Händel: Saul

Händel: Saul

Händel: Saul
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CD Details

Composer: George Frideric Handel
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra: English Baroque Soloists
Orchestra: Monteverdi Choir
Performer: Alastair Miles
Performer: Lynne Dawson
Performer: Donna Brown
Performer: Derek Lee Ragin
Performer: John Mark Ainsley
Performer: Neil Mackie
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Original recording reissued
CD Release Date: 2007-08-14
Music Label: Philips
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Symphony. Allegro
  2. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Symphony. Larghetto
  3. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Symphony. Allegro
  4. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Symphony. Andante larghetto
  5. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 1. Chorus. How excellent Thy name, o Lord
  6. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 2. Air. An infant raised / No. 3. Trio. Along the monster atheist strode
  7. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 4. Chorus. The youth inspired by Thee, o Lord
  8. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 5. Chorus. How excellent Thy name, o Lord
  9. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 6. Recitative. He comes / No. 7. Air. O God-like youth
  10. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 8. Recitative. Behold, o king, the brave, victorious youth
  11. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 9. Air. O king, your favours with delight / No. 10. Recitative. Oh early piety!
  12. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 11. Air. What abject thoughts / No. 12. Recitative. Yet think on whom this honour
  13. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 13. Air. Birth and fortune I despise
  14. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 14. Recitative. Go on, illustrious pair! / No. 15. Air. While yet thy tide of blood
  15. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 16. Recitative. Thou, Merab, first in birth / No. 17. Air. My soul rejects / No. 18. Air
  16. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 20. Symphony / No. 21. Recitative. Already see the daughters / No. 22. Chorus. Welcome,
  17. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 23. Accompagnato. What do I hear? / No. 24. Chorus. David his ten thousands slew / No. 2
  18. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 26. Air. With rage I shall burst
  19. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 27. Recitative. Imprudent women!
  20. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 28. Air. Fell rage and black despair possessed
  21. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 29. Recitative. This but the smallest part of Harmony / No. 30. Accompagnato. By thee th
  22. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 31. Recitative. Racked with infernal pains
  23. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 32. Air. O Lord, whose mercies numberless / No. 33. Symphony
  24. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 34. Recitative. 'Tis all in vain / No. 35. Air. A serpent, in my bosom warmed / No. 36.
  25. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 37. Air. Capricious man
  26. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 38. Accompagnato. O filial piety!
  27. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 39. Air. No, cruel father, no!
  28. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 40. Air. O Lord, whose providence
  29. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 1. No. 41. Chorus. Preserve him for the glory
  30. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Applause
Music CD 2
  1. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 42. Chorus. Envy! eldest born of hell!
  2. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 43. Recitative. Ah, dearest friend
  3. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 44. Air. But sooner Jordan's stream
  4. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 45. Recitative. Oh strange vicissitude!
  5. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 46. Air. Such haughty beauties
  6. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 47. Recitative. My father comes / No. 48. Recitative. Hast thou obeyed my orders
  7. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 49. Air. Sin not, o king
  8. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 50. Air. As great Jehovah lives
  9. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 51. Air. From cities stormed
  10. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 52. Recitative. Appear, my friend
  11. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 53. Air. Your words, o king / No. 54. Recitative. Yes, he shall wed my daughter
  12. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 55. Recitative. A father's will
  13. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 56. Duet. Oh fairest of ten thousand fair / No. 57. Chorus. Is there a man
  14. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 58. Symphony
  15. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 59. Recitative. Thy father is as cruel
  16. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 60. Duet. At persecution I can laugh
  17. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 61. Recitative. Whom dost thou seek?
  18. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 62. Air. No, no let the guilty tremble
  19. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 64. Air. Author of peace
  20. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 65. Symphony
  21. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 66. Accompagnato. The time at length is some / No. 67. Where is the son of Jesse?
  22. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 2. No. 68. Chorus. Oh fatal consequence
Music CD 3
  1. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 69. Accompagnato. Wretch that I am / No. 70. Accompagnato. 'Tis said, here lives a woman
  2. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 72. Air. Infernal spirits
  3. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 73. Accompagnato. Why hast thou forced me
  4. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 74. Symphony
  5. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 75. Recitative. Whence comest thou / No. 76. Air. Impious wretch
  6. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 77. Dead March
  7. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 78. Chorus. Mourn, Israel
  8. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 79. Air. Oh let it not in Gath be heard
  9. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 80. Air. From this unhappy day
  10. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 81. Air. Brave Jonathan his bow never drew
  11. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 82. Chorus. Eagles were not so swift as they
  12. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 83. Air. In sweetest harmony
  13. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 84. Solo and Chorus. O fatal day!
  14. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 85. Recitative. Ye men of Judah, weep no more
  15. Saul, oratorio, HWV 53: Act 3. No. 86. Chorus. Gird on thy sword

