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Handel opera/cantata box sets

18K views 93 replies 10 participants last post by  Josquin13 
#1 ·
My Baroque odyssey of recent months has led me in a strange roundabout way to Handel (the quirkiness of having arrived at Handel via Couperin, Charpentier, Mondonville, Delalande, Lully, Rameau, Durante and Purcell rather tickles me), most particularly his vocal music, which I've blithely been ignoring all my life on the assumption that it wasn't 'my kind of thing'. I now find it's very much my kind of thing after all, so I've been dutifully studying the Penguin and Gramophone Guides to see where to go, and which recordings to get.

First up for consideration was Alcina, in the famous version by Christie and Les Arts Florissants with a star-studded cast (Fleming, Graham, Dessay), thus:



(available here for £41)

But ... this recording has been reissued as part of the Warner 'Handel Edition' in a 6 CD box, thus:



Now this is available for a mere £19 here, AND you also get Orlando, in the highly regarded Christie version, thrown in for good measure. Orlando, bought separately on Amazon, would knock you back another £41 (see here). So in this reissued box set, we get both works for £19, instead of £82 when bought separately.

There's a snag of course. Although there is a booklet in the 6CD box, which has an effective keyed synopsis for each work, it has no librettos (unlike the original issues). However, £63 for two librettos doesn't seem like good value.

The good news is that the librettos can be downloaded from the Warner website, and printed out - which is what I've done. I don't like this much - I'd far prefer to have the librettos in booklets contained within the sets; but the really important thing is that the librettos are available in an accessible form that works. And the final outcome is that by buying the box, and making do with the online material, these two superb recordings/performances can be had at about £3 per disc.
 
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#49 ·
I anguished for days - nay, weeks - about this, but finally took the plunge and it arrived today:



Six operas: Rodrigo, Radamisto, Admeto, Fernando, Arminio, Deidamia - courtesy of Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco.

The plus side: Very handsome box; 16 CDs; incredible bargain. To buy these operas separately would cost about three times the price of this box, even assuming you could find them all.

The minus side: Although there is a (thin) booklet, it merely gives the track listings. There are no librettos in sight. That's not to say there are no librettos, however: the 16th CD contains pdf files of librettos for all the operas. I don't like the idea; I really, really prefer a booklet. But to have had to spend at least another £70/80 just to get the booklets by buying the separate sets would have been more madness than even I could justify. (In any case, Deidamia is out of print, and secondhand copies seem to cost £50 or so, which is crazy.)

So I settled for the box.
 
#50 ·
Just a quick heads-up on this recent release for Handel opera fans wondering about venturing into a DVD or two:



Details here.

Two acclaimed Glyndebourne productions of Rodelinda and Theodora, plus a kind of musical documentary about Handel in London. Three DVDs for the price of one. Worth buying just for the performances of Lorraine Hunt and Dawn Upshaw in Theodora, and to go for a walk with Sarah Connolly as she prowls through London at night singing 'Scherza Infida'.

Lorraine Hunt singing 'As with rosy steps'

Dawn Upshaw singing 'With darkness deep'
 
#51 ·
Is no one else out there listening to Handel these days? This thread's gone very quiet.

I've just made my first acquaintance with Amadigi, which also happens to be the first performance of Handel by Minkowski that I've heard:



It's full of great music (not to mention thunderclaps) but one item in particular stands out: the aria 'Tu mia speranza' in Act 2. Quite extraordinary. The instrumental work consists of long, hard-driven bass notes with a kind of stabbing effect produced by the higher strings - and the vocal works against this background. It's hard to believe this was written over 250 years ago - it sounds so very modern and rock&roll. I can't find a sample on Youtube, unfortunately.
 
#54 ·


This has been sitting unused for about 3 weeks now - and I know why. As I suspected, the absence of libretto booklets, and the consequent need to fiddle about with pdf files on the computer is a definite barrier to progress. But yesterday I had an attack of what-the-heck, and just grabbed the first disc of Radamisto and popped it in the player while I ate my lunch. I had no idea of the plot, but set out just to listen to the music as music, with just a tracklisting in front of me. Wow. What music! And what performances! Joyce DiDonato is here; so are Patrizia Ciofi and Dominique Labelle and others - and between them they set this opera alight.

Later I gave the same treatment to the second disc (of 3), which was as superb as the first. OK, I know I need to look at the pdfs available on the CDRom and somehow get a libretto together that I can use while listening, but in the meantime, I must say that at this moment it hardly seems to matter. This box now looks even more like a bargain than it did before.
 
