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Presto News - 14th May 2012Handel in England |
 Handel spent so much of his career in London that he’s often thought of as a sort of honorary Englishman, and I have recordings of three of his English-language works to tell you about today.  James Gilchrist Top of the pile is the Edinburgh-based Dunedin Consort’s Esther. Recordings of this work aren’t exactly thick on the ground and this fresh, vital performance left us wondering how on earth it’s been so eclipsed by Judas Maccabeus and Samson. As well as having a strong dramatic impetus which put me in mind of the Bach Passions in places, the score is an absolute treasure-trove of arias: highlights include the alto lament ‘O Jordan, Jordan, sacred tide’ (ravishingly sculpted by a plangent Robin Blaze), Esther’s defiant rage aria ‘Bloody wretch’ and the gorgeous pair of tenor arias in which the king Assuerus puts love before duty. The ever-excellent James Gilchrist is at his most mellifluous here, and like his fellow soloists blends seamlessly into the whole for the choruses. As in the Dunedin’s acclaimed Matthew Passion, the forces are small and because of the relatively large number of characters, most singers step out for a solo role. The titular heroine is sung by the Dunedin’s co-founder Susan Hamilton. Hers is a very light, bright, almost treble-like instrument and on first hearing I did hanker after something a bit plusher and more substantial, but as John Butt points out in his booklet note, the scoring of Esther’s arias suggests that Handel wrote the role for a small voice (perhaps even for a boy) so the casting here sits well with the group’s focus on authenticity.  Lucy Crowe We’ve also been enjoying Handel’s little-known incidental music for Tobias Smollett’s Alceste, which sadly never made it to the stage for reasons which aren’t entirely clear. The booklet note suggests that the project may have run out of financial steam, or that tensions may have arisen between composer and producer. Only fragments survive, and for the most part the singers don’t portray actual characters, so the narrative isn’t continuous, but there’s no lack of direction or drama for all that. Some of the finest music was written for the soprano (Thomas Arne’s wife Cecilia Young) and Lucy Crowe is ravishing: it’s worth getting this disc just to hear her liquid middle register and hypnotic phrasing in the beautiful ‘Gentle Morpheus’. Andrew Foster-Williams is gleefully baleful as the infernal oarsman Charon, and Benjamin Hulett sings with distinctive tone and a fine sense of line in his three gorgeous arias. Also recently released is an audio recording of Glyndebourne’s 1996 Theodora, already something of a legend in its own lifetime thanks to the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s sublime Irene and Peter Sellars’s controversial but much-praised production. Released on DVD back in 2004, Sellars’s staging of the oratorio (which is more usually performed in concert form) transplants the story of state-sanctioned religious persecution to modern-day America. In this live recording the theatricality leaps out of the speakers in more ways than one: the footsteps and the hysterical laughter of the chorus remain, but more importantly, the ambivalent vision which made Sellars’s production so powerful is tangible even without the visual dimension. We sense the underlying fanaticism of Lieberson’s rapturous Irene as well as all the bullish insecurity of Frode Olsen’s governor; Richard Croft’s supremely-sung Septimius veers between baffled frustration and empathy like a Greek Chorus, and it’s a treat to hear the young David Daniels (in his UK stage debut, if I remember rightly) singing with such sweet-toned focus. Like many die-hard Handelians, I already own and cherish the DVD, but it’s good to have this superlative performance in portable form, and those of you who prefer your Handel oratorio sans orange jumpsuits and lethal injections will surely welcome the chance to hear it in sound-only.
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 Handel: EstherSusan Hamilton (Esther), Nicholas Mulroy (Mordecai), Matthew Brook (Haman), Thomas Hobbs (1st Israelite), Robin Blaze (Priest), James Gilchrist (Habdonah / Assuerus) & Electra Lochhead (Israelite Boy); Nicholas Wearne (organ continuo), Dunedin Consort, John Butt |
 Handel: AlcesteLucy Crowe (soprano), Benjamin Hulett (tenor) & Andrew Foster-Williams (bass-baritone), Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn
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 Handel: Theodora, HWV 68Frode Olsen (Valens), David Daniels (Didymus), Richard Croft (Septimius), Dawn Upshaw (Theodora), Lorraine Hunt (Irene), Michael Hart-Davis (Messenger) & William Christie (conductor, continuo), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment & The Glyndebourne Chorus |
Katherine Cooper - katherine@prestoclassical.co.uk |
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Download - download options available for this itemNew Releases14th May 2012 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, Op. 120Andreas Staier (fortepiano after Conrad Graf)As is his custom, Andreas Staier has gone back to the original manuscript of one of the most famous sets of variations in history: Beethoven’s 'Diabelli Variations'. He has not however, restricted his work to recording the magnum opus, since the CD begins with a selection of variations written by some of the other 50 composers Diabelli asked to take part in his project. Here you can discover the very first stirrings of Liszt’s virtuosity (aged 11), the music of Mozart’s son, the unexpected variations of Kreutzer and Kalkbrenner, and the 'Diabelli Variation' of a certain Franz Schubert. A thrilling musical investigation with Andreas Staier's own 'Introduction'. |
 Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 15Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily PetrenkoThese two hugely contrasting symphonies come from the opposite ends of Shostakovich’s life and career. The Second Symphony was written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik October Revolution. Its advanced idiom of experimental textures and abstract effects can perhaps be best described as organised musical chaos. The Fifteenth was Shostakovich’s last symphony and is filled with remarkable contrasts, from the rollicking quotes from Rossini’s William Tell Overture and eerie references to Wagner’s Götterdämmerung and Tristan und Isolde, to the last and perhaps most imaginative of the composer’s symphonic passacaglias.
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 Sounds of the 30sStefano Bollani (piano), Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo ChaillyA new recording with Riccardo Chailly, a top classical conductor, and Stefano Bollani, a top jazz pianist, following their phenomenally successful Gershwin Rhapsody/Concerto album. A new exciting programme focused on the magic ‘30s: a decade full of energy and creativity, in which several top classical composers were strongly influenced by such modern trends like jazz, tango and fox-trot. |
 Casella: Orchestral Works Volume 2Martin Roscoe (piano), BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea NosedaThis is Volume 2 in the series of orchestral works by Alfredo Casella, performed by the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda, with the pianist Martin Roscoe. Albeit largely forgotten today, Casella was in fact one of the most important composers of his generation, possessing creativity in abundance, and rare technical skill.
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 Tye: Missa Euge Bone & Western Wynde MassWestminster Abbey Choir, James O'DonnellChristopher Tye flourished as a church musician in England during the mid-sixteenth century. A direct contemporary of Thomas Tallis, he held the prestigious post of Master of Choristers at Ely cathedral and successfully managed to compose music for both Protestant and Catholic services during a politically unstable time. |
 Górecki: Concerto-CantataCarol Wincenc (flute) & Anna Górecka (piano), Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni WitGórecki is an important figure in Polish music, and his Third Symphony is one of the great ‘success stories’ in all twentieth century symphonic music. This deeply moving quality permeates his other works, but he was also a more ambiguous, interesting composer. These four works showcase different aspects of his art in a broad ranging approach.
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 L'Olimpiade: The OperaRomina Basso (Megacle), Franziska Gottwald (Licida), Karina Gauvin (Argene), Nicholas Phan (Clistene), Ruth Rosique (Aristea), Nicholas Spanos (Aminta), Venice Baroque Orchestra, Markellos ChryssicosIn the eighteenth century, 1,300 years after the last Olympic Games in ancient times, the Olympic theme was highly fashionable. Many composers based operas on the libretto L’Olimpiade by Metastasio. This recording has been structured to contain all of Metastasio’s original arias; it is a pasticcio in the sense that the music is by 16 different composers amongst the many that set the libretto between 1733 and the end of the century. |
 Le Triomphe de l’amourSandrine Piau (soprano), Les Paladins, Jérôme CorreasSoprano Sandrine Piau's new project is dedicated to French baroque repertoire, offering a wide range of very beautiful arias by Rameau, Lully, Campra etc in a 100-year journey that mixes very famous music with little-know pieces, such as arias by Grétry or Sacchini. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 12th May 2012 |
Building a Library - Chopin: Mazurkas Nos. 1-51 |
 First ChoiceAdam Harasiewicz (piano) |
Disc of the Week |
 Wagner Transcriptions Volume 5: Orchestral WorksRoyal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
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