Handel: Solomon

Handel: Solomon

Handel: Solomon
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CD Details

Brand: MONTEVERDI CHOIR
Composer: George Frideric Handel
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra: English Baroque Soloists
Performer: Carolyn Watkinson
Performer: Nancy Argenta
Performer: Barbara Hendricks
Performer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Performer: Monteverdi Choir
Performer: Joan Rodgers
Performer: Della Jones
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2006-09-12
Music Label: Philips
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Overture
  2. Your Harps And Cymbals
  3. Praise Ye The Lord
  4. With Pious Heart
  5. Almighty Power
  6. Imperial Solomon
  7. Throughout The Land
  8. Bless'd Be The Lord
  9. And See My Queen
  10. Bless'd The Day
  11. Thou Fair Inhabitant/Welcome As The Dawn Of Day
  12. My Blooming Fair/Haste, Haste
  13. When Thou Art Absent/With Thee Th'Unshelter'd Moor I'd Tread
  14. May No Rash Intruder
  15. From The Censer
  16. Prais'd Be The Lord/When The Sun
  17. Great Prince/Thrice Bless'd
Music CD 2
  1. My Sovereign Liege
  2. Thou Son Of David/Words Are Weak
  3. What Says The Other/Thy Sentence, Great King
  4. Withhold, Withhold The Executing Hand/Can I See My Infant Gor'd
  5. Israel, Attend
  6. Thrice Bless'd Be The King
  7. From The East Unto The West
  8. No More Shall Armed Bands
  9. Swell, Swell The Full Chorus
  10. The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba
  11. From Arabia's Spicy Shores
  12. Sweep, Sweep The String/Music, Spread Thy Voice
  13. Now A Diff'rent Measure/Shake The Dome
  14. Then At Once From Rage/Draw The Tear From Hopeless Love
  15. Next The Tortur'd Soul/Thus Rolling Surges Rise
  16. Thy Harmony's Divine
  17. Thrice Happy King
  18. May Peace In Salem Ever Dwell/Will The Sun Forget To Streak
  19. Adieu, Fair Queen/Ev'ry Joy That Wisdom Knows
  20. Praise The Lord

Music reviews of Handel: Solomon

Music Review: a voice teacher and early music fan
Rating: 5 Stars

'SOLOMON' IS PROBABLY THE MOST MAGNIFICENT AND THE MOST LAVISH OF ALL THE HANDEL ORATORIOS'. In this work he demanded a grander, more sumptuous orchestra than for any other oratorio, and it contains a high proportion of choral music written in the most imposing ceremonial style. We have to remember that Handel's primary aim was to entertain, not to preach.

This oratoio is one of Handel's towering masterpieces, written at the height of his powers after a long experimentation with not only Italian style opera, but a move towards all sorts of oratorios as well. 'Solomon' is partly religious, and partly secular, being somewhat graphic in its celebrations of sexual love. It embraces the man at the pinnacle of his powers and popularity, also emphasizing his wisdom, but hinting that his sexual proclivities may be his undoing. Yet in the end, with the arrival of the Queen of Sheba,it is pure choral spectacle. The Queen speaking of how much she has learned and will never forget after her stay with the great ruler.

The choruses are the pillars of the whole piece but their function is not primarily dramatic; except in the Queen of Sheba's masque in Act III. They are not actual participants in the drama, but they do set the mood for the development of the drama by means of the soloists and the orchestra. The chorus is divided into two four-part choirs and nearly always it is the strings and the trumpets and timpani which accompany the first choir, while the horns and woodwinds accompany the second choir.

It was the summer of 1748 Handel composed his oratorio 'Solomon' which depicts a wise and God-fearing ruler, with Solomon's court presenting the image of an ideal society. The central theme of the libretto originates from the Old Testament the book of Kings (lst kings 1-11) and Chronicles (2nd Chronicles 1-9).This oratorio is not distinguished with a dramatic plot, but rather juxtaposed pictures and scenes. With two choirs and seven eight-voice choir parts Handel makes use of all of the existing composition possibilities of that time.

One of the high points in the Oratorio is the scenario involving Solomon and the Two Harlots, who are claiming to be the Mother of the same baby. After hearing each woman's story, Solomon orders his guard to cut the babies in half, so that each Mother may have a share. In his wisdom, which the Bible describes in numerous ways, his strategy thus reveals that the real Mother is the First Harlot for she immediately speaks out in a distraught manner and tells him to give the baby to the other woman; whereas Solomon has determined the real Mother in this manner. Handel's music has never sounded as good as in this classic performance in Act II, Scene 2, featuring Carolyn Watkinson as Solomon, Joan Rodgers as the First Harlot and Della Jones (I love her voice!) as the Second Harlot. They all sing with exact precision and poignancy expressing beautifully the high drama of the scene.

This is a first-rate well-done production as one might expect when John Eliot Gardiner is at the helm. His Monteverdi singers are absolutely marvelous in this work: sonorous tone quality, good balance between the voice parts, clear and precise diction and good emotional investment. Gardiner's tempos are upbeat and even the slow selections have a buoyancy and a moving forward that many choirs, professional and otherwise often lack.

The soloists sang with great skill and the individual characterizaions are quite impressive, although as is true with many of Gardiner's masterpieces, the choir 'steals much of the show'. There has been some criticism of Gardiner's attitude that there is a lot of 'deadwood' in this work, and thus he has freely cut those pieces that seem less alive to him. Several of these being some important arias for Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. I can live with that, and though I would rather that he had kept them all, I will not enjoy this performance any less because of it.

The one thing that really bothered me throughout is the fact that a femele (Carolyn Watkinson-soprano) sang the role of Solomon. Not that she wasn't splendid vocally; in fact she was excellent. BUT there are 5 treble voices in this opera and being able to tell the difference between the charcters was somewhat challenging (and they were all good!) It was almost a relief to hear Zadok's (Anthony R.Johnson) voice who outdoes (in this role) most of his colleagues. Stephen Varcoe as 'A Levite' projects his character convncingly and strongly, as is usual for him. Nancy Argenta as Solomon's Queen was properly feminine and subdued and suitably awestricken in her role, and all with her lovely and tuneful voice. But it was Barbara Hendricks, as the Queen of Sheba, who gave one of her greatest performances ever, indeed one for the ages!

This impels me to mention the Maulbronn 'Solomon' under the direction of Jurgen Budday with Michael Chance as Solomon. But the Monteverdi Choir is difficult to beat! So I'll continue to enjoy both of them.

This is a remastering of the 1984 recording. The accompanying booklet includes pertinent information and the complete text is in German, French and English.
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Description of Handel: Solomon

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Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 12-SEP-2006

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