasons. Much had to do with the tempo choices. Savall’s broader, more gracious approach–a 23-minute performance–provided a nice contrast to Pinnock’s more uptempo, often thrilling 18-minute run. At 21-plus minutes Zefiro’s performance strikes me as a “just right” middle course.

In my reference recordings I also appreciated how the relatively more spacious sound engineering of Savall’s recording complemented his performance, and how in a similar way the thinner, somewhat more detailed acoustic afforded to Pinnock complemented his. The DHM engineers astonishingly provide Zefiro with the best of both approaches in creating the illusion of a rich array of life-like instrumentation set in a convincingly wide, open-air soundstage. Savall enters the work without fanfare while Pinnock begins with a brief, celebratory drum roll. Zefiro ups Pinnock’s ante, opening the festivities with an opulent, elongated percussive roll, joined at the last moment by harpsichord and strings, in effect heightening the grandeur of the following, spectacular overture by the full orchestra. Perfect!

Zefiro’s performances of the three Concerti a due cori compare very favorably with Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music’s reference versions (L’Oiseau-Lyre, now Decca). Timings, the way the movements are shaped, and the dynamics are nearly identical, though again, Zefiro benefits from noticeably superior sound. The definition of the strings, and especially the brass, far surpasses what was possible with digital recording more than 30 years ago.

Mary Pardoe’s engaging notes, loaded with fascinating quotes and anecdotes, thankfully have been retained for this reissue. Arcana’s packaging and presentation, as usual, are second to none. Don’t miss this!

-- John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Handel's Saul is an operatic oratorio with ever intensifying action and increasingly drastic scenes. Handel seems to have been especially moved by this particular text. He gives each of the five main soloists a distinctive profile. Even the vocal supporting roles are unique and intentionally individual. In none of his other oratorios does Handel call for a more differentiated orchestra. Alongside the strings, he uses oboes, recorders, bassoons, trumpets, timpani and trombones. For me, Saul is one of the great high points of Handel's works. All of the performers on this recording thoroughly enjoyed taking on the challenges brought forth by this music. - Helmuth Rilling

The BBC Singers and conductor David Hill join with one of the world´s oldest continuously running orchestras, The Norwegian Wind Ensemble (NWE), to present this major new arrangement of George Frideric Handel’s most celebrated oratorio – Messiah. Arranged for wind ensemble by NWE member Stian Aareskjold, this version here receives its world premiere recording with a stellar cast of soloists who bring this visionary re-scoring of this famous work vividly to life. The BBC Singers hold a unique position in British musical life. The choir’s virtuosity sees it performing everything from Byrd to Birtwistle, Tallis to Takemitsu. Its expertise in contemporary music has brought about creative relationships with some of the most important composers and conductors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Britten, Maxwell Davies, Poulenc and Judith Weir, Associate Composer of the BBC Singers and Master of the Queen’s Music. The Norwegian Wind Ensemble is a unique institution in Norway’s cultural life. The orchestra’s eventful history stretches back to 1734 and the ‘First Brigade Band’ or ‘Division Band’ of Fredriksten Fortress in Halden. It is the oldest orchestra in Norway as well as the oldest cultural institution of any kind with an unbroken history.

Classical Music

Red Priest is the only early music group in the world to have been compared to the Rolling Stones, Jackson Pollock, the Marx Brothers, Spike Jones, and Cirque du Soleil. This extraordinary acoustic foursome has been described by music critics as "visionary and heretical" with a "break-all-rules, rock-chamber concert approach to early music." Founded in 1997 and named after flame-haired priest Antonio Vivaldi, Red Priest has given over a thousand concerts in many of the world's most prestigious festivals.

Handel: Julius Caesar

HANDEL: CONCERTI GROSSI, VOL 1

Recorded in: Forde Abbey, Somerset 1-3 June 2000 & 12 June 2001 Producer(s) Gary Cole Sound Engineer(s) Gary Cole