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George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)

Alexander’s Feast, or The Power of Musick
Ode wrote in Honour of St. Cecilia,
in two parts, HWV 75
Text: John Dryden (1631-1700)
Adapted by Newburgh Hamilton (1691-1761)

Label: Naxos, 8.572224
Year: 2010

Performers:

Gerlinde Samann - soprano
Knut Schoch - tenor
Klaus Mertens - bass

Junge Kantorei
Frankfurt Baroque Orchestra

Joachim Carlos Martini - conductor

Tracklist:

01. Part 1: Overture
02. Part 1: Recitative: 'Twas at the royal feast (Tenor)
03. Part I: Air: Happy, happy, happy pair (Tenor, Chorus)
04. Part I: Recitative: Timotheus, plac'd on high (Tenor)
05. Part 1: Accompagnato: The song began from Jove (Soprano)
06. Part 1: The list'ning Crowd (Chorus)
07. Part 1: Air: With ravish'd ears (Soprano)
08. Part 1: Recitative: The praise of Bacchus (Tenor)
09. Part 1: Air and Chorus: Bacchus, ever fair and young (Bass and Chorus)
10. Part 1: Recitative: Sooth'd with the sound (Tenor)
11. Part 1: Accompagnato: He chose a mournful muse (Soprano)
12. Part 1: Air: He sung Darius great and good (Soprano)
13. Part 1: Accompagnato: With downcast looks (Soprano)
14. Part 1: Behold Darius great and good (Chorus)
15. Part 1: Recitative: The mighty master smil'd to see (Tenor)
16. Part 1: Air: Softly sweet (Soprano)
17. Part 1: Air: War, he sung, is toil and trouble (Soprano)
18. Part 1: The many rend the skies (Chorus)
19. Part 1: Air: The Prince, unable to conceal his pain (Soprano)
20. Part 1: The many rend the skies (Chorus)
21. Part 2: Accompagnato and Chorus: Now strike the golden lyre (Tenor and Chorus)
22. Part 2: Air: Revenge, revenge, Timotheus cries (Bass)
23. Part 2: Accompagnato: Give the vengeance due (Tenor)
24. Part 2: Air: The princes applaud with a furious joy (Tenor)
25. Part 2: Air and Chorus: Thais led the way (Soprano and Chorus)
26. Part 2: Accompagnato and Chorus: Thus, long ago (Tenor)
27. Part 2: Recitative: Let old Timotheus yield the prize (Tenor and Bass)
28. Part 2: Let old Timotheus yield the prize (Chorus)

First performed in London in 1736 to an admiring audience of 1,300 people, and enjoying considerable success thereafter, Handel’s setting of John Dryden’s 1697 poem Alexander’s Feast evokes the power of music to stir the soul to acts of love and war, revenge and revels. This splendid oratorio, set at Alexander the Great’s victory celebrations for his conquest of Persia, culminates in an apotheosis to ‘divine Cecilia’, the patron saint of music whom Handel also praises in his Ode for St Cecilia’s Day of 1739

The disc gains hugely from being a live performance, though the audience is so well behaved that you would never guess it. There is a good sense of to-and-fro and there’s creative energy coming from the audience: never did it feel stilted. Above all, Martini’s direction is flexible and always interesting. He is helped by a band that responds convincingly to every nuance. The juicy orchestral sounds add an entirely distinctive air to this performance, something I was very happy to live with. Timotheus’ harp solo in track 4 and the exciting figurations when the king "seizes a flambeau" are only two examples. Martini propels the action forwards so that the pace never flags and attention never wavers.

Happily, the solo singing is just as good. Gerlinde Samann’s soprano is bright and clear, almost in the Emma Kirkby category. She responds well to the inflections (and frequent repetitions) in the text, such as in track 19 (The Prince, unable to conceal his pain). Klaus Mertens is a steady, dependable bass, who manages beauty in the stiller moments but is vigorous and agile for Timotheus’ call of revenge. Knut Schoch produces lovely tone...

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