Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Les Agrémens, Leonardo García Alarcón - Handel: Judas Maccabaeus (2010) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

CD1
01. Overture, HMV 63
02. Chorus, HMV 63: Mourn Ye Afflicted Children
03. Recitative, HMV 63: Well, May Your Sorrows
04. Duet, HMV 63: From This Dread Scene
05. Chorus, HMV 63: For Sion Lamentation Make
06. Recitative, HMV 63: Not Vain Is All This Storm of Grief
07. Air, HMV 63: Pious Orgies, Pious Airs
08. Chorus, HMV 63: O Father
09. Accompagnato, HMV 63: I Feel the Deity
10. Air, HMV 63: Arm! Ye Brave
11. Chorus, HMV 63: We Come, in Bright Array
12. Recitative, HMV 63: 'Tis Well, My Friends
13. Air, HMV 63: Call Forth Thy Pow'rs
14. Recitative, HMV 63: To Heaven's Almighty
15. Air, HMV 63: O Liberty
16. Duet, HMV 63: Come, Ever-Smiling Liberty
17. Chorus, HMV 63: Lead On, Lead On
18. Recitative, HMV 63: So Will'd My Father
19. Chorus, HMV 63: Disdainful of Danger
20. Recitative, HMV 63: Ambition
21. Air, HMV 63: No Unhallow'd Desire
22. Chorus, HMV 63: Hear Us, O Lord
23. Chorus, HMV 63: Fall'n Is the Foe
24. Recitative, HMV 63: Victorious Hero
25. Air, HMV 63: So Rapid Thy Course Is
26. Recitative, HMV 63: Well May We Hope
27. Duet, HMV 63: Sion Now
28. Recitative, HMV 63: Oh, Let Eternal Honours
29. Air, HMV 63: From Mighty Kings
30. Duet, HMV 63: Hail, Hail

CD2
01. Recitative, HMV 63: Thanks to My Brethren
02. Air, HMV 63: How Vain Is Man
03. Recitative, HMV 63: O Judas
04. Air, HMV 63: Ah, Wretched
05. Recitative, HMV 63: Be Comforted
06. Air, HMV 63: The Lord Worketh Wonders
07. Recitative, HMV 63: My Arms!
08. Air, HMV 63: Sound an Alarm
09. Solemn March During the Circumvention of the Ark of the Covenant, HMV 63
10. Recitative, HMV 63: Enough! To Heaven
11. Air, HMV 63: With Pious Hearts
12. Recitative, HMV 63: Ye Worshippers / No more in Sion
13. Duet, HMV 63: Oh Never Bow We Down
14. Introduction, HMV 63
15. Air, HMV 63: Father of Heaven
16. Accompagnato, HMV 63: See, See Yon Flames / Oh Grant It
17. Air, HMV 63: So Shall the Lute
18. Recitative, HMV 63: From Capharsalama
19. Air, HMV 63: Cease Thy Anguish
20. Recitative, HMV 63: Yet More Nicanor
21. Chorus, HMV 63: See! The Conquering Hero Comes
22. Chorus, HMV 63: Sing Unto God
23. Recitative, HMV 63: Sweet Flow the Strains
24. Air, HMV 63: With Honour Let Desert Be Crown'd
25. Recitative, HMV 63: Peace to My Countrymen
26. Recitative, HMV 63: Again to Earth
27. Duet, HMV 63: O Lovely Peace
28. Air, HMV 63: Rejoice, O Judah / Alleluia, Amen



For English-speaking audiences who don't mind their Handel sung by sometimes heavily accented non-native speakers, this version of Judas Maccabaeus is hard to beat. Argentinean conductor Leonardo García Alarcón leads the exemplary ensembles Choeur de Chambre de Namur and Les Agrémens in an exceptionally spirited account of the score that effectively erases any taint of its reputation as starchy favorite of amateur Victorian choral societies. His rhythms are crisp and his tempos impetuous, as is appropriate for the martial subject matter, but his phrasing is also gorgeously shapely and the lyrical numbers are rendered with sumptuous sensuality and flexibility. The brilliance of the performance is amplified by the very resonant and richly ample sound quality, which allows the voices, both choral and solos, to be heard to their best advantage, bright yet warm, with a ringing, exhilarating clarity. The soloists are absolutely first-rate. As Simon, Argentinean baritone Alejandro Meerapfel has the most pronounced accent, but the suppleness and discipline of his singing, as well as his expertise in the conventions of Baroque style, are an incentive to overlook his oddly placed vowels. Accent is somewhat less an issue with Japanese tenor Makoto Sakurada, whose gleaming, nuanced, heroic voice is a marvel in the title role. Argentinean singers soprano Maria Soledad de la Rosa and mezzo-soprano Mariana Rewerski have glorious, soaring voices that are beautifully matched, and their transporting duets are among the high points of the performance. These are all artists to watch out for. The live recording picks up some ancillary noises, particularly surprisingly loud page turns, but that seems like a minor quibble given the quality of the otherwise extraordinarily engaging performance.

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