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George Frideric Handel Messiah Johann Sebastian Bach Matthew

George Frideric Handel Messiah Johann Sebastian Bach Matthew

CKD 319

PAtrons oF DuneDin Consort June, Marchioness of Aberdeen &Temair CBE DL;Sir Charles Mackerras CBE; Professor Neil Mackie CBE FRSE;Sir Lewis Robertson CBE FRSE;Sir John Shaw CBE FRSE

trustees oF DuneDin Consort FBA FRSE (Artistic Director); Carolyn Coxon; Jo Elliot; Susan Hamilton (Artistic Director); Philip Hobbs (Artistic Director); Andrew Kerr (Chairman); Kenneth McDowell; David McLellan; Kenneth Thomson

GenerAL MAnAGer Hilary Dickson www.dunedin-consort.org.uk Dunedin Consort is supported by the Scottish Arts Council

Also AvAilAble from the DuneDin Consort on Linn reCorDs

George Frideric Handel Matthew Passion Dublin Version, 1742 – CKD 285 Last Performing Version, c.1742 – CKD 313 Also available as a180g 3-LP collection –CKH 312 ‘The playing and the singing is outstanding. 2007 CLAssiC FM GrAMoPHone AWArD Winner Highly recommended.’ ★★★★★ – tHe oBserVer 2008 MiDeM CLAssiCAL AWArD Winner ‘My new benchmark.’ ★★★★★ – BBC MusiC MAGAZine ‘The freshest, most natural, revelatory and transparently joyful ‘There’s no doubt that this one is the pick of this year’s crop... Messiah Ihave heard in avery long time.’ – GrAMoPHone tinglingly vivid... beautifully coloured.’ ★★★★★ – tHe GuArDiAn ‘Youth, freshness, joy: these are the chief characteristics of this intimate new Messiah....’ – tHe tiMes ‘Stylish, fresh... more intimate.’ – BBC MusiC MAGAZine Acis & Galatea,HWV 49a Original Cannons Performing Version (1718)

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Linn is an independent precision engineering company specialising in top quality audio and video reproduction. Founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun, MBE in Glasgow,Scotland in Dunedin Consort &Players John Butt director 1972, the company grew out of Ivor’s love of music and the belief that he could vastly susAn HAMiLton Galatea niCHoLAs MuLroy Acis tHoMAs HoBBs Damon improve the sound quality of his own hi-fi system. Now sold in over 45 countries, Linn remains unremittingly committed to manufacturing products for applications where niCHoLAs HurnDALL sMitH Coridon MAttHeW BrooK Polyphemus sound quality matters. Linn strives to thrill customers who want the most out of life with demonstrably higher DISC 1-ACt one fidelity complete audio and video entertainment solutions. Our standards also ensure 1 Sinfonia ...... 3.12 that even the most affordable Linn system can communicate the sheer thrill and 2 Chorus: Oh, the pleasure of the plains! ...... 6.13 emotion of the performance. 3 Accompagnato: Ye verdant plains &woody mountains (Galatea) ...... 0.45 Linn has earned aunique reputation in the world of specialist hi-fi and multi-channel 4 Air: Hush, ye pretty warbling choir! (Galatea) ...... 6.17 sound recording and reproduction. The company can now satisfy the demanding requirement of any discriminating customer who cares about sound quality,longevity 5 Air: Where shall Iseek the charming fair? (Acis) ...... 3.05 and reliability. 6 recitative: Stay, shepherd, stay! (Damon) ...... 0.22 Visit www.linn.co.uk for more information and to find your nearest Linn dealer. 7 Air: Shepherd, what art thou pursuing? (Damon) ...... 4.10 Linn PRODUCTS LTD,GLASGOW ROAd, WAteRfOOt,GLASGOW G76 0eQ 8 recitative: Lo, here my love (Acis) ...... 0.30 t: +44 (0)141 307 7777 f: +44 (0)141 644 4262 e: [email protected] 9 Air: Love in her eyes sits playing (Acis) ...... 6.51 10 recitative: Oh, didst thou know the pains of absent love (Galatea) ...... 0.16 @ 11 Air: As when the dove laments her love (Galatea) ...... 6.58 www.linnrecords.com 12 Duet: Happy, happy we! (Acis &Galatea) ...... 2.35 discover the world of linn records Linn RECORDS,GLASGOW ROAd, WAteRfOOt,GLASGOW G76 0eQ DISC 2-ACt tWo t: +44 (0)141 307 5027/9 f: +44 (0)141 303 5007 e: [email protected] 1 Chorus: Wretched lovers! ...... 4.24 2 Accompagnato: Irage –Imelt –Iburn! (Polyphemus) ...... 1.28 3 Air: Oruddier than the cherry (Polyphemus) ...... 3.17 4 recitative: Whither, fairest, art thou running (Polyphemus, Galatea) ...... 1.11 5 Air: Cease to beauty to be suing (Polyphemus) ...... 5.24

