Handel - Susanna | Accent ACC26406

Handel - Susanna

£34.15

Currently out of stock at the UK suppliers. Available to order, but is likely to take longer than usual to despatch

Label: Accent

Cat No: ACC26406

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 3

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 23rd September 2016

Contents

Artists

Emily Fons (mezzo-soprano)
Christopher Lowrey (countertenor)
Colin Balzer (tenor)
Raimund Nolte (bass-baritone)
Ciara Hendrick (mezzo-soprano)
NDR Choir
Gottingen Festival Orchestra

Conductor

Laurence Cummings

Works

Handel, George Frideric

Susanna, HWV66

Artists

Emily Fons (mezzo-soprano)
Christopher Lowrey (countertenor)
Colin Balzer (tenor)
Raimund Nolte (bass-baritone)
Ciara Hendrick (mezzo-soprano)
NDR Choir
Gottingen Festival Orchestra

Conductor

Laurence Cummings

About

After the patriotic ‘victory oratorios’, the oratorio Susanna marks a turning point in Handel’s composition. This Old Testament narrative is a popular motif in the domain of art history. Many a portrayal exists of the steadfast Susanna being watched – unbeknown to her – by two lusting elders as she bathes. Likewise, the scene of the supposed adulteress appearing before the judges who sentence her to death inspired painters such as Rembrandt, Giorgione, Gentileschi and Corinth. In adopting this as his subject, Handel chose a heroine who is neither a queen nor a prophet. The piquant account from the Book of Daniel drew from him magnificent inventiveness in the music, which also includes passages in the lighter vein characteristic of the English ‘ballad opera’ popular at the time. Susanna’s virtue, however, is extolled in monumental choruses.

The present live recording is a production of the 2016 International Handel Festival in Göttingen, highly praised by the critics at their performances in Göttingen, Berlin, and Wroclaw. Laurence Cummings, the Festival’s Artistic Director, a renowned Handel specialist, stands at the helm of the Göttingen Festival Orchestra, aided by an excellent vocal cast and the NDR Choir.

Cast:
- Susanna: Emily Fons (mezzo-soprano)
- Joacim: Christopher Lowrey (countertenor)
- First Elder: Colin Balzer (tenor)
- Second Elder: Raimund Nolte (bass-baritone)
- Daniel: Ciara Hendrick (mezzo-soprano)

Reviews

Laurence Cummings’s new version [of Susanna] with Göttingen festival forces captures fully the uplifting, pastoral, ethereal vision in arias such as Susanna’s “Crystal streams in murmurs flowing”, and his cast, while not all perfect in English, are responsive, with Ciara Hendrick outstanding. Beautiful.  Nicholas Kenyon
The Observer 30 October 2016

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