Bach, Handel: Arias

Arleen Auger (Artist), George Frideric Handel (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Gerard Schwarz (Conductor), The Mostly Mozart Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: The Mostly Mozart Orchestra
• Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
• Composer: George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (December 11, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Delos Records
• ASIN: B0000006VM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,967 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glorious Voice Performing Baroque Arias of Handel and Bach, January 20, 2000

By 

Michael A. Brocato (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach, Handel: Arias (Audio CD)

This is one of the first recordings of Auger and Gerard Schwarz together...and it remains one of my all-time favorites. Auger is in fine voice...bright and luminous, but never shrill and piercing as some other noted sopranos have been in this same reperitoire.

Auger is an American artist who is first class, especially in perforamnce of the pieces contained in this recording. Gerard Schwatz is dynamic and bold in his approach, so the result is electric.

Auger displays beautiful technique throughout, especially in the Handel arias. Her stylish ornamentation is well within Baroque practice. This being said, the listener / purchaser of this recording is in for a real treat....

Augers singing of PIANGERO from Julius Caesar is perfaps the finest I have ever heard, and the simplicity and beauty of CARE SELVE is breathtaking. The selections from Messiah are handeled beautifully as well, along with selections from Alexanders Feast, Rinaldo and Samson.

I think her reading of the Handel is stronger than her interpretation of the Bach selections, however, even keen listeners will readily agrre that these too are performances of an extremely high character.

Engineering wise, most of the recording is incredible, with instruments shimmering thru and no overmiking detected. If you are a fan of Baroque Vocal Music, this recording is a must for you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendent, May 14, 2002

By 

Robert Sherman (Gaithrsburg MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bach, Handel: Arias (Audio CD)

This is some of the most beautiful singing I have heard anywhere. Auger fuses technique, emotion, and baroque sensibility into a phenomental whole.

In particular, listen to "Come Unto Him" from Messiah. I have more than 30 complete Messiahs and this section is the best of the best of the best. Her original ornamentation is so transcendant, it's hard to imagine why anyone does it any other way.

My only regret is that she didn't record "Redeemer" on this disc.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Marvelous, September 26, 2008

By 

Lois C. Fleming (Chicago Suburbs, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach, Handel: Arias (Audio CD)

I know some American critics sometimes complained in reviews that Arleen Auger lacked dramatic power, life - whatever. Quite frankly, I don't care. Her voice is so pure and clear, her high notes so secure and her technically difficult passages executed with such precision that I think either Bach or Handel would have been touched and blest to hear her singing these glorious old war horses of their repertoire.

Of all the way-too-many recordings of Messiah I've collected in 35 years, from Malcolm Sargent on LP, through the newest CDs, Auger's soprano solos on the Pinnock recording are the most consistently beautiful of them all. Much as I like von Otter's voice (she is the mezzo for Pinnock's Messiah), I've substituted "He Shall Feed His Flock/ Come Unto Him" from this recording in my digital line up instead of the duet, because Auger singing both parts is simply sublime. That's the Messiah I would take to my desert island, and this solo album is one of my favorites in a collection of over 3,000.