Georg Friedrich HÄNDEL
Gloria [16.10] (World
Premiere Recording)
Emma Kirkby, soprano;
Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra/Laurence Cummings
rec: 3 May, 2001, Duke's Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London, England.
Dixit
Dominus
Anne Sofie von
Otter, alto; Hillevi Martinpelto, soprano; Stockholm Bach Choir; Drottningholm
Baroque Ensemble conducted by Anders Öhrwall.
rec January 1986, Adolf Fredik Church, Stockholm, Sweden.
BIS CD 1235 [49
mins]
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Background
There has been a lot of hubris about this "recently discovered" work by
Händel, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo (HWV deest; deest being Latin for
missing, since this work is not included in the standard catalogue of
Händel's works). The manuscript of this work, which was in the library
of the Royal Academy of Music in London, was part of a larger manuscript
containing arias from Händel's operas. Long known, yet considered to
be "dubious", no one had examined the work for a very long time, even though
the manuscript of the Gloria bore the mention "Händel" underlined twice
by a copyist. Professor Hans Joachim Marx, of Hamburg, Germany, shortly after
visiting the library in 2000, claimed that Händel indeed wrote the Gloria,
and his authentication has been unanimously accepted by Händel scholars
and musicologists. "The music is very virtuosic, very expressive and full
of effects," Professor Marx said. "I realised its significance immediately."
This is a small-scale work - it was composed for soprano, 2-part violin,
and basso continuo, and lasts just over 16 minutes in this recording. (Some
initial press reports claimed it was a choral work, but this is not the case.)
It seems to have been composed in Händel's early years, either during
his last years in Hamburg or his first few years in Italy, 1706 - 1708. This
has been determined by melodic and stylistic similarities with other works
of the period.
The work is a musically demanding one for the soprano soloist. It is suggested
that it might have been written for a castrato, or a very capable soprano.
Michael Talbot, Professor of Music at the University of Liverpool, said,
"The quality of the work is so high that it will surely join the ranks of
Händel's most loved music. It has great melodic distinction. The vocal
lines are complex and flowing, yet never degenerate to empty virtuosity.
It is a wonderful piece. It's going to make a big splash."
Händel scholar Donald Burrows said: "This is a very exciting piece.
There's no doubt of its authenticity, particularly because the musical content
includes various melodies and fragments we also know from other contexts
of Händel's music."
The world premiere performance of the entire Gloria (a performance of two
sections of it was given in March 2001) will be held 3 June 2001 at the
International Händel Göttingen Festival.
Gloria
This world premiere recording presents the Gloria coupled with another of
Händel's sacred works, the Dixit Dominus.
The Gloria opens with a delightfully energetic expository section, the
Gloria in excelsis Deo. The tenor of the work is clear - the soprano
has a demanding score, and there is a wonderful interplay with a solo violin
weaving in and out of her melody. This is the kind of music that might make
some hum along, and others tap their feet - this is music that expresses
great joy and happiness.
The second movement, Et in terra pax…, much slower and more
plaintive, is a perfect vehicle for soprano Emma Kirkby's crystalline voice,
as the melody covers a very large range, and the continuo stays a bit in
the background.
The next movement, Laudamus te…, is again a fast movement, like
the first very demanding, requiring vocal virtuosity from the soprano. Yet
it maintains the extraordinary balance between the violins and soloist through
an ingenious accompaniment.
This segues into the Gratias agimus tibi…, a brief, lively movement,
before another slow, melancholic movement, Domine Deus… Here,
again, Kirkby is in her element, with beautiful dynamics and excellent tone.
The centrepiece of the work is the Qui tollis…, the longest movement
of the piece at 4.23. Slow, mournful and sombre, this makes it all worthwhile.
Kirkby is excellent here, as in the rest of the piece, with her voice soaring
gracefully in a very large range, hitting some heart-rending high notes.
"Have mercy on us," says the text, "You take away the sins of the world."
The music here is the perfect translation of the text.
The next movement, Quoniam to solus sanctus…, is again gay and
energetic. It segues into the most virtuosic of the work's sections, the
final movement, Cum Sancto Spiritu…, a display of vocal pyrotechnics
that will ensure that only the best sopranos give this work its due.
Overall, this is indeed a delightful work. A strong Italian influence, coupled
with a standard German cantata style (without recitatives), makes this a
beautiful, intimate work. The music is beautiful and moving, and Kirkby's
performance is probably as good as it gets. The orchestra plays excellently,
and the recording is just about perfect - Kirkby is present without dominating
the instruments.
Yet, I cannot help but think that Bach wrote at least a dozen cantatas as
good as this - remember, this is a small-scale work, for soprano, violins
and continuo. While it has been compared to the Messiah in melodic beauty,
it is on a different scale.
Dixit Dominus
While the main interest of this disc resides in the first recording of the
Gloria, the Dixit Dominus should not be ignored. This is an old recording
that Bis pulled out of its vaults as "filler" for this disc. Yet, this is
a grandiose and majestic work, admirably performed and recorded. Quite the
opposite of the Gloria, this is a large-scale choral work, just over 32 minutes
long, featuring two excellent singers, Hillevi Martinpelto, soprano and Anne
Sofie von Otter, alto, and a superb choir, the Stockholm Bach Choir.
This flashy work was composed in 1707, in Rome - about the same time as the
Gloria. Here, too, Händel called on the talents of his singers, both
soloists and choir. A much more direct work, this is closer to a "standard"
mass, with alternating choral and solo sections.
One thing I find a bit disappointing, however, is the recording of the Dixit
Dominus. There is a great deal of echo, undoubtedly natural, from the church
where the recording was made. This is not necessarily bad, but, coming after
the much more intimate and direct sound of the Gloria, it is a bit jarring.
Conclusion
The Gloria is a beautiful work; you couldn't go wrong with this delightful
and moving work and its "filler", the Dixit Dominus. While I find some of
the comments by the various musicologists, such as some people who compared
it to the Messiah, similar to the best political spin, it is indeed a memorable
work.
Kirk McElhearn
Peter Woolf adds:-
Händel's 16 mins.solo setting of the Gloria in excelsis Deo,
of which this is the first recording, remained unknown to scholars and musicians
for nearly 300 years. Nicholas Clapton thought its attribution to Handel
'highly dubious' (Early Music, 1983), but the manuscript in the Royal
Academy of Music library has now been authenticated by Professor Hans Joachim
Marx, leaked sensationally to the media (our Webmaster thought it might be
an April Fool joke!) and caused a brief furore. Hard on the heels of its
rediscovery comes this delectable first recording, fittingly made in the
institution where the piece was housed, and with Britain's best loved coloratura
baroque soprano.
It is coupled with a reissued 1983 Adolf Fredrik Church Stockholm recording
of the well-known Dixit Dominus, which I recommend playing
first. This features the young Sophie van Otter as alto soloist and was
previously available on
BIS
CD322, both works dating from c.1707, when Handel was
22. It is performed in a resonant church acoustic and displays vivid word
painting and dramatic shocks in the response to the text by a young genius.
The Gloria gets a more up-front and forward treatment in the Duke's
Hall of London's Royal Academy of Music, and the support by the students
of the RAM Baroque Orchestra under Laurence Cummings (Head of Historical
Performance) is exemplary. It will bring to international notice the excellence
of college and university music making in UK, which has received constant
attention from Seen&Heard - those
are the places to find some of the most exciting, forward looking and best
prepared performances now before the public, freed as they are from commercial
considerations which figure at the Proms, the South Bank and The Barbican.
Emma Kirkby is in fine form and revels in the virtuosic demands of this youthful
masterwork.
Short measure at under 50 minutes, but a CD which will give great pleasure.
The full background history of the Gloria is given by the Principal
of the Royal Academy of Music, Curtis Price in the liner notes and on the
Royal Academy's website
www.ram.ac.uk
.
Peter Grahame Woolf
