Search - George Frederick Handel :: Handel: Italian Cantatas [Australia]

THE SAXON

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 12/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These performances date originally from 1985, and the sound appears to have been given the benefit of subsequent remastering. There are four short chamber cantatas amounting to 55 minutes of playing time, all to very stylised themes of love and lovers, not in general the luckiest people in the world. Some of the works are certainly from Handel's Italian period when he was in his early 20's, and it is likely that all four are, although one is a fairly recent rediscovery in a couple of English libraries.



Soloist, director and instrumentalists are of course leading specialists in music of this period, and the style is all-the-way authentic. Emma Kirkby's voice is highly individual, but enthusiasts for this music and for these performers are not likely to have much problem with that. In particular, Kirkby's enunciation is a model of clarity, and that is all the better as the full words are not provided in the liner. In fact this is probably no great loss - it's enough to get the general idea of what each aria and recitative is about - but be warned that there is no English translation even of as much of the text as we're given. If your Italian is up to understanding that then it should be equal to understanding the rest too, and the clarity of the singing ensures that we can hear if not read all of it.



The works themselves are little jewels. 50 years ago very little of Handel, considered by Beethoven the greatest composer who ever lived, was available to the musical public, and the transformation in the scene that has now ensured that we can hear as much Handel as we have time and inclination for is the greatest advance in educating the musical public that has happened in a couple of centuries in my own view. This music is totally mature and self-assured, and its idiom is more along the lines of Handel's style as we know it best from his later English period than is the idiom of some of his contemporary compositions. Indeed if you already know Alexander's Feast and Samson you will hear a couple of familiar numbers on this disc.



Not an issue to be missed, I'd say, if you are interested in the music of this period and particularly of this composer. The recorded quality is excellent, the liner essay by Anthony Hicks is quite helpful, and with a modicum of effort you should be able to master the entire text."

Amazing

Aleksander Wawer | Warsaw, Poland | 01/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite this being in Italian, Dame Kirkby's voice flies over the tunes with easiness. Highest recommendation, as with all Kirkby's takes on Handel music. She's just perfect."

An Enchanted Performance

Ross Kennett | Narooma, NSW Australia | 08/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This fine CD is a recent release from Australian Eloquence who re-release, at bargain prices, recordings from the majors, such as Philips and Decca. The quality is often surprisingly good, I suspect that they often remaster the original, and the catalogue is growing. So there is a bit more to the land of Oz than kangaroos and crocodiles.

David Bryson has already posted a very good review of this CD, so I can do little more than offer support. Soloist and accompaniment sing/play with great clarity to produce an enchanting performance. The cover notes do not provide a translation, but knowing what each cantata is about surfices; the diction is so clear any one with a smattering of Italian could follow. I have none, but this did not impede my enjoyment, just sit back and listen to the music.

Highly recommended."