Handel’s sparkling opera Partenope reunites countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and soprano Karina Gauvin, who both made such an impact in the recording of Steffani’s rediscovered Niobe – released by Erato in early 2015 and welcomed by Gramophone as “a landmark event”. Every moment of Partenope’s comedy, romance and drama is captured by the dynamic conductor Riccardo Minasi and his ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro.

These records offer seven of the duets Handel wrote about 1710 for Italian aristocratic parties (they are said to be influenced by Steffani), three much later duets of the 1740s presumably composed in England (why, one wonders?), and one cantata for each singer of which the date is not known. None of these items is available in the current catalogue, and most of them fell on my ears with delightful freshness. This really is lovely music. The duets are mostly in three short sections, the voices treated fugally in the quicker movements but with a lot of coloratura thrown in, and a quiet lyrical middle section in between.

Motety religijne Händla, choć oparte zostały na bogobojnych tekstach łacińskich, mają w istocie charakter solowych kantat o skocznych tempach i pogodnym, wesołym, nastroju. Głos Marii Zadori - jasny, lekki, niewinny, dziecinny - idealnie pasuje do atmosfery tych utworów. Barwą i giętkością przypomina trochę Emmę Kirkby. Bez najmniejszych problem?w węgierska śpiewaczka radzi sobie z bogatą ornamentyką, z koloraturą i z fragmentami lirycznymi (początek motetu "Silete venti"). Nie szarżuje, nie przeciąga najwyższych dźwięków. Biegłość techniczna i nienaganna intonacja pozwalają jej skupić się na interpretacji, co najpiękniejszy efekt daje w motecie "Coelestis dum spirat aura".

The programme presented by Ann Hallenberg for DHM is a homage to the historical roman figure of Agrippina, one of the earliest historical women to inspire the fantasy of librettists and composers. Ann Hallenberg and a team of musicologists researched the musical archives to unearth all surviving operatic manuscripts containing the figure of Agrippina. Twelve of the arias are WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS. Apart from Handel’s famous opera ‘Agrippina’ and Telemann’s ‘Germanicus’, all music on this album has been recorded for the first time.

…the organ solo is played outstandingly well by Aline Zylberajch… Minkowski is no stranger to Handel and his recordings of the composer's operas Amadigi and Teseo have been warmly acclaimed. So it is not surprising to find plenty to enjoy in his interpretations of the Op. 3 concertos. The playing is spirited, and the obbligato contributions often dazzling; and there are some novel ideas, too, which I found effective. In the third concerto of the set, for instance, Minkowski uses a descant recorder in the outer movements, where flute or treble recorder are generally favoured…

The Basel Chamber Orchestra , which plays without a fixed conductor, is one of the most sought after ensembles of its kind in Europe. The musicians play Early Music on historic instruments and also perform a wide variety of Baroque works. In addition to their intense interest in the music of the past, the Basel Chamber Orchestra is involved in the world of contemporary music, and they commission new compositions every year.

It seems incredible that a singer of Heldentenor quality like Vickers could sing so stylishly in Handel, with elaborate divisions perfectly executed. Not only that, his portrayal of Samson is deeply moving, thanks to vocal acting over as wide tonal and dynamic range.

Handel composed Agrippina at the end of a three-year sojourn in Italy. It premiered in Venice at the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo on 26 December 1709. It proved an immediate success and an unprecedented series of 27 consecutive performances followed. Observers praised the quality of the music—much of which, in keeping with the contemporary custom, had been borrowed and adapted from other works, including the works of other composers. Despite the evident public enthusiasm for the work, Handel did not promote further stagings.

The prodigious Norwegian treble Aksel Rykkvin returns to disc on Signum with a new disc of Baroque works, accompanying the MIN Ensemble under conductor and trumpeter Mark Bennett and their artistic director Lazar Miletic. Featuring both instrumental pieces and excerpts from operas and other works by Handel, Rameau, Albinoni and Rittler, this disc further documents Aksel’s unique talent as a performer. Praise for Aksel’s previous release (Aksel! SIGCD435) and performances: “A mature, musical performer […] an accomplished and adult disc”.

Apollo e Dafne was probably begun in Venice in 1709, but was not completed until after Handel’s arrival in Hanover in 1710, to take up his appointment as Kapellmeister to the Elector. The instrumentation is more colourful than usual, and in addition to the usual strings Handel added a flute, a pair of oboes and a bassoon. The musical structure is relatively simple, with a succession of emotionally varied da capo arias and a pair of duets for the two main characters, Dafne, a soprano, and Apollo, a bass. Since Handel’s original overture has not survived, this performance is prefaced by the opening movement of his Concerto Opus 3, No.1, which was probably composed at the same time.

Brigitte - Klassik zum Genießen: Die neue Serie mit einfach schöner Musik, ausgewählt von der Musikredaktion der Brigitte und Sony Classical.
Dorothee Oberlinger hat längst bewiesen, welch abwechslungsreiches und virtuoses Instrument die Blockflöte ist. Für ihre herausragende Musikalität wurde sie 2008 mit dem Echo Klassik als Instrumentalistin des Jahres ausgezeichnet. Sowohl Fachpresse als auch Musikliebhaber überschlagen sich mit Lob. »Barocke Freuden! Welch' Klangwelle rollt auf uns zu, wenn man die Flötentöne von Dorothee Oberlinger hört«, schreibt Spiegel Online.

Cecilia Bartoli's new CD features a collection of music that could not be heard in her native Rome at the start of the 18th century due to Papal censorship. Theaters, the Church felt, were places of evil and corruption and operas led people to immorality. But some music-loving senior members of the priesthood asked composers to write oratorios and cantatas–indeed, operas without staging, essentially–for their own private entertainment. Call it what you will, the music is sensational–by turns virtuosic, gentle, and playful–and always expressive: just right, it seems, for Cecilia Bartoli's temperament. The opening aria on the CD, a call for peace in the name of Jesus, is, in fact, a dazzling martial air with trumpets blaring and the voice going through an amazing array of coloratura fireworks.

On occasion of the 300th anniversary of the first performance of Handel’s Brockes-Passion in Hamburg (4 April 1719), Accent present a 2017 live performance at the Göttingen Handel Festival with Laurence Cummings conducting the Festivalorchestra Göttingen, the NDR Chor and an excellent cast of singers such as the Dutch soprano Johannette Zomer and the young German tenor Sebastian Kohlhepp (as Evangelist). Barthold Heinrich Brockes’ passion text is one of the most frequently set in the history of music and was the only German text used by George Frideric Handel as the basis for a large-scale sacred composition. The original score was lost but the surviving version, which was hand-copied by Johann Sebastian Bach, makes it possible for us to hear this 1719 oratorio today.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has long been associated with traditional performances of George Frideric Handel's Messiah, which are characterized by massive choral and orchestral forces and weighty interpretations of this popular oratorio. However, while there are no drastic stylistic revisions in the choir's 2016 release of Messiah, and it is decidedly not a period recreation, some aspects of historically informed practice have influenced this reading by Mack Wilberg, particularly in the use of a harpsichord continuo, fairly brisk tempos, clearly articulated choral parts, and a relatively light ensemble sound. Featuring the voices of soprano Sonya Yoncheva, mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, tenor Rolando Villazón, and bass Bryn Terfel, this performance also has the "star quality" that Handel encouraged in his recruitment of international singers.