George Frideric Handel - Solomon Oratorio (2007) [FLAC] (2 CDs)

George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)

Solomon Oratorio (2 CDs)

Label: Harmonia Mundi, HMC 901949.50

Year: 2007


Performers:

Mark Padmore - tenor
David Wilson-Johnson - bass
Carolyn Sampson - soprano
Susan Gritton - soprano
Sarah Connolly - alto

Berlin RIAS Chamber Chorus
Academy for Ancient Music Berlin

Daniel Reuss - conductor.


Handel was 63 years old when he composed Solomon, one of his final masterpieces. This monumental oratorio depicts the three highpoints of the biblical king’s life: the building of the temple, the famous judgment, and the visit of the Queen of Sheba.

With a dramatic instinct keener than ever, the composer did not hesitate to combine political and patriotic reflections with exaltation of carnal love and celebration of earthly riches. This ‘perfect marriage of music and English words’, as Winton Dean has called it, caused the composer serious financial difficulties in 1749 on account of the exceptional forces it required – but today, under the baton of Daniel Reuss, it finds performers totally devoted to its noble cause!