COMPOSERS: Bach,Handel,Purcell,Vivaldi,Weldon
LABELS: Regis
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: Great Baroque Arias
WORKS: Works
PERFORMER: Gillian Fisher (soprano), James Bowman (countertenor), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Michael George (bass); The King’s Consort/Robert King
CATALOGUE NO: RRC 1062 Reissue (1987)
The 13 arias, drawn from mid- to late-Baroque odes, oratorios, operas and cantatas are mainly evergreen morceaux favoris which few ears tire of hearing. Bach’s ‘Sheep may safely graze’, serenely sung by Gillian Fisher, ‘Ombra mai fù’, quaintly dubbed ‘Handel’s Largo’ a century or more ago, from his opera Serse, and the same composer’s ‘Where’er you walk’ (Semele) and ‘Let the bright seraphim’ (Samson) are but four of them. A handful of others, though, are far less often encountered. One is an aria with an elaborate flute obbligato from Vivaldi’s opera Orlando furioso, the only piece on the disc by an Italian composer and, indeed, along with the Bach, the only piece not emanating from England. James Bowman sings it with wistful longing. An attractive reissue. Nicholas Anderson
Handel, Bach, Purcell, Vivaldi, Weldon
The 13 arias, drawn from mid- to late-Baroque odes, oratorios, operas and cantatas are mainly evergreen morceaux favoris which few ears tire of hearing. Bach’s ‘Sheep may safely graze’, serenely sung by Gillian Fisher, ‘Ombra mai fù’, quaintly dubbed ‘Handel’s Largo’ a century or more ago, from his opera Serse, and the same composer’s ‘Where’er you walk’ (Semele) and ‘Let the bright seraphim’ (Samson) are but four of them. A handful of others, though, are far less often encountered.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 1:17 pm