Adam Plachetka, Roman Válek, Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra - Händel: Oratorio Arias (2012)

Tracklist

01. Alexander's Feast, HWV 75: Overture
02. Alexander's Feast, HWV 75: Aria: Revenge, Timotheus Cries
03. Messiah, HWV 56: No. 5, Recitativo accompagnato. Thus Saith the Lord of Hosts
04. Messiah, HWV 56: No. 6, Aria. But Who May Abide
05. Messiah, HWV 56: No. 47, Recitativo accompagnato. Behold, I Tell You a Mystery
06. Messiah, HWV 56: No. 48, Aria. The Trumpet Shall Sound
07. Acis and Galatea, HWV 49: Overture
08. Acis and Galatea, HWV 49: Recitativo accompagnato. I Rage, I Melt, I Burn!
09. Acis and Galatea, HWV 49: Aria. O Ruddier Than the Cherry
10. Acis and Galatea, HWV 49: Recitativo. Whither, Fairest Art Thou Running
11. Acis and Galatea, HWV 49: Aria. Cease to Beauty
12. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Overture
13. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Chorus. O Father, Whose Almighty Power
14. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Recitativo accompagnato. I Feel the Deity Within
15. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Aria. Arm Ye Brave, Chorus. We Come, in Bright Array
16. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Recitativo. Be Comforted
17. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Aria. The Lord Worketh Wonders
18. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Chorus. Fallen Is the Foe
19. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Recitativo. Enough! To Heaven We Leave
20. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Aria. With Pious Hearts
21. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Chorus. Sing unto God
22. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Aria. Rejoice, O Judah
23. Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Chorus. Alleluia



The oratorios represent the apex of Händel's professional career and they even saved the composer when he was facing repeated crises of his operatic enterprise. These works of his have remained in the European repertoire and even if Händel hadn't written anything else, his Messiah alone would have earned him immortality. The programme of this CD is made up of arias that Händel wrote in his oratorios for bass or bass-baritone - the vocal category embodying heroism, enduring faith and resolve. Owing to his distinct masculinity, combined with determination, pleasantly tinted timbre and natural musicality, Adam Plachetka, a soloist of the Wiener Staatsoper, is an ideal singer to portray such Handel roles. A watershed in the artist's meteoric career came in September 2011, when Plachetka dazzled the Viennese audience in the title role of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. On this recording, the soloist has a worthy partner: the superlative Czech Ensemble Baroque, conducted by Roman Válek, who prove beyond all doubt that Händel is not the exclusive preserve of the English.

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