The Internet's Premier Classical Music Source
Related Links
- Vivaldi Reviews
- Latest Reviews
- More Reviews
-
By Composer
-
Collections
DVD & Blu-ray
Books
Concert Reviews
Articles/Interviews
Software
Audio
Search Amazon
Recommended Links
Site News
Site Search
Follow us on
Affiliates
CD Review
Vivaldi / Handel
Sacred Choral Works
- Antonio Vivaldi: Gloria in D Major, RV 589
- George Frideric Handel:
- Gloria in B Flat Major
- Dixit Dominus
The Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner
Philips 462597-2 78m DDD
This is the second recording of the recently discovered Handel 'Gloria', this time featuring the sublime English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner. BIS's disc has the trump card in the shape of Emma Kirkby but Gillian Keith is also quite outstanding. I still have reservations about the quality of the Gloria but Gardiner provides a thoughtful measured interpretation that gains from the crystal clear Decca sound.
Vivaldi's 'Gloria' is also suitably trenchant and full of beautiful moments especially the vivacious opening. The Dixit Dominus is another outstanding interpretation with Gardiner marrying the innate grandeur of the piece with its intrinsic spirituality. The superb presentation is an added feature and incentive to buy this collection.
The conductor's extensive notes on the resurrection of the Handel Gloria are also a model of authenticity and scholarly research. I have to say that it is indeed preferable to the BIS alternative for its couplings, which confirm Eliot Gardiner's standing in the baroque scene.
Copyright © 2002, Gerald Fenech
