"HANDEL: THE OCCASIONAL SONGS".(Review)

Emma Kirkby, Charles Daniels [] "HANDEL: THE OCCASIONAL SONGS" Nicholson, director/harpsichord; Miller, archlute, theorbo; Sharman, cello. Text and translation. Somm CD 226

The main attraction on this BIS disc is the world-premiere recording of a hitherto unknown Gloria by Handel, authenticated in March 2001 by Hans Joachim Marx of Hamburg. The piece was unearthed twenty years earlier in the Royal Academy of Music in London, but it was not attributed to Handel at that time. The Gloria, which has been dated to Handel's sojourn in Rome in 1707, at age twenty-two, is a virtuoso showpiece for coloratura soprano. This is no immature, forgettable work but an immediately engaging, compelling, easily programmable piece that should hold tremendous appeal for sopranos everywhere. Here it is given life by early-music specialist Emma Kirkby. Her ultra-light, pure, nimble soprano is as fresh as ever, and while singers with larger voices probably will also find the piece a satisfying performance vehicle, it would be difficult to find one who can match the instrumental accuracy of Kirkby's rapid-fire passagework in the Cum Sancto Spiritu. Her high notes could be bolder, and there are times when one wishes she weren't quite so stinting with her gentle vibrato, but there is a steadiness and command of style present in her performance that illuminate the haunting, spun-out Qui Tollis, the graceful Gratias Agimus Tibi, the tentatively touching Et in Terra Pax and the lively Laudamus Te. The Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra under Laurence ...