227 newlycommissioned works, mostrecently by 6 Air: Would you gain the tender creature (Coridon) ...... 5.42 Francis Grier and AnthonyPowers. 7 recitative: His hideous love provokes my rage (Acis) ...... 0.21 Matthew’s many recordings includehis 8 Air: Love sounds th’ alarm (Acis) ...... 4.50 highlyacclaimed recordingofthe bass solosin 9 Air: Consider, fond shepherd (Damon) ...... 6.42 Mozart’s with theChamber Orchestraof 10 recitative: Cease, oh cease, thou gentle youth (Galatea) ...... 0.26 Europe, Tenebrae and NigelShort (Warner Classics), 11 trio: The flocks shall leave the mountains (Galatea, Acis, Polyphemus) ...... 3.04 Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ with RichardHickox 12 Accompagnato: Help, Galatea! Help, ye parent gods! (Acis) ...... 1.30 and theBBC National OrchestraofWales, broadcast 13 Chorus: Mourn, all ye muses ...... 3.43 on BBCTelevision, and mostrecently acomplete 14 solo &Chorus: Must ImyAcis still bemoan (Galatea) ...... 4.14 version of Handel’s Messiah(Dublin Version, 1742) 15 recitative: ‘Tis done! Thus Iexert my pow’r divine (Galatea) ...... 0.19 and Bach’s MatthewPassion, bothwithJohn Butt 16 Air: Heart, the seat of soft delight (Galatea) ...... 4.02 and theDunedin Consort forLinn Records. He has 17 Chorus: Galatea, dry thy tears ...... 3.19 also recorded forChandos, Hyperion, Naxos, and Recorded at Greyfriars Kirk, , uK: 29th April –2nd May 2008. forEMI in arecordingofIdomeneo with SirCharles Produced and engineered by Philip Hobbs. Post-production by Julia Thomas at Finesplice. Mackerras, theScottish Chamber Orchestraand theEdinburgh Festival Chorus. He hasalsorecently italian harpsichord after an unsigned instrument dated 1693 in the collection of the smithsonian institute (Washington DC), attributed to Giovanni battista Giusti. recorded forDVD theacclaimed production of TheFullMonteverdi with IFagiolini. made by Denzil Wraight, 1987, and generously loaned for the recording by Dr noel o’regan. Future plans include Zuniga forOperaComique,Paris (); Bach with the edition: bärenreiter, hallische händel-Ausgabe, series i, vol. 9/1, ed. Wolfram Windszus Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich and Marcus Creed; with theMelbourne (with revisions by John butt) SymphonyOrchestraand Oleg Caetani; BMinor Mass with Phillipe Herreweghe, Thanks to the Cantors’ Club –supporters of The Dunedin Consort.

and Haydn’s Seasons with Gardiner in theMusikverein, Vienna, and throughout Special thanks to all those who responded to the Recording Appeal : Europe. Deities: Sir Gerald &Lady Elliot, David McLellan sea nymphs: BinksTrust,MelanieWebster,ProfessorPeterNelson,Neil&PhilippaWoodcock,Anonymous. Giants: Mrs Michael Clutterbuck, Christine Gough, Kathleen &Colin MacPhail, Richard Simon, Professor C.J. &Mrs C.M. Suckling, Anne Waring, Louisa &Nathalie Pearson, Anonymous. shepherds: Judith Brearley, Margaret Cantlay, Brian &Deborah Charlesworth, Sleeve design by John Haxby. Celia Curnow, Professor Simon Frith &Jenny McKay, Caroline Higgitt, Frank Hitchman, Cover image: Landscape with Polyphemus, 1649 (oil on canvas) by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) John Innes, S. Lendrum, Norman &Christine Lessels, John Moreland, David &Tanya Parker, Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia /The Bridgeman Art Library Stafford Street Dental Care, Jim Stretton, Tarnie Trust, Ken Thomson, Erica Watson, Tom &Pam Young, John &Muriel Hamilton, Anonymous.

26 3 Carissimi’s Jonah in theBBC Proms, Bach’s in Kristiansund, ,HWV 49a and theEvangelistinBach’s St John Passion in Jever. He is in demand as a G.F. Handel – original Cannons Performing version (1718) Brittensoloistand mostrecently sangthe Serenade forTenor,Hornand Strings andel’s briefperiod (1717–1718) at Cannons (near ) as composer to with theHaffner Orchestra, the SpringSymphony (conductedbyPaulSpicer) HJames Brydges, EarlofCarnarvon, wastoprove an excellent catalystfor at theMaryWakefieldFestivaland the WarRequiem with thecombined choral hisfuturesuccess in . Here,withthe handful of professional musicians societies of Cumbria. whoconstitutedthe ‘Cannons Concert’,hecould experimentwithinstrumental He is along-term member of thehighlyacclaimed solo-voiceensemble genres and dramas involvingEnglish textswithout thehabitual financial IFagiolini. Future plans includeconcertsinBergen, Washington, Berlin and pressures of public performance. Hiseleven Cannons Anthems constituted Malta, further performances of Winterreise in Germany, Sellem in TheRake’s hismostextensive single collection of English church musicand Progress forOperaEastand Ilford Artsand Tamino in TheMagicFlute forOