Handel - Israel in Egypt / Bostridge, Chance, Gritton, Varcoe, King's College Choir, The Brandenburg Consort, Cleobury

George Frederick Handel (Composer), Stephen Cleobury (Conductor), Brandenburg Consort (Performer, Orchestra), James Vivian (Performer), Libby Crabtree (Performer), Susan Gritton (Performer), Ian Bostridge (Performer), King's College Choir - Cambridge (Artist), The Brandenburg Consort (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Brandenburg Consort, James Vivian, Libby Crabtree, Susan Gritton, Ian Bostridge
• Orchestra: Brandenburg Consort
• Conductor: Stephen Cleobury
• Composer: George Frederick Handel
• Audio CD (June 13, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00004SDRE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,507 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dramatic Excursion, June 24, 2000

By 

Zvi Goren (Tel Aviv, Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handel - Israel in Egypt / Bostridge, Chance, Gritton, Varcoe, King's College Choir, The Brandenburg Consort, Cleobury (Audio CD)

This great oratorio by Handel has many good recorded versions, but none is as dramatic and revealing as this new release. It was recorded in 1995, but it has the required freshness and immediacy, a kind of prophetic recording. Each instrument of the orchestra is vivid, as well as the various sections of the choir. It is conducted with full awareness of the meaning of that historical excursion from slavery in the flourishing kingdon of Egypt into the freedom of the Israelites on their way to become a nation in the Promised Land. The glory of this recording is mainly in the voices of Michael Chance, a counter tenor of the highest degree, and that unique singing voice of Ian Bostridge, a tenor who performs his music in the vein of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with a rare intelligent reading of both music and text.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent Performance of One of Handel's Finest Oratorios, August 6, 2005

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Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handel - Israel in Egypt / Bostridge, Chance, Gritton, Varcoe, King's College Choir, The Brandenburg Consort, Cleobury (Audio CD)

ISRAEL IN EGYPT is an important step in Handel's career, a time when he took a breath from his Italian Operas and turned to the English libretti of his mighty oratorios. ISRAEL IN EGYPT is one of the more dramatic of his choral works, somehow capturing the drama of opera through the exciting role the chorus plays. Stephen Cleobury conducts what is certainly one of the most exciting and beautiful performances on record and he does so in the quintessential style of the Baroque era.

The soloists are all superb interpreters of the style and music of Handel and while tenor Ian Bostridge, countertenor Michael Chance and soprano Susan Gritton contribute the strongest roles, the work of Libby Crabtree, Angela East, Stephen Varcoe, and Henry Herford are also consistently excellent. The 'major role' in this opus is divided between the chorus and the orchestra and here is where the recording is the most radiant of any. The King's College Choir and the Brandenburg Consort are as fine as ensembles come for this music and Cleobury knows how to coax the beauty of line and energy of text from the entire ensemble.

For those unfamiliar with Handel's oratorios this recording is a fine start. And for those lovers of baroque music (and Handel in particular), this is a superlative example of how Handel's oratorios should be sung and played. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, August 05

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a voice teacher and early music, March 20, 2006

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George Peabody "Ariel" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handel - Israel in Egypt / Bostridge, Chance, Gritton, Varcoe, King's College Choir, The Brandenburg Consort, Cleobury (Audio CD)

COMPETENT CLEOBURY and the FABULOUS FOUR soloists together with the King's College Choir accompanied by the Brandenburg Consort have produced an inspirational and expert rendition of this marvelous work by Handel. It could be said that 'Israel in Egypt, composed in 1739,marked a turning point in Handel's composing life. This was due to the decline of interest in Italian opera. And so began his Oratorios.

'Israel in Egypt',the fifth of the nineteen oratorios which Handel composed in English, was written in only twenty-seven days. It is truly a colossal work and was first performed on April 4, 1739, at the King's Theatre, of which Handel was then the manager. It is essentially a choral oratorio, comprising no less than twenty-eight massive double choruses.

Like much of Handel's music 'Israel in Egypt' made use of much borrowing from his other compositions: the opening part. 'The Lamentations of the Israelites for the Death of Joseph', is an adaptation of 'The Ways of Zion Do Mourn', written in 1737, for the funeral of Queen Caroline, the consort of George II.

In this recording you hear the work in its original three-part format. The King's College Choir with its clear voiced soaring boy sopranos and its velvet-toned male altos lend a lushness to the overall tone quality. The playing of the Brandenburg Consort is skilled both as to phrasing and articulation, creating a natural and keen sense of structure and ensemble which drives it all forward.

The Fabulous Four soloists are outstanding: Stephen Varcoe (bass) effortlessly gives the text meaning and direction; Michael Chance (countertenor) performs using his uniquely lovely sound with character and drive; Ian Bostridge (tenor) renders his solos with great beauty and flawless diction; Susan Gritton (soprano) with her excellent sense of balance, heightened by a feeling of drama, is worthy of Handel's operatic tradition.

Competent Cleobury is in full command of both voices and orchestra, and thus has rendered an inspirational, not to be missed by Handelians, performance. (recorded in 1995) The accompanying booklet is very informative and includes the complete text.