COMPOSERS: Handel
LABELS: Virgin Veritas
WORKS: Israel in Egypt
PERFORMER: Soloists; Taverner Choir & Players/Andrew Parrott
CATALOGUE NO: VMD 5 61350 2 (1990)
This is Handel’s original, unwieldy Israel, including the fifty-minute Part 1 – Queen Caroline’s Funeral Anthem, recycled for the Israelites to mourn the death of Joseph. It’s the chorus that gets the lion’s share of this piece; Parrott’s 32-strong Taverner Choir flexibly negotiates the double fugues and makes a good, rounded sound. Playing at original pitch, the dark sound of the Taverner strings fits the Lamentation well, but more sparkle would have been welcome once the mood lightens. Janet Banks
Handel: Israel in Egypt
This is Handel’s original, unwieldy Israel, including the fifty-minute Part 1 – Queen Caroline’s Funeral Anthem, recycled for the Israelites to mourn the death of Joseph. It’s the chorus that gets the lion’s share of this piece; Parrott’s 32-strong Taverner Choir flexibly negotiates the double fugues and makes a good, rounded sound. Playing at original pitch, the dark sound of the Taverner strings fits the Lamentation well, but more sparkle would have been welcome once the mood lightens. Janet Banks
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm