Handel Creation

In 1789, a performance of "Messiah" that was to have a radical effect on the course of the oratorio's performance history was given in Vienna. Baron Gottfried Van Swieten, who later translated and edited the text for Haydn's "Creation", had, as a diplomat in London during the late 1760s, become an ardent Handelian. Among other Handel scores, he took back to Austria a copy of the first edition of the full score of "Messiah", published by Randall and Abell in 1767. Beginning with "Judas Maccabaeus" in 1779, he introduced works by Handel into the annual oratorio series given for the benefit of the Tonkunstler Society, a Viennese musical charity. In 1789, he presented "Messiah" and, for this Viennese premiere, commissioned Mozart to fill out the accompaniments, largely dispensing with keyboard continuo and replacing the tromba parts practically unplayable for late 18th century trumpeters.

Even if you think the big "Rule, Britannia!" mood is the way to go with Handel, give a chance to Robert King's version of the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, recorded with the King's Consort and its choir on the Hyperion label. Handel in this much-loved work set a poem in praise of music by John Dryden; between opening and closing stanzas that implicate music in the creation and the dissolution of the universe, Dryden penned evocative little portraits of individual instruments ("Sharp violins proclaim/Their jealous pangs and desperation/Fury, frantic indignation/Depth of pains, and height of passion/For the fair disdainful dame."). In a Baroque musical world that associated solo instrumental display primarily with the concerto form, setting this text was a tall order – and one Handel filled magnificently.

Handel’s cantatas represent an important musical repertoire that until recently has been little known. Consisting of about 100 separate works, most were written over a period of a few years for private performance in Italy.

Handel's Nine German Arias have been well served on record, with fine CDs already available from Emma Kirkby, Monika Mauch, Julianne Baird, Carolyn Sampson and Arleen Augér among others. For the present recording, the Catalan soprano Nuria Rial comes well equipped to match this stiff competition, with a voice both rich and pure, a sure feeling for baroque style and, what is more, an exceptionally sensitive and brilliant accompaniment by the Austrian Baroque Company led by Michael Oman. Amazon review

George Frideric Handel and Hamburg town councillor and poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes were students at the same time in Halle, and it's probable that they knew each other and were perhaps even friends. Brockes wrote a nine-volume anthology, from the first volume of which Handel, between 1724 and 1727, set his Nine German Arias. In translation, the Brockes work is titled "Earthly Delight in God, Consisting of Physical and Moral Poems," the texts reflecting pleasure in the glory of God's natural creation. Handel had been writing opera in England since 1710; the reason behind the composition of these arias, his last works in German, and which were unpublished in his lifetime, remains unknown.

Messiah (HWV 56) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel based on a libretto by Charles Jennens. Composed in the summer of 1741 and premiered in Dublin on 13 April 1742, Messiah is Handel's most famous creation and is among the most popular works in Western choral literature. It includes the very well-known "Hallelujah Chorus". (From Wikipedia)

Featuring Handel's substantial Neun Deutsche Arien (Nine German Arias), HWV 202-210, this engaging late-'80s Bis recording gives the composer's relatively neglected vocal chamber music the royal treatment. It is masterfully produced by the label's founder, Robert von Bahr, and realized with utmost love and expertise by soprano Christina Högman and I Quattro Temperamenti.

English conductor Harry Christophers was educated at the Canterbury Cathedral Choir School and Magdalen College, Oxford. He founded The Sixteen, the choral ensemble with their accompanying instrumental ensemble, in 1977. The Sixteen performs with an emphasis on early English polyphony, but also in a varied repertoire from the Renaissance to contemporary composers. He has led The Sixteen on tours throughout Europe, America, and the Far East, and on over 70 recordings.

This disc presents three vocal pieces for soprano with oboe and basso continuo, interspersed between four trio sonatas for 2 oboes & basso continuo.The first cantata "Mi palpita il cor" was written in England - there are four existing variants, but this presented here is probably the earliest, the date given here as 1717. The theme is typically pastoral, with the singer's amorous affliction, the sorrow and hope of being in love with Chloris. The second vocal piece "Meine Seele hort im Sehen" is one of Handel's nine German da capo arias written around 1724/25 which were never published; they were songs of spiritual devotion rejoicing in God's creation as manifested in the beauty of nature, and not intended for concert performance.