Handel: Messiah / Saul / Alexander's Feast / Ode for St Cecilia's Day / Belshazzar
$90.00
Special Order3 - 6 weeks add to cart
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah / Saul / Alexander's Feast / Ode for St Cecilia's Day / Belshazzar
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Paul Esswood, Felicity Palmer, Roberta Alexander / Concentus musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
[ Warner Classics / 9 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Thursday 1 September 2016
This item is only available to us via Special Order. We should be able to get it to you in 3 - 6 weeks from when you order it.
These five splendid works for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra were composed by Handel in the 1730s and 1740s. Treating both sacred and secular themes, they are inspired by the same dramatic genius that made Handel a master of opera. Conducting a dazzling array of soloists and Concentus Musicus Wien, the groundbreaking ensemble he established in the early 1950s, Nikolaus Harnoncourt unfolds their narratives with his customary flair, precision and immediacy.
"…the soloists, led by Felicity Palmer and Robert Tear, keep the story-line clearly in mind with their expressive enunciation of the words. The other soloists too are excellent, notably Paul Esswood with his fresh counter-tenor tone, and the bass, Peter van der Bilt. Most enjoyable of all is the singing of the fine Stockholm Choir, delectably light and pointed…" Penguin Guide (on Belshazzar)
"Rolfe Johnson is outstanding...in this powerfully dramatic account" BBC Music Magazine, April 2010 **** (on Saul)
"All three soloists are really very good indeed" Gramophone on Alexander's Feast
Tracks:
Messiah
Elizabeth Gale (soprano), marjana Lipovesek (alto), Werner Hollweg (tenor), Roderick Kennedy (bass)
Stockholm Kammerkoren
Saul
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Saul), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Jonathan), Paul Esswood (David), Julia Varady (Merab), Elizabeth Gale (Michal), Helmut Wildhaber (Witch of Endor, Amelikite, High Priest), Matthias Hölle (Samuel)
Alexander's Feast
Felicity Palmer (soprano), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor), Stephen Roberts (bass)
Stockholm Bach Choir
Ode for St Cecilia's Day, HWV76
Felicity Palmer (soprano), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor), Stephen Roberts (baritone)
Stockholm Bach Choir
Belshazzar
Robert Tear (Belshazzar), Felicity Palmer (Nitocris), Maureen Lehane (Cyrus), Paul Esswood (Daniel)
Stockholm Kammerkoren
