Handel - Saul / S. MacLeod · Cordier · Schoch · Schlick · McFadden · Beekman · G. Schwarz · Frankfurt BO · Martini

George Frideric Handel (Artist), Joachim Carlos Martini (Artist), Stephan MacLeod (Artist), David Cordier (Artist), Barockorchester Frankfurt (Artist), Junge Kantorei (Artist), Knut Schoch (Artist), Barbara Schlick (Artist), Claron McFadden (Artist), Gotthold Schwarz Marcel Beekman (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 19, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B00000HZXE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #291,599 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars another Naxos good-for-the-price, December 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Handel - Saul / S. MacLeod · Cordier · Schoch · Schlick · McFadden · Beekman · G. Schwarz · Frankfurt BO · Martini (Audio CD)

Another near-hit: the Handel Saul done by Martini and the Frankfurt Baroque Orchestra. The soloists are generally quite good, especially Macleod's Saul; and Barbara Schlick warbles prettily as usual. David Cordier's David is rather watery, and more than usual David and Johnathan sound like they're about to bop down together to shop for window treatments.

The period-instruments orchestra is top-notch, and the recorded sound is vivid (and quite resonant) and lively (befitting a live recording). But the chorus -- the Junge Cantorei -- indeed sounds young and LARGE. They pack a punch in the loud bits but are quite blurry and sometimes not quite getting all the notes. And fatigue seems to set in in Act III for everyone involved (partly Handel's fault; after Saul is buried, attention flags).

Certainly worth the price (for the instrumental playing and soloists, certainly), but not the only Saul you'll ever need.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine recording, March 30, 2002

By 

Romeo (nz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handel - Saul / S. MacLeod · Cordier · Schoch · Schlick · McFadden · Beekman · G. Schwarz · Frankfurt BO · Martini (Audio CD)

Saul is an epic oratorio, and contains much fine music. McFadden is a sublime soprano, and not recognised enough I believe. She sings with complete assurance, pinpoint accuracy, beautiful rich but clear tone, without the lack of expression some other pure-voiced sops suffer. It would be worth buying the disc for her alone. Schlick is also a fine sop, but very much second to McFadden - strangely enough, Schlick is very similar to Lynne Dawson who sings the same role (Michal) in John Eliot Gardiner's version. The other soloists are all pleasant enough, although I would place Alastair Miles above MacLeod for his more authoritative, polished performance of Saul, John-Mark Ainsley above Schoch and Derek Lee Ragin's incomparable voice above any other countertenor, so must vote for JEG's Saul. The choir sound rather large and as though they are wading through deep mud at times, but in some choruses (esp the initial and final) the effect is quite thrilling and awesomely huge and overpowering. Hard to judge from excerpts over the net! Well worth buying, but to go one better I would opt for the JEG version.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is there an infinite quantity of great music?, March 14, 2002

By 

A. G. Plumb "Greg Plumb" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handel - Saul / S. MacLeod · Cordier · Schoch · Schlick · McFadden · Beekman · G. Schwarz · Frankfurt BO · Martini (Audio CD)

I have always loved Handel's music - all the popular favourites and some less well known works such as Acis and Galatea and Alexander's Feast. When I purchased this economy edition of Saul I had vague recollections of the dead march and little else. But there is a wealth of great music in this opera/oratorio. I especially like the duet and following chorus nos. 19 and 20 on disc 2 (you can sample it here for yourself, but there is a lot to like about the music that the sample doesn't reveal). It makes me wonder how many great works are 'lost' to us, waiting to be restored to publicity. Of course not every work can be equally popular and exposed, but I for one do not regret missing a couple of listenings to Messiah to squeeze in Saul.