Lucy Crowe, La Nuova Musica & David Bates - Vivaldi: Dixit Dominus; In furore iustissimae irae; Handel: Dixit Dominus (2012) [Hi-Res]

Since 2012, David Bates has worked to cement himself as a regular artist in the Harmonia Mundi catalogue. He notably makes quality (now-essential) interpretations of Baroque era music such as François Couperin’s Leçons de ténèbres (2016), Pergolèse’s Stabat alongside two cantatas by J.S. Bach (BMV 54 and 170, 2017), and some lesser-known works such as Handel’s Il pastor fido. Here, the same text, “Dixit Dominus” (Psalm 110), is put into music by two composers that were almost contemporaries, Vivaldi (RV 803, in which there is another, more famous interpretation, already put in music by Prêtre Roux with RV 608 for a contralto voice) and Handel (HMV 232, made known by Gardiner in the 1970s). These two totally different versions make for an evocative listening experience however share a similar language and musicality. We are met with some typical moments from the two composers: for Vivaldi, his Dominus a dextris tuis, whose strings in the ritornello remind one clearly of the numerous introductions to concertos and opera arias; for Handel, his very Italian-flavoured Juravit Dominus evokes some of his later choirs (Hercules, Semele). In this most lively interpretation from the Nuova Musica, David Bates follows in Gardiner’s footsteps as he favours curves over stark rhythmic changes.