The Triumph of Time and Truth HWV71
Sophie Bevan (soprano) – Beauty; Mary Bevan (soprano) – Deceit; Tim Mead (counter-tenor) - Counsel/Truth; Ed Lyon (tenor) – Pleasure; William Berger (bass) – Time
Ludus Baroque/Richard Neville-Towle
rec. 4-7 August, 2013, Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh. DDD
English text included
DELPHIAN DCD34135 [78:28 + 76:15]
Just recently the Edinburgh-based Delphian label was named Label
of the Year at the 2014 Gramophone awards. That’s
quite an accolade for a small independent label that was only established
as recently as 2000. It was founded by two graduates of Edinburgh University,
Kevin Findlan and Paul Baxter. I’m not sure if Kevin Findlan remains
with the business but Paul Baxter is most certainly still there; indeed,
he has produced and engineered almost all of the albums – some 150
of them – issued by Delphian to date. Over the years MusicWeb International
has reviewed quite a lot of their discs (click here
to see a list) and several have come my way. It seems to me that the label
pursues a fairly simple yet focussed strategy, recording music that needs
recording – often because the work or composer is under-represented
in the catalogue; using a roster of artists who will deliver high-quality
performances; and issuing recordings distinguished by excellent sound
and equally good documentation. If I’ve interpreted the strategy
correctly then it seems highly effective and this latest release by Ludus
Baroque exemplifies it.
Following their very fine recording of the Song for St Cecilia’s
Day (review),
which was made in August 2011, Richard Neville-Towle and his team, including
two of the same soloists – Mary Bevan and Ed Lyon – returned
to the same Edinburgh venue, the Canongate Kirk, to record Handel’s
last oratorio.
It could be said that The Triumph of Time and Truth neatly bookends
Handel’s career as an oratorio composer for much of the material
in it derives from his very first oratorio, Il trionfo del Tempo e
del Disinganno, HWV46a. He composed this in Rome in 1707 to a libretto
by his patron, Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili. This work was revised in 1737
(HWV 46b). Fifty years after the original composition Handel returned
to his Roman score and this time set the libretto in a new free, versified
English translation by Rev. Thomas Morell, bringing in various numbers
from some of his other works. The result is a substantial three-act allegorical
oratorio.
The ‘plot’, such as it is, revolves around the attempts of
Pleasure and Deceit to turn the young, impressionable character, Beauty,
away from the path of virtue. Beauty certainly wobbles along the way but
in the end heeds the advice of Counsel and Time, resists the blandishments
of Deceit and Pleasure and stays on the ‘right side’. The
chorus comments from time to time as events unfold. One pleasing detail
of this particular recording is that we hear the Sophie and Mary Bevan,
sisters I believe, pitted against one another as Mary (Deceit) tries to
convince Sophie (Beauty) to go astray.
The score contains some Handelian gems. Act II has two choice airs for
Counsel, ‘Mortals think that Time is sleeping’ and ‘On
the valleys’. The former, a gorgeous creation, has a pair of recorders
gently cooing in the background. Tim Mead makes a splendid job of both
arias and I love the tasteful way in which he decorates the da capo
sections to fine expressive effect. Handel saves the best till last –
or nearly last; the penultimate number in the whole work is a ravishing
air for Beauty, ‘Guardian angels’. This, with its lovely oboe
part, is absolutely top-drawer Handel and it’s superbly sung by
Sophie Bevan.
Sophie Bevan impresses greatly with her overall performance. Indeed, the
name of her character, Beauty, is very appropriate since the sound of
her voice is consistently beautiful. The tone is rich, full and alluring
and her diction is very clear – which can’t always be said
of sopranos. The part is perhaps a bit more high-lying than the part of
Deceit, which her sister takes, and I think the roles have been intelligently
allotted to match the intrinsic characters of the respective voices.
Mary Bevan’s voice seems a little smaller than Sophie’s –
that’s a statement, not an implied criticism – or at least
that’s how it appears to me in this recording. Mary’s voice
may not have quite the same lustre but she still gives great pleasure
as, for instance, in the gently lilting air ‘Pleasure’s gentle
Zephyr’s playing’ in Act II. Later, in Act III she demonstrates
two aspects of Deceit’s approach to temptation, firstly in the air
‘Charming Beauty’. This is beguiling music and Miss Bevan’s
delivery of it is equally beguiling – she decorates the da capo
deliciously. When that approach fails to tempt Beauty she tries a more
direct approach in ‘Sharp thorns despising’. That calls for
greater vocal agility as well as more forceful singing and Mary Bevan
rises to this different challenge very well too.
