Esther (First reconstruction version, 1720)
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HANDEL
Esther (First reconstruction version, 1720)
Susan Hamilton (Soprano) Nicholas Mulroy (tenor) Thomas Hobbs (tenor) Robin Blaze (counter-tenor) / Dunedin Consort / John Butt (Director)
[ Linn SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD ]
Release Date: Sunday 20 May 2012
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
"Butt's direction combines spontaneous freshness with a care for expressive phrasing and precise colouring. The 11-strong chorus - the solo cast plus reinforcement - is vital incisive, packing a fair punch even in the ceremonial final chorus." Gramophone Magazine, June 2012
"the scholarship is only a means to an end, and is never allowed to get in the way of the wonderfully crafted music making. Textures are lean - 11 singers, including the soloists, 20 instrumentalists - but wonderfully precise, and the solo contributions, with soprano Susan Hamilton as Esther, are models of stylishness." The Guardian, 17th May 2012 ****
"Butt's consort of soloists do this great music proud, sounding larger than their number would suggest...I'll return to this recording for the winning drive, dramatic conception and expressive phrasing of Butt's direction, his crack Baroque orchestra and his exceptional male cast" International Record Review, June 2012
"Paradoxically, a two-voices-to-a-part chorus achieves more immediacy than a larger choir, coupled with a stylish and delightfully intimate band. Yet again, Butt demonstrates that less can be more." BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 ****
The Dunedin Consort's highly anticipated new recording of 'Esther - First Reconstructable Version (Cannons), 1720' is the third recording in its hugely successful Handel series.
The Consort have set the bar high for this Handel performance with a Gramophone Award in 2007 for 'Messiah' and a BBC Radio 3 'Building a Library' First Choice accolade for 'Acis and Galatea'.
For Esther, director John Butt has reunited his award-winning team of soloists (Susan Hamilton - Esther; Nicholas Mulroy - Mordecai; Matthew Brook - Haman; Thomas Hobbs - 1st Israelite) plus well-known guest soloists Robin Blaze - Priest, James Gilchrist - Habdonah / Assuerus and Electra Lochhead - Israelite Boy.
The Dunedin Consort has established a reputation as the finest single-part period performance choir currently performing.
In 2011 Gramophone named the Dunedin Consort the 11th Greatest Choir in recognition of its 'triple focus upon artistic revitalisation of over-familiar great works, meticulous musicological enquiry and the audiophile integrity of Linn Records' production values.'
The multi-award-winning Dunedin Consort has won praise for the natural style of its soloists ('an authoritative bass and a superb contralto' The Guardian) and renown for the virtuosity of its singers.
The Dunedin Consort has performed at music festivals in Scotland - including the Edinburgh International Festival and broadcasts frequently on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Scotland.
