Eternal heaven

"A first class anthology of Handel arias. The singing of Iestyn Davies is a delight from start to finish and he receives ideal support from Robert King and his players".

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"The sheer beauty of Iestyn Davies's voice is immediately apparent in the opening aria ... There is a lot of beautiful singing to follow ... The new Vivat label - this is only their fifth issue - has produced a marvellous disc ... Baroque enthusiasts should place their orders at once".

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"Vurdering: Recording of the month" - "Christopher Purves ... takes some of Handel's gravest and most dignified music, from oratorios and operas principally, and adds to it some of his most technically demanding, to present a disc of great authority and consummate musical intelligence ... This outstandingly good disc offers a wide range of music, feeling, texture and mood. Singer and accompanying group are perfectly matched in a sympathetic church acoustic".

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"Ugens album: Her er en suveræn sangerinde på absolut hjemmebane i barokarier af Händel ... Julia Lezhneva er i dag 26 år og stadig ganske usædvanlig: Hun har en meget glansfuld stemme med lidt anderledes farver, der gør hende genkendelig, og en virtuos teknik, der passer perfekt til den krævende barokmusik. Hør hendes koloraturer i parløb med oboen".

"Editor's choice - November 2022: Don't be fooled by the ultra-serene (and if I'm honest, oddly cultish!) cover-image here: this brilliantly-sung and played programme of sacred and secular Handel includes plenty of vocal fireworks in between the stretches of calm beauty - of which Desandre's 'As with rosy steps' and Davies's 'O Lord whose mercies numberless' stand out. Both singers excel in the excerpts from Semele, with Davies a neurotic, imperious Juno (the first time I've heard a countertenor in this role) and Desandre's bright, athletic mezzo easily encompassing the soprano heroine's stratospheric excursions in 'No, no, I'll take no less'".

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"The programme is made up of arias and duets from a number of Handel's oratorios and other sacred works and also includes an instrumental piece ... What follows after that invigorating introduction is a super-long programme with Handel at his very best - which he almost always is - very contrastive for maximal variability. Slow, beautiful melodies rub shoulders with up-tempo rhythmical display pieces where stunning coloratura flows freely, sometimes with dramatic undertones. The instrumental ensemble Jupiter under Thomas Dunford provide stimulating support with excellent solo contributions ... Both have voices of exceptional quality and technical capacity to boot ... This is a disc not only for Handel freaks and baroque lovers but for anyone with an open mind for whom no borderlines exist".

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"Russiske Julia Lezhneva har med denne himmerigsmundfuld nået den sfære, som Cecilia Bartoli og Magdalena Kozená befinder sig i ... Deres nye medsøster ligger højere i stemmelejet med sine ufatteligt rene klange og klarer så i tilgift helt fænomenale dyk ned i de dybe registre. Hvad den unge kvinde fra Sakhalin skylder verden med den røst lader sig næppe måle. Vi må ønske hende den fulde karriere, så besættende renfærdig hun fremtræder med uantastet råstyrke og glubende sangappetit".

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"As ever, [Karg] lives each of the characters intensely: in the blanched, grief-etched tone she brings to Orfeo's lament from Parnasso in festa, in Cupid's seductive Come, Zephyrs, come ... [Basso's] firm, slightly androgynous mezzo and fiery temperament immediately impress ... She and Karg make vivid, well-matched duet partners ... Minor irritants aside, this is an enjoyable, unclichéd programme, above all for Christian Karg's contribution".

"The King's Consort's uncharacteristically dry strings are at the forefront of the close sound recorded in the Menuhin Hall - but Davies's quick coloratura is dazzling in the final aria".

"Davies's phrasing is to be admired, spanning as it does long lines of breath control ... You should find much to enjoy from Davies and Robert King's players".

"Kermes's singing, as so often, provoked mixed feelings. Her diamantine coloratura is brilliantly displayed ... In the slower numbers that predominate here I'm less convinced. While her soft singing is pure and even-toned, and her phrasing always expressive, Kermes is over-fond of a blanched, almost crooning pianissimo ... If you do investigate, be assured that Amici Veneziani are nimble and sensitive accomplices".

"It's a lovely programme - testimony to the flexibility of Beard's technique ... the tenor John Beard - Handel's longest serving singer ... It's into his shoes that Allan Clayton steps in ... Clayton's tenor has been getting steadily stronger and more muscular over the past few years, and there's more evidence of that here ... It's a very attractive package".

"Editor's choice: This superb follow-up [to Vol. 1] makes you wonder anew at the composer's inventive variety ... Purves is surely unique among today's Anglophone singers in fusing an easily produced high baritone, by turns mellifluous and incisive, with a clean, resonant bass register ... Ever alive to texture and subtleties of colour, Arcangelo on their own give a fresh, spirited account of one of the Op 3 Concerti grossi ... [An] informative essay ... sets the seal on a Handelian winner".

"Vurdering: Gramophone choice" - "Purves veils his tone to convey bemusement, even pathos. Purves's flair for specific characterisation enlivens every number on the disc ... Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo savour the rich string textures here ... Throughout a recital that pays eloquent tribute to Handel's boundless invention in composing for bass voice".

"Another big name joins the throng but Bostridge fails to get a grip on Handel ... One imagines that this will sell like hot cakes, but it is a wasted opportunity".

"Julia Lezhneva performs nine arias and a Marian hymn all composed during Handel's extended trip to Italy between late 1706 and early 1710. This conceptual theme has been done several times before, and the clichéd choices of arias are disappointing ... This curate's egg of a disc sometimes misses its mark on multiple levels but at its best there are some special moments that every Handelian will savour".

"There is indeed plenty to enjoy, especially when soprano Karina Gauvin is involved ... If this is not quite the Handel recital I was hoping for, it's still worth investigating for Lemieux's viscerally exciting singing and, above all, Gauvin's ideal Handelian mix of grace and profound emotional truth".

"Vurdering: IRR outstanding" - "Part of the attraction of that blending of voices is that Gauvin's middle tones have a warmth, almost mezzo-ish, which accords well with Lemieux's rich bloom ... Apart from the seemingly haphazard order ... I have nothing but praise ... The disc is entitled Streams of Pleasure, but for me it is a full, flowing river".

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "A thoughtful, original and sympathetic insight into Handel ... Underpinned by Andrew Manze's unobtrusive and warm-hearted English Concert, Mark Padmore uses his extraordinary diction and whispering chamber-like intimacy to remind us that the most exalted tenor arias from the operas and oratories can achieve true potency out of context".

"Some beautiful moments, but this is a surprisingly uneven affair".

"Editor's choice: There is no shortage of Handel aria albums around, but not all take as much care in the planning as this one ... Dunford calls it 'a baroque West Side Story'. The beauty of it is that this rich selection of arias and duets encompasses glorious old friends ... alongside lesser-known gems ... Here they burn intensely, the heartbreakingly intimate duets ... Iestyn Davies is of course a Handel interpreter of distinction, and delivers exactly what you would expect of him. Desandre has done less operahouse Handel, however ... This is an album that reaches deep into Handel's genius - looks like there's life in the format yet".