Word: handel
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...major, Op. 6 No. 1 respectively. The exceptional soloists gave performances worthy of Hogwood's illustrious direction, perhaps even of Milton himself. Especially notable were sopranos Sharon Baker and Lisa Saffer, whose powerful voices captured both the light, lilting passages of L'Allegro and the "grave music," as Handel termed it, of Il Penseroso. Christine Brandes, also soprano, however, sounded a bit too bright and overharsh at times. Tenor Alan Bennett and bass David Thomas also demonstrated impressive talent and musical sensitivity...
Both the soprano and bass parts contain a great deal of extremely demanding coloratura, vocal play and lengthy runs, reminiscent of the earliest tenor and bass airs in Part I of Handel's Messiah. These passages, like nearly all of the piece, were executed masterfully. Saffer in particular seemed the very bird described by her lines, "Sweet bird,.../ Most musical, most melancholy,/ Thee, chantress of the woods among,/ I woo to hear thy even song." Saffer's song floated through incredible trills and arpeggios which spanned several octaves without the slightest hint of effort. The choir, though little utilized...
...Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato is composed of three parts. The first and second are interspersed excerpts from L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, chosen and arranged, scholars now believe, by a friend and colloborator of Handel's, James Harris. L'Allegro is, as the title suggests, full of bright, youthful phrasing and imagery. Hymen is invoked and the praise of "bustling cities" sung. Il Penseroso, on the other hand, is filled with the language of age, of cloisters, weariness and Heaven. The speaker plans to enter "a peaceful hermitage" where he hopes to sit and reflect...
...Handel and Haydn Society, self-styled "America's Premier Chorus and Period Orchestra," features many interesting baroque instruments, several of which shone in solos in L'Allegro. A baroque flute, for example, enjoyed a lovely solo and interchange with Saffer in Part I, marred only by slight stumbling in the first few bars. The instrument, though held and played like a modern flute, is of black enamel, and considerably wider in diameter. Also fascinating were the horns, ancestors to the modern French horn, which had no stops and could only be played in the primary overtone series, manipulated...
...richer tones of Brandes. Very effectively used, by contrast, were the cello solos which broke up the different airs and recitatives of Part II, and which twice exchanged echoing dialogue with a warbling Saffer. The cellos, too, seemed not to be standard, modern cellos, but rather like those of Handel's time, having a much thinner, more delicate sound. Most of the strings played their instruments in the baroque style, holding their bows partway up the dowel instead of by the frog, as is the modern method...