Handel: Acis and Galatea

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The chief strength of this account lied in the excellent instrumental playing (the recorders that form the 'warbling choir' addressed in Galatea's first aria are sheer magic)… — BBC Music Magazine, January 2009, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 3rd Nov 2008
Catalogue No: CKD319
Label: Linn
Length: 95 minutes

Building a Library

July 2009

First Choice
Gramophone Awards

2009

Finalist - Baroque Vocal
Gramophone Magazine

January 2009

Disc of the Month

Handel: Acis and Galatea

Work length1:35:02

$29.00

$43.50

$59.45

Nicholas Mulroy (soloist), Thomas Hobbs (soloist), Players, Matthew Brook (soloist), Nicholas Hurndall Smith (soloist), Susan Hamilton (soloist)
The Dunedin Consort
John Butt
Recorded: 29 April - 02 May 2008
Recording Venue: Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

1. Sinfonia

Track length3:12

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

2. Chorus. Oh, the Pleasure of the Plains!

Track length6:13

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

3. Accompagnato. Ye Verdant Plains and Woody Mountains (Galatea)

Track length0:45

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

4. Air. Hush, Ye Pretty Warbling Choir! (Galatea)

Track length6:17

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

5. Air. Where Shall I Seek the Charming Fair? (Acis)

Track length3:05

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

6. Recitative. Stay, Shepherd, Stay! (Damon)

Track length0:22

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

7. Air. Shepherd, What Art Thou Pursuing? (Damon)

Track length4:10

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

8. Recitative. Lo, Here My Love (Acis)

Track length0:30

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

9. Air. Love in Her Eyes Sits Playing (Acis)

Track length6:50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

10. Recitative. Oh Didst Thou Know the Pains of Absent Love (Galatea)

Track length0:16

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

11. Air. As When the Dove Laments Her Love (Galatea)

Track length6:57

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

12. Duet. Happy, Happy We! (Acis and Galatea)

Track length2:35

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

13. Chorus. Wretched Lovers!

Track length4:25

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

14. Accompagnato. I Rage - I Melt - I Burn! (Polyphemus)

Track length1:27

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

15. Air. O Ruddier Than the Cherry (Polyphemus)

Track length3:16

$1.00

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16. Recitative. Whither, Fairest, Art Thou Running (Polyphemus, Galatea)

Track length1:11

$1.00

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$2.05

17. Air. Cease to Beauty to Be Suing (Polyphemus)

Track length5:24

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

18. Would You Gain the Tender Creature (Coridon)

Track length5:42

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

19. Recitative. His Hideous Love Provokes My Rage (Acis)

Track length0:21

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

20. Air. Love Sounds th' Alarm

Track length4:50

$1.00

$1.50

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21. Air. Consider, Fond Shepherd

Track length6:41

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22. Recitative. Cease, Oh Cease, Thou Gentle Youth

Track length0:25

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23. Trio. The Flocks Shall Leave the Mountains (Galatea, Acis, Polyphemus)

Track length3:03

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24. Accompagnato. Help, Galatea! Help, Ye Parent Gods! (Acis)

Track length1:30

$1.00

$1.50

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25. Chorus. Mourn, All Ye Muses

Track length3:43

$1.00

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26. Solo and Chorus. Must I Acis Still Bemoan (Galatea)

Track length4:14

$1.00

$1.50

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27. Recitative. 'Tis Done! Thus I Exert My Pow'r Divine (Galatea)

Track length0:18

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

28. Air. Heart, the Seat of Soft Delight (Galatea)

Track length4:02

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

29. Chorus. Galatea, Dry Thy Tears

Track length3:18

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

About
Reviews
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About

Acis and Galatea is the Dunedin Consort's second Handel recording and follows their hugely successful 1742 version of Messiah, which earned the group a Classic FM Gramophone Award for "Best Baroque Vocal Album" in 2007 and a Midem Award in 2008.

