Handel: Arcadian Duets

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's tempting to think that Arcadian Duets, which Handel composed at various points in his career, are just chips from the master's block. But they constitute a delightful hour's worth of music, and when sung with the vocal brilliance and stylishness displayed here by 10 top singers in various pairings, they add up to one of those rare discs it's hard to stop returning to. Handel must have thought a lot of them too--since he re-used some of this music for oratorios like Messiah--and turned to the chamber duet form in his last years as well.

There isn't a weak link among the soloists, though the contributions of Natalie Dessay, Veronique Gens and Sara Mingardo are especially noteworthy. Whether asked to sing plaintive laments or flashy coloratura displays, these well-matched voices thrill. The accompaniments (harpsichord or organ, lute and cello) are faultless. The appeal of this disc extends far beyond baroque specialists to anyone who enjoys outstanding singing. --Dan Davis

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2005-10-03 rating:
Ravishingly beautiful Italian duets wonderfully sung
The 21-year-old Handel spent 4 years in Italy from 1706. His main patrons, Cardinal Pamphili and the Marquis of Ruspoli were members of a group known as the Arcadian Academy - hence the CD's title.
However, perhaps only 2 or 3 of the 9 duets here date from that time, while another 3 date from 1740 - 1745. Two of those were re-used for numbers in the Messiah - and it is fascinating to hear how the Italian word are set!
Haim's direction of Le Concert D'Astree is wonderfully sensitive. For soloists she has mostly recruited past colleagues - a superb group (Dessay, Gens, Petibon, Panzarella, Mingardo, Agnew etc.) and they perform with great style.
If you love Handel, and his great gift for setting music for the voice, then this is pure delight. A ravishing 62 minutes.
Full texts and good notes (3 languages).

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