#55 ·


I mentioned buying this back in July, but haven't reported since that it's rapidly become one of my very favourite Handel recordings. It's full of the most glorious tunes, and covers a whole range of emotions (as you'd expect from a dialogue between these particular protagonists). But also the feeling of Arcadian delight in some of the passages is so exquisite that tears are not far away.

There are lots of samples at the Hyperion website here. Try tracks 9 and 10 for starters. (Susan Gritton and Lorna Anderson sing like angels on this record.)

Incidentally, my listening to these Arcadian masques, cantatas and the like, has been enriched quite a bit by reading this book:



Not because it has direct bearing on the music - it doesn't. But dipping into the book and being exposed to the exquisite Poussin landscapes affects the mental imagery as I listen. Just as the paintings tend to mythicise our experiences of natural landscape, so they also mythicise the mental landscapes we enjoy when we listen to the music. Well worth a look if you're delving into Handel's Italian cantatas, or pieces like this L'Allegro. It adds another dimension to the listening.
 
#56 ·
Great to see people discovering the music of Handel, who I think, is on par with any other great composers of opera after Handel's time to today.

L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato contains one of Handel's best single movements; go to part three and listen to the duet "As steals the morn upon the night".

I have two versions of L'Allegro: (already listed above) performed by The King's Consort, and The English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner.
 
#58 ·
L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato contains one of Handel's best single movements; go to part three and listen to the duet "As steals the morn upon the night".
Yes, exactly. I won't hear a word said against any of it. 'As steals the morn' is wonderful, as you say, and the piece as a whole would be among my favourite half-dozen Handel works.
 
#57 ·
I've put the opera box set on my wish list. I haven't found any oratorio box sets, however. Just yesterday I received Decca's Handel Masterworks box set that has Hercules, Judas Maccabaeus, Solomon, Israel in Egypt, and, of course, Messiah. Also the opera Giulio Cesare. Beyond this it seems his oratorios are sold separately as far as I can tell. But this box should keep me busy for a while (no librettos here, either).
 
#60 · (Edited)
Quickly resurrecting this thread to point out that Hyperion are currently offering this at half price:



See here:
Handel Italian cantatas

How long this will remain I don't know - probably only a few days - but for anyone unfamilar with the exquisite cantatas this would be an inexpensive way to try them, beautifully performed. There are extensive audio samples at the link. Earlier in this thread (#43) I wrote this about this disc:

It's entirely fabulous. The recording goes back to the early 1980s, but it's been reissued on Hyperion's budget label and thank goodness for that. I've been listening to these three cantatas all day. I love the intimacy of them - the small-scale, chamber feeling is really beguiling, and yet they can really rock&roll when they need to. The two sopranos sing with a crystalline quality that seems perfectly suited to the music; the playing seems first rate. Everyone on the recording seems to be loving what they're doing. I knew nothing of these early chamber cantatas before, but they have all the freshness of morning in them, and interspersed among them are tunes I know from the later work - appearing here, and delightfully in a different context, for the first time.
What I can't understand is how this found its way into Hyperion's ten least popular CDs (in order to qualify for the sale price). Madness.

There's also an excellent companion disc of Handel cantatas available (not in the sale, but still cheap anyway) by the same group of people:



Samples here.
 
#61 ·
I thought it might be helpful to update this thread with regard to Handel's early Italian cantatas - of which the choice is now so large, and of such high quality, that I find it almost impossible to single out individual recordings to recommend. I wouldn't want to lose any of the ones I'm going to list here.

The Glossa series, with Bonizzoni and La Risonanza, is now concluded and comprises six volumes altogether. I've given a link alongside each CD image to the full details of what's on the disc, (plus performers etc) at the Glossa website:

Le Cantate per il Cardinal Pamphili

Le Cantate per il Marchese Ruspoli

Le Cantate per il Cardinal Ottoboni

Aminta e Fillide

Clori, Tirsi e Fileno

Apollo e Dafne

Listening to Handel's cantatas is a bit like eating chocolates. Once you start, it's hard to stop, and every one is a delight that urges you on to the next. There's an attractive lightness about them (I don't mean they're frivolous - just that there's a small scale 'chamber' feeling about them). Their Arcadian character is one that I find immensely appealing, as I've noted in earlier posts, and I'd be astonished if any lover of Handel's operas wouldn't fall in love with these cantatas too. Apart from anything else, Handel plundered these, years later, for tunes for the operas - so frequently there's a feeling of recognition when a familiar tune pops up.

This series isn't cheap, (though if you hunt around you can often find good offers), but they're worth every penny and according to my ears, there isn't a dud amongst them. They're beautifully presented too, in card foldouts with an excellent booklet.
 
#62 ·


Moving on now beyond the Glossa series, this (see above) is a 2CD set published by Brilliant Classics that, until recently, was available for the absurd price of just a few pounds. The soprano is the Hungarian Maria Zadori. It now seems to be an elusive item, though copies can still be found - for example here on Amazon UK - but no longer at the old derisory price, alas.

These 2 CDs were issued originally as separate releases on the Hungaroton label, and they're still available - for example PrestoClassical stock them:



Again, these are full price issues. But the reason I'm making such a fuss about them is because of all the performances of Handel's cantatas that I know, these are my favourites. There's something about Maria Zadori's voice that seems perfect for singing these pieces. I can't describe it - I find myself using words like 'catch' or 'lilt' that gives added feeling, almost a sense of intimacy, to certain phrases.

If you chance across these two discs either separately or in the 2CD box at anything like the old price, my advice is to snap them up instantly. If I had to give up all my Handel cantata sets one by one, these two discs would be the last I'd part with.
 
#66 ·


Moving on now beyond the Glossa series, this (see above) is a 2CD set published by Brilliant Classics that, until recently, was available for the absurd price of just a few pounds. The soprano is the Hungarian Maria Zadori. It now seems to be an elusive item, though copies can still be found - for example here on Amazon UK - but no longer at the old derisory price, alas.
Are the texts (and translations) included in the booklet?
 
#63 ·
And then there's this mystery pair:



These two were released last year (2009) as the first two instalments of a programme to record the complete set of cantatas, by Marco Vitale and Contrasto Armonico. They came out on the Brilliant label (I wondered if they were considered to replace the earlier Maria Zadori set) at knock-down prices, and they're really delightful: Stefanie True sings with a crystalline clarity that's perfect for the job. And yet, curiously, although they're still available at the usual outlets, I can't find them in the online Brilliant Classics catalogue. Furthermore, I've seen no reference to any further recordings from the series in the pipeline.

So what's going on is a mystery at present, but in the meantime, snap up these two cheap CDs while you can. They're lovely performances, with period instruments, and come with complete librettos and translations despite the low price.
 
#71 ·
I thought this series on the Brilliant label had run aground, but no. Volume 3, after a 2-year wait, is with us at last:

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


Listening to it today was (as ever with these cantatas) a delight. Maybe it doesn't reach quite the heights of the equivalent performances of Aminta e Fillide on the Glossa and Helios labels, but it's still capable of making the day feel better, and for a few pounds - well, it's not worth not having one, it seems to me.

(Full libretto and translation included.)
 
#64 ·
Excellent suggestions, Elgarian. You are missing on one of the La Risonanza CDs. There are now seven in the complete set. I have the first six, yet to buy the seventh, which came out earlier this year.

I have both CDs by Contrasto Armonico/Marco Vitale. Am also curious why they have stopped issuing further. But recording projects often get put on hold perhaps indefinitely or even cancelled if there is insufficient demand to justify the business case.

I don't have either of the Maria Zadori CDs. (But I do have all the works recorded on these performed by other artists). Might snap them up if you recommend them so highly.

As for the Hyperion, yes; I can agree they are all delightful. I have those you mentioned.

At the end of the day, you can't go wrong with Handel!
 
#69 ·
I don't know of any online librettos (so far I haven't needed to look, though a brief search turned up nothing obvious). However, if you'd like to list the ones you need, I might be able to provide some of them them using the documentation I have.
 
#72 ·
I have those three discs, too. At that price, Brilliant Classics is giving practically them away. Highly recommended. I hope they finish the project. The label has been quite consistent with several other complete oeuvre recordings, so I have high hopes.
 
#73 ·
Update: Volume 4 of the set scheduled by Christmas this year! On its way, slowly but surely.
 
G
#77 · (Edited)
Handel, Monteverdi, Rameau, Lully - in that order!! I've been fortunate enough to go to Theater an der Wien here in Vienna, recently, to see productions of "Castor und Pollux" with Les Talens Lyriques and Handel's 'Rodelinda' with Concentus Musicus Wien/Harnoncourt recently, and also Wiener Staatsoper, "Alcina" with Musiciens de Louvre, Grenoble/Minkowski. The latter was the first time in over 50 years an orchestra other than the Wiener Staatsoper Orchestra had been in the pit in that famous house!! I wouldn't know WHERE to begin to tell you how wonderful these were!! Can there be anything more invigorating than baroque opera on period instruments? THEY LIVE!!
 
#78 ·
Indeed they do - and what a splendid time you've been having with those live performances. I agree with you completely about the period instruments; on the face of it, people may think of it as a sterile retreat into the past, but on the contrary, it's potentially the most effective means of bringing the music of the past, pulsing and vibrant, into the present. I'm often to be heard insisting that Handel invented rock & roll.
 
G
#80 ·
Thanks Elgarian and Harpischord Concerto - I never take for granted for a single minute the privilege of going to Theater an der Wien to see these wonderful, wonderful operas. I've waited decades to do it. What gives me a buzz is sharing my space in that theatre with the Viennese cognoscenti who very much know what they like and how they like it. They're great champions of all types of music, believe me. And looking over at those German subtitles of Italian and French texts: gives me one hello-of-a-buzz!! Last night Leipzig Gewandhausorchester/Chailly playing Beethoven 2 and 5. Again, an attentive and knowing audience of Beethoven-lovers. So, it just GETS BETTER!!

And Beethoven? He's 'THE MAN'!!!
 
#81 ·
And Beethoven? He's 'THE MAN'!!!
I'm tempted to take this up a little, but I mustn't - not in this thread. So back to Handel and my next question. Personally, I'm hard-pressed to choose between Handel's operas and his early Italian cantatas. I know - not at all the same thing - but if I really had to choose between them, I think I might choose the cantatas. Are you inclined in that direction yourself? Or are you a firm opera person?
 
G
#82 · (Edited)
I think what Handel wrote in every genre just astounding. What about his keyboard music? Just superb. He was a real master of all he 'surveyed'!! But, I would choose the operas over the cantatas by a whisker. Otherwise, apart from the baroque, I can take or leave opera - except "Cosi", "Magic Flute", "Don Giovanni" and "Seraglio", written by a master who was in his greatest genius when writing for the theatre.

I don't really want to argue about Beethoven with anybody - I think he and Bach equal as the greatest composers who ever lived. Others will have a different opinion and I accept that. What I LOVE is that people love such music enough to want to write and talk about it. Vive la Beethoven!
 
#83 ·
I don't really want to argue about Beethoven with anybody
Oh I'm sorry - you misunderstood me, and I now see why, reading again what I wrote. By 'take this up' I meant 'respond to your implied invitation to talk about Beethoven' - I wasn't in any sense challenging your view of him. All of these amazing composers are 'THE MAN' in their own way, as far as I'm concerned.
 
G
#84 · (Edited)
Oh, I forgot to mention PURCELL in my list of great baroque composers!! His music is just extraordinary. Elgarian, I'm glad you like Beethoven too. My musical journey started at age 9 and by 18 I already owned quite a few Beethoven piano sonatas in LP recordings. He dropped off the radar for a couple of decades and in the last 10-15 years he has overtaken everybody (oh, not Bach) to become my (joint) Supreme No. 1. I agree all the other composers are quite amazing too, oh yes, but there's something about LvB and Bach. But, this is off-topic. I'll try and check out another thread to see if I can discuss LvB and Bach.
 
#85 · (Edited)
I'm coming back to all this after a gap of about 7 years. I've been listen to Handel's early Italian cantatas a lot again, recently, reminding myself of how exquisite they are. Designed for summer evenings in a garden among trees: just a handful of instruments, a soprano voice borne on a warm breeze, and string sounds that seem almost like a part of nature itself.

Is anyone out there still listening to Handel's cantatas?
 
#86 · (Edited)
Interesting thread, thanks Elgarian.

Yes, I've been listening to Handel's cantatas. In recent years, to Fabio Bonizzoni's excellent series on Glossa, which you've already mentioned, along with Marco Vitale's 'almost' complete Handel cantata survey (with Contrasto Armonico)--which is one of the highlights of Brilliant's "Handel Edition" box set: https://www.amazon.com/Handel-GEORG...D=61sGNjDjEhL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail .

However, my favorite Handel cantata recording of recent years has been a Deutsche Harmonia Mundi CD release from Ensemble Zefiro, led Alfredo Bernardini. It includes two Handel cantatas--the premiere recording of "Venus and Adonis" (which is probably Handel's first attempt at setting English words to music) and the Italian "Mi palpita il cor", coupled with a single German aria, and some of the finest and most delightful Handel Trio Sonata playing I've ever heard (featuring wind players from Zefiro). The soprano in the two cantatas (and aria) is the excellent Italian soprano, Gemma Bertagnolli (who handles all three languages well). I'd strongly recommend this CD to Handel enthusiasts:

https://www.amazon.com/Handel-Venus...pID=51vtWCC6SeL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

& fortunately, the album can be listened to in its entirety on You Tube:



Here's another sound clip to Zefiro's Handel Trio Sonata playing, which I've enjoyed immensely:


Handel's "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" (1739) should also be mentioned. Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians. Handel set his music to a poem by John Dryden. This is a masterwork in my view, and essential Handel. The early Pinnock recording is excellent; though I'd recommend getting an alternative view, since Pinnock can be a tad on the conservative side in Handel (some have said 'staid' or 'square', but I wouldn't go that far, at least not in this cantata). Marc Minkowski has made an excellent recording too, and he's not at all conservative--so the French performance makes a nice compliment to Pinnock's. There's also a very fine recording from Robert King, with soprano Carolyn Sampson, on Hyperion, and another well sung version on Naxos, with soprano Dorothee Mields, conducted by Wolfgang Helbich: so there's lots to sample & choose from:



https://www.amazon.com/G-F-Handel-O...pID=61tHhmyYLEL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Minkows...=1527524100&sr=1-18&keywords=handel+minkowski
https://www.amazon.com/Handel-Ode-S...pID=51nq7GYMA3L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
https://www.amazon.com/Handel-Ode-S...pID=51wk3aUrBxL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
 
#87 ·
Very many thanks for these recommendations - just what I was hoping for. I'm particularly interested in the Bertagnolli Venus and Adonis, and will add that to my 'To buy' list.

Do you have the two recordings of cantatas sung by Maria Zadori? They were originally on the Hungaroton label; then they appeared as a box set on the Brilliant label for a short time, until superceded by the Vitale series. But I find, still, they contain some of the most exquisitely and sensually sung cantatas I know. It seems it's still possible to find copies of the set:
https://www.amazon.com/Handel-Italian-Cantatas/dp/B00009W3RL/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1527555410&sr=8-8&keywords=handel+zadori
 
#88 ·
For italian Cantatas I purchased some years ago "La cantate Italiane di Handel" recorded by Ensemble La Risonanza / Fabio Bonizzoni, in Glossa, with outstanding sopranos Roberta Invernizzi, Yetzabel Arias Fernandez, Nuria Rial and mezzosopranos Romina Basso, Marina de Lisso. As a guy told me one day: this reflects that Handel was more italian than italians themselves :lol:

Vol. I. Cantante Per Il Cardinal Pamphili


Vol. II. Cantate per il Marchese Ruspoli


Vol. III. Cantate per il Cardinal Ottoboni


Vol. IV. Aminta e Fillide


Vol. V. Clori, Tirsi e Fileno
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clori-Tirsi-Fileno-Risonanza-Bonizzoni/dp/B001OBVAEE/ref=sr_1_9?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1527577876&sr=1-9&keywords=handel+risonanza

Vol. VI. Olinto Pastore
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Olinto-Pastore-Cantate-Italiane/dp/B002TW37PM/ref=pd_sim_15_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M3SPC7VZ36VTCEMWNAH7

Vol. VII. Apollo e Dafne
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Apollo-cantate-italiane-GRAMOPHONE/dp/B003JIQEBO/ref=pd_sim_15_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5VFQZMG1BD1NWV32DG7F

Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, Serenata a tre, HWV 72
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Aci-Galatea-Polifemo-Serenata/dp/B00D8AIU7Y/ref=pd_sim_15_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5VFQZMG1BD1NWV32DG7F

Duetti da Camera
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Cantatas-Cardinal-Pamphili-Risonanza/dp/B000GI34CW/ref=pd_sim_15_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5VFQZMG1BD1NWV32DG7F

Duetti e Terzetti italiani
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Terzetti-italiani-Roberta-Invernizzi/dp/B011VX0OFU/ref=pd_sim_15_8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5VFQZMG1BD1NWV32DG7F
 
#89 ·
For italian Cantatas I purchased some years ago "La cantate Italiane di Handel" recorded by Ensemble La Risonanza / Fabio Bonizzoni, in Glossa, with outstanding sopranos Roberta Invernizzi, Yetzabel Arias Fernandez, Nuria Rial and mezzosopranos Romina Basso, Marina de Lisso.
Yes I agree that these are outstanding productions, and old favourites. As a matter of fact I've just been listening to volume 2 in the sunshine, outdoors for the last hour. They often seem to be perfect for listening outdoors, and I suppose that's because they were often written for that purpose - to be performed in the patron's garden on a summer evening.
 
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