I’ve already mentioned Tim Mead, who makes a fine all-round contribution
to the performance. I’m not entirely sure that all of Pleasure’s
music is equally well suited to Ed Lyon’s voice, well though he
sings. On his first appearance in the Act I air ‘Pensive sorrow’
I liked his clear ringing tenor: you could imagine Pleasure as someone
who’d turn a girl’s head. The air that follows immediately
is billed in the booklet as being for Beauty but in fact it’s Lyon
who sings it and the piece gives him a chance to show a different side
of his voice; the music is slow and lyrical and he does it well. Later,
however, in the Act II air ‘Lovely Beauty, close those eyes’
his style seems rather too forthright. This is music that needs a more
liquid, sweet-toned style – I immediately thought of Anthony Rolfe
Johnson – and Lyon doesn’t really seem equipped for that.
However, he’s just the right singer for Pleasure’s last hurrah,
after he’s been bested in the tussle for Beauty’s soul: ‘Like
clouds, stormy winds them impelling’ is as turbulent as the title
suggests and Lyon offers a suitably dramatic, defiant rendition, the divisions
expertly negotiated.
As Time we have William Berger who impressed me some time ago in a thoughtfully-planned
recital disc (review).
Here, in very different music, he also makes a favourable impression.
In the Act I air ‘Loathsome urns’ we hear focused singing,
a firm, rounded tone and a suitably expressive approach. Just as good
is the Act III air, ‘From the heart that feels my warning’
in which I admired the warmth of the voice and the excellent sense of
line.
So, we have a strong solo team: what about the chorus? The choir comprises
19 voices (5/5/4/5) with a mix of male and female altos, which I always
like in music of this period. In their very first chorus, ‘Time
is supreme’, they make a very strong first impression. The attack
is strong, vividly demonstrating an appetite for the music, and with a
small group like this you get excellent clarity. Incidentally, this opening
chorus is enlivened by spirited solo passages for the counter tenor accompanied
by a shining trumpet. Later on in Act I there’s a good blend in
the chordal opening to ‘Strengthen us, O Time’ and when Handel
then lets rip with a fugue the singers present it with excellent clarity.
I don’t know how many choruses were added to the 1707 original score;
one that is mentioned in the notes is the Act III chorus, ‘Comfort
them, O Lord’ which Handel recycled from his 1749 Foundling Hospital
Anthem, HWV268. The choir sings this extremely well. Another success is
the chorus near the beginning of Act II, ‘Oh, how great the glory’.
This is splendidly energetic stuff, excitingly performed. Handel seizes
on a reference to hunters in the text to introduce a pair of corni
da caccia into the accompaniment and their exuberant contribution
adds to the fun here. To the choir falls the duty of closing the work
in a short but resplendent Hallelujah chorus – yes, Handel wrote
more than one. This is exultant music and the invigorating rendition by
the choir – and the orchestra – sets the seal on the whole
performance.
The orchestra of 21 players excels. They lay out their credentials impressively
in the overture with lean but polished playing. The rhythms are crisp
and the sound of the instruments tickles the ear, not least the nimble
oboes and mellow bassoons. You sense in these first four minutes that
the performance that follows is likely to be good and these expectations
are met in full. Throughout the whole oratorio the instrumental playing
is stylish and vital and I enjoyed it very much.
Richard Neville-Towle’s direction is assured and evidences great
sympathy for and commitment to the music. He invests the quick music with
vitality but is also ready to make the most of Handel’s slower,
sensuous opportunities. The recitatives are crisp and stylish. Overall
one has the impression that a skilled and seasoned Handelian is at the
helm.
Once again engineer Paul Baxter has presented a performance in excellent,
clear sound with just the right degree of ambience. The documentation
is excellent, something I have come to take for granted from this label.
As I indicated at the start, my experience to date of Delphian releases
suggests that this new issue typifies the label’s virtues. It’s
a fine and enjoyable recording which lovers of Handel oratorios should
ensure they hear.
John
Quinn
Previous reviews: Brian
Wilson and Geoffrey
Molyneux
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