Music reviews of Händel: Saul

Music Review: Handel's Great "Saul" Magnificently Rendered
Rating: 5 Stars

Today's listener is probably most familiar with Handel's works through such pieces as The Messiah, the Water Music, and the Royal Fireworks Music, but Handel actually focused the greatest part of his life composing oratorios, the Messiah being perhaps the most famous example. Much less known to today's listeners is Handel's magnificent orchestral work, including the immense Concerto Grossi opus 3 and 6 and the dimunutive Concerti a due cori, but these are true gems of composition worthy of exploration by anyone interested in Baroque music.

But back to the oratorios. Handel wrote a multitude of these while living in England ("Jeptha," "Solomon," "Judas Macabbaeus," "Israel in Egypt," etc.), and their acceptance by the British public during that time made Handel a national hero, certainly one of the most popular and well loved persons in Britain at the time. A sampling of these oratorios, though written in a manner to which our modern music tuned ears are not accustomed, quickly explains why Handel achieved such notoriety: these works exhibit immense beauty, powerfully emotive sound, and often sublime pathos. It's not hard to understand why Beethoven himself regarded Handel as the greatest composer with whom he was acquainted, lavishing him with the ultimate compliment that Handel could take a small handful of instruments and turn them into something that appeared much larger and complex.

Handel's "Saul" is perhaps far less explored than the most popular of his oratorios, but it is a worthy exploration. For anyone not familiar with the story, the libretto covers King Saul's interactions with David as David emerges as a well loved figure in the kingdom, and when the story is understood, we can sit back and watch Handel take the theme and weave it into a musical masterpiece. And this he surely does, and we are easily convinced of this before the work is half finished, being treated early on in the work to blasts of praise, shows of anger and jealously, exultations of triumph, and quiet expressions of sorrow and unease. How can Handel handle this in so short a time period? It seems impossible, but he pulls it off, and the story continues to become more enriched and complicated as we move through the work.

This particular recording of the Saul by Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir certainly ranks among the best of the various available recordings. As with nearly all Gardiner productions, the sound is superb, with outstanding performance by both the choir and orchestra, all excellently captured with state of the art recording equipment (in the 1970's, all in analogue, but expertly converted to digital). There is no harshness in the sound, and the sonics are simply outstanding, both with solo and group movements. It's hard to find any area of the recording or the performance to complain about.

I can easily recommend this recording to any Handel, Baroque, or classical enthusiast. I have greatly enjoyed the work, and there are pieces within the work that stand out as simply superb examples of musical composition, the diamonds amongst the gold of the work. Philips has reissued this recording (along with many of Gardiner's other works), making the cost much more affordable than ever before. This is a five star performance and a five star recording. Highly recommended.

Other Gardiner Recordings of Handel's Oratorios:
- Handel - Solomon / Watkinson, Argenta, Hendricks, Rolfe Johnson, EBS, Monteverdi Choir, Gardiner
- Händel: Messiah
- Händel: Israel in Egypt, etc / John Eliot Gardiner
- Händel: Alexander's Feast

More Händel: Saul free music reviews:
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Description of Händel: Saul

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