~ Peter Harvey
|
~ Jonathan Cohen
|
![God Rot Tunbridge Wells - The Life Of Georg Frederic Handel [1985] [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qy9HNZL1L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
God Rot Tunbridge Wells - The Life Of Georg Frederic Handel [1985] [DVD] DVD ~ Trevor Howard |
~ Georg Friederich Handel
|
Haydn: Masses (Hob XXII:6, 12) - Missa Sancti Nicolai; Theresienmesse /Pinnock ~ Joseph Haydn |
Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links(What is this?) |
George Frideric Handel
ChappellOfBondStreet.co.uk/Est1811
Search for & find nearly anything from our huge sheet music catalogue
On this CD:
-
(The) Choice of Hercules
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by King's Consort Choir, King's Consort
with Alice Coote, Charles Daniels, Robin Blaze, Susan Gritton
Conducted by Robert King
-
Hearken unto me, ye Holy children
Composed by Maurice Greene
Performed by King's Consort Choir, King's Consort
with Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey, Robin Blaze
Conducted by Robert King
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Throughout his life Handel was an inveterate recycler both of other people's music and his own; The Choice of Hercules (1751) consists for the most part of music he had written the year before for Tobias Smollett's Alceste, a play intended for Covent Garden's 1750 season but never performed. Unwilling to see his efforts go to waste, Handel contrived an hour-long "interlude" based on a poem by Joseph Spence and probably adapted by his regular librettist Thomas Morell. The story is a slight slice of classical mythology: Hercules must choose between the temptations of Pleasure or the righteousness of Virtue. The outcome is hardly a surprise, and only in the 18th-century theatre could Hercules plausibly be portrayed as a castrato, but the story is merely a flimsy excuse for a succession of splendid solo arias and choruses.
Throughout his life Handel was an inveterate recycler both of other people's music and his own; The Choice of Hercules (1751) consists for the most part of music he had written the year before for Tobias Smollett's Alceste, a play intended for Covent Garden's 1750 season but never performed. Unwilling to see his efforts go to waste, Handel contrived an hour-long "interlude" based on a poem by Joseph Spence and probably adapted by his regular librettist Thomas Morell. The story is a slight slice of classical mythology: Hercules must choose between the temptations of Pleasure or the righteousness of Virtue. The outcome is hardly a surprise, and only in the 18th-century theatre could Hercules plausibly be portrayed as a castrato, but the story is merely a flimsy excuse for a succession of splendid solo arias and choruses.
With the exception of a small tenor part (here sung by Charles Daniels), the soloists are all in the high register (soprano, mezzo and countertenor) yet their music is of such variety of colour that there's no sense of sameness. The very compactness of the score ensures that there are no dull moments, but especially outstanding are Virtue's stately "Go, assert thy heav'nly race", a dotted-rhythm Purcellian chorus "So shalt thou gain immortal praise" and Hercules' limpid "Yet can I hear that dulcet lay".
Maurice Greene's 1728 anthem Hearken Unto Me, Ye Holy Children is a welcome makeweight, though inevitably perhaps it seems rather foursquare when placed next to Handel's exuberant invention. Robert King and his King's Consort are Handelians par excellence of course; Susan Gritton, Alice Coote and Robin Blaze are a secure trio of soloists in the Handel, and bass Peter Harvey joins for the Greene. The result is an important addition to Hyperion's marvellous Handel series. --Mark Walker
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
|||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
 |
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
Related forums
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
The Body Shop |
A Close Shave |
Treat Someone
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). |
||||||||
Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk
| |||||
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
Amazon Home | |
| International Sites: United States | Germany | France | Japan | Canada | China | |
| Business Programs: Sell on Amazon | Fulfilment by Amazon | Join Associates | Join Advantage | |
| Customer Service | Help | View Basket | Your Account | |
| About Amazon.co.uk | Careers at Amazon | |
| Conditions of Use & Sale | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates |