Customer Reviews

Alexander's Feast

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I bought this Handel piece thinking it might be as light and beautiful as the Rameau operas by William Christie. Those (Les Fetes D'Hebe, Pygmalian) are outstanding, at times breathtaking
in their beauty, and always very light and pleasant - very Mozartian, really, and I mean Mozart at his best.
Handel, on the other hand, seems a bit heavy by comparison, which is not such an attractive attribute for baroque. His German temperament shines through - sounds a bit like Beethoven
meets Vivaldi, with Beethoven usually getting the upper hand. Also he seems burdened by his English dialogue - a real disadvantage because it makes it impossible for an English speaking listener to ignore the often corny lyrics. Still,
the music is darn good, and at times very good indeed, to use a Gramaphone phrase, and the singing is wonderful. Voices are very forward, which I prefer. My only real complaint is the surprising amount of tape hiss in a recording that claims to be digital. Did they add some for old times sake? Old times weren't always that great...
Overall I recommend this, because I love good singing, and because, like all good baroque (at least, all that I've heard so far) it's very easy to listen too.