5.0 out of 5 stars
One Devil of a Performance, January 27, 2012
This review is from: Handel: La Resurrezione (Audio CD)
Differing from other oratorios in this set, Resurrection is sung in Italian, and consists entirely of soloist and ensemble singing. No chorus here. The story line follows events from Good Friday until Easter Sunday, from the viewpoint of Satan, Mary Magdalene, and St. John. Again, the performances are stellar. But what distinguishes this work is the number of "pop" tunes throughout the work. This is gorgeous songwriting on the part of the composer. I hate to compare, but of the baroque era composers, no one could top Handel and Vivaldi at coming up with crowd pleasing tunes. Yes, they both died poor and fell out of fashion, as good pop tunesmiths tend to do. But this work is a joy to listen to. David Thomas as Lucifer just steals the show. He is powerful, brilliantly precise, and executes those Baroque runs to perfection without losing the emotion and the drama of the role he is performing. Even though she doesn't have a starring role here, contralto Carolyn Watkinson turns in wonderful performances as well. A worthy addition to any Handel collection, and available as part of a 4 work, 8 disc set of Hogwood interpretations of Handel's Oratorios.
Handel: Messiah / Athalia / Esther / La Resurrezione
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