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Music

Italian cantatas

Georg Friedrich Händel

Reviews (11)

Presto classical

d. 30. Nov. 2018

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Katherine Cooper

d. 30. Nov. 2018

"Editors choices - November 2018: Devieilhe's agile, glittering high soprano is a known quantity (and she's certainly on marvellous form here, pinging out high C sharps with aplomb), but the real discovery of this gorgeous album for me was Léa Desandre, whose cool yet sensual mezzo put me very much in mind of the young Magdalena Kožená; the two combine to delicious effect in a gently erotic account of the pastoral cantata Aminta e Fillide".

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Fono Forum

2019 April

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Johannes Schmitz

2019 April

"CDs des Monats: Schon mit den ersten Tönen der Introduzione von Aminta e Fillide ... gehen die Ohren weit auf. Hier wird leidenschaftlich, ja fetzig aufgespielt, immer klug und ganz dem Sinn der auskomponierten Affekte verpflichtet ... Le Concert d'Astrée unter Leitung von Emmanuelle Haim ... fügt damit eine weitere Perle hinzu ... Umso strahlender stehen die beiden Sängerinnen im Mittelpunkt. Sabine Devieilhes Stimme ist leicht, hat dabei jedoch Substanz und Charakter. In Aminta e Fillide gibt sie mit der Mezzosopranistin Lea Desandre ein bezauberndes Paar im Dialog ab ... Eine sehr erfreuliche Aufnahme".

BBC music magazine

2019 February

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Berta Joncus

2019 February

"Choral & song choice: This production is a delight throughout. For Handel's greatest Italian cantatas, Emmanuelle Haïm brings together two stars: soprano Sabine Devieilhe ... and the young mezzo Léa Desandre. Haïm retains control by preparing both the scores and the sopranos' ornament, her vision giving this carefully wrought performance a fiery intensity ... Vocally the casting is perfect ... You might think you know these cantatas, but this is a performance to make you think again".

Diapason

2019 janvier

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Gaëtan Naulleau

2019 janvier

Klassisk

2019, nr. 54

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Henrik Engelbrecht

2019, nr. 54

"Helt uden tvivl den fineste nyindspilning af musik af Händel, jeg har hørt i år ... Den fransk sopran Sabine Devieilhe ... er med sin lette, fleksible og svævende sopran som skabt til netop den tidlige musik, og den ... fransk/italienske mezzosopran Lea Desandre tilfører med sin mere dramatiske og mørkere stemme præcis den rette modvægt til Devieilhes florlette lyd ... Varmt anbefalet".

International record review

2012 January

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John T. Hughes

2012 January

"Do bring a freshness of sound and a lightness of touch, clearly heard ... the performances are admirable, the music delightful".

The gramophone

2012 May

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David Vickers

2012 May

"Contrasto Armonico's experiment produces an enjoyable alternative. String ritornellos are paced and played tenderly, and the relaxed exchange of recitiatives serves the elegant Arcadian poetry".

The gramophone

2018 December

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Richard Wigmore

2018 December

"Recording of the month - Editor's choice: Both singers have unblemished voices of beautiful quality: Sabine Devieilhe, as Aminta, pellucid and free-soaring, Lea Desandre with a dark flare in her high mezzo ... Le Concert d'Astrée, under Emmanuelle Haïm's animating direction, are far more than mere accompanists ... Playing with words as well as tones, the crucial cello continuo is always acutely alive to singers and text ... A disc that even amid fierce competition is a Handelian winner".

The gramophone

2009 June

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David Vickers

2009 June

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "Another essential addition to the most rewarding Handel series of the decade".

The gramophone

2008 December

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David Vickers

2008 December

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "La Risonanza once again shows that Handel's youthfyl Italian compositions are breathtaking masterpieces of considerable refinement, subtlety and quality".