The Dunedin Consort continues its critically acclaimed practice of recording unusual but authentic recording versions of well-known works; Acis and Galatea is no exception. The Consort has recorded the Original Cannons Performing Version from 1718.

There are notable differences in the Cannons version including changes in instrumentation and vocal scoring (there is no alto line) made by Handel to suit the forces at Cannons. This includes one-to-a-part choruses, in a similar manner to the choruses in the Consort’s Matthew Passion recording.

Director John Butt chose this version because of the small forces involved (which was one of the aspects that made Messiah so distinctive) and although there have been 'first versions' of Acis recorded before, Butt felt that there were certain aspects of the original version that had not yet been sufficiently realised.

Acis and Galatea is a beautiful pastoral entertainment, Handel's first dramatic work in English, with a simple yet highly emotional story that encompasses the extremes of love and tragedy.

In 2007, the Dunedin Consort’s tenth anniversary year, the group reached a new level of critical acclaim, culminating in the Classic FM Gramophone Award for Messiah in the Baroque Vocal category. This is the only such award presented to a Scottish group in recent years (and the first to an ensemble that is not a Scottish National Company or BBC orchestra) and now gives the Dunedin Consort a truly international reputation.

“A genuine sparkle which lifts Handel's music above the ordinary, and a fresh angle for just about every moment.” The Scotsman

Reviews

January 2009

The chief strength of this account lied in the excellent instrumental playing (the recorders that form the 'warbling choir' addressed in Galatea's first aria are sheer magic)…

October 2009

…this near-perfect ensemble effort is a delightful representation of Handel's first English masterpiece. Butt flawlessly judges the transition into pastoral tragedy and magical transformation…

2010

Handel's Acis and Galatea has been recorded often, but the original version written for smallscale performance by only five singers (soprano, three tenors and bass) and a small band at Cannons in 1718 has almost never been properly revived. This beggars belief because the Cannons version text makes more dramatic sense and the musical scale of it is charming. It is certainly among Handel's most perfect creations.
Thankfully, John Butt has researched the performing conditions and text of the Cannons Acis.
The philological aspects of the Dunedin Consort & Players' new recording are impeccable, and, better still, the performance is utterly magical.
The Sinfonia brims with unforced personality, after which the pastoral chorus 'O the pleasure of the plains' is relaxed, with the oboes given enough space to weave their imitative lines clearly. The five singers and the band are beautifully in proportion with each other, and Linn's sound recording is stunningly good. Susan Hamilton's light, articulate soprano is preferable to an operatic voice in the role of Galatea.
Nicholas Mulroy's Acis is resonant and suave, combining muscularity with elegance. The madrigal-like beauty of 'Wretched lovers' is breathtaking: the blend and understanding between the five singers is deeply satisfying, and the menacing music to convey the arrival of Polyphemus is astutely integrated. Matthew Brook's Polyphemus is extrovert, powerful and amusing, but also arouses pity and tenderness from the listener in 'I rage, I melt, I burn'. The dialogue between the hapless would-be seducer and the disgusted Galatea is superbly enacted by Brook and Hamilton. The roles of Damon and Coridon are admirably sung by Nicholas Hurndall Smith and Thomas Hobbs.
Butt's direction from the harpsichord is a role model of taste and style, and he insightfully conveys the elusive changing tone of the story from pastoral romp into personal tragedy. Previous versions of merit still possess enduring appeal, but it seems to me that the Dunedins have transformed the way in which we can understand and enjoy Handel's lovely early English masterpiece.

January 2009

…the performance is utterly magical. The five singers and the band are beautifully in proportion with each other, an Linn's sound recording is stunningly good.

9th November 2008

a wonderfully intimate reading, which bounces along with the spring and precision of a chamber performance. There is some world-class singing here: Susan Hamilton portrays Galatea with startling clarity and sincerity; Nicholas Mulroy makes an affecting Acis and the tremendous Matthew Brook combines power and pathos as Polyphemus.

Handel: Acis and Galatea

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