Kathi S. Barton The English Dragon

Following their acclaimed recording of Handel’s Rodelinda (BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month, Gramophone Editor’s Choice), The English Concert and Harry Bicket continue their Handel series with a superb soloist line-up including Sophie Bevan, Iestyn Davies, Ashley Riches, Hugo Hymas and Lucy Crowe. Starting with an unusual verbal altercation between an Angel and Lucifer, Handel’s La Resurrezione is an extraordinary retelling of the three days between Christ’s death and resurrection which is unlike any other Passion or Oratorio. This journey centres around women, Mary Magdalene and Mary Cleophas, in a way that seems very modern, and which mirrors the ambiguities of their feelings in music that is completely original in concept and orchestration.

This is a really great five-CD set. You get all of Bach's concertos except the Brandenburgs - which is a shame because Pinnock's Brandenburgs are terrific. Nonetheless, this remains an absolutely cracking collection of some of Bach's most enjoyable music in excellent performances. In the Harpsichord Concertos Pinnock is himself the soloist and shows why he is such a very well-liked and highly regarded musician. The music springs to life under his fingers (and under his direction) and many of these performances set new and enduring standards when first released in the early 1980s. They have informed much subsequent Bach playing and have worn extremely well themselves, sounding as fresh and involving as they did nearly 30 years ago. He is joined by other fine harpsichordists in the concerti for two, three and four harpsichords, (Kenneth Gilbert, Nicholas Kraemer and Lars Ulrich Mortensen) and the Concerto for Four Harpsichords in particular is an absolute joy.

J.S. Bach - The English Suites - Carole Cerasi (2007) {2CD Set Metronome METCD 1078}
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© 2007 Metronome Recordings | MET CD 1078
Classical / Baroque / Period Instruments / Harpsichord

Recorded on a harpsichord by François-Etienne Blanchet II (Paris, 1757), restored and enlarged by Pascal Taskin (Paris, 1778), loaned by Kenneth Gilbert and recorded in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Chartres. From the rarified and somewhat recherché music of Blasco de Nebra, Carole Cerasi turns her focus on a masterpiece of the repertoire for keyboards with this new recording of the English Suites.

In this recording of Bach’s Suite No. 1, John Eliot Gardiner follows Passepieds I and II with Bach’s own setting of the chorale Dir, dir, Jehova, will ich singen BWV 299. The joyous text celebrates praise and discipleship, prolonging the suite’s exuberant mood. No other recorded version features a vocal tailpiece, but if you don’t like it, simply program your player to skip track 8. It’s good to find both parts of the Overtures to these works repeated (Frans Brüggen omits second-section repeats), but at times Gardiner can seem too rugged and unyielding for what is, after all, ceremonial or occasional music.

The title of this exceptional disc, "Night Music", should not be taken to mean that the performances are in any way dark, mysterious, droopy, sluggish, or otherwise conventionally "nocturnal". Rather, the term evokes its 18th century musical meaning: a time for fun, relaxation, parties, entertainment both indoors and out, and of course, romance. Indeed, "Romantic" is perhaps the best way to describe these virtuosic, impulsive, and extravagantly expressive performances by the inimitable Andrew Manze and his team of crack "authentic-instrument" players.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695) looked like a Florentine prince, was hail-fellow-well-met in tavern and taproom, wrote for the church and also for the stage and salon, was in fact a most likeable young man, as well as a "very great Master of Musick." Except for his appointment as organist at the Chapel Royal and other churches, his compositions were the chief events of his life. Henry Purcell invented the English celebratory style in music.

This set is pure joy. These are period performances, but there's nothing hair-shirt about them. Pinnock caresses the slow movements with great affection, and throughout there's a sense of fun and enjoyment. What's exciting is the sweetness of the period-instrument sound and the suppleness and flexibility The English Concert brings to the music. They play, much of the time, as if it were chamber music, particularly in second subjects – the lyrical passages, that is, where they shape the phrases with a warmth and refinement you hardly expect in orchestral music.

In Handel’s Rodelinda, the characters know only too well that in the corridors of power, complete candour is unwise. In the face of dishonour and the loss of her loved ones, Rodelinda’s dignified resistance and exemplary spirit ultimately elevate her amongst her rivals. In this recording The English Concert together with an all-star cast, directed by Harry Bicket, bring to life Handel’s music as it underpins the intricate twists and turns of his characters and their complex relationships.

Although at least one of the three oboe concertos on this recording is almost undoubtedly spurious, this is still one of the loveliest Handel recordings ever made - gorgeous melodies, elegant but energetic playing and sound engineering that can hardly get any better.

At last there is a Haydn Stabat mater within easy reach. The piece is seldom performed and even more rarely recorded, and this despite the fact that it contains some of the composer's most rich and deeply felt writing. One of the few works not written to order (Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy was less than keen on encouraging the sacred duties of his Kapellmeister) the Stabat mater is also one Haydn himself grew to respect highly, and Trevor Pinnock's performance makes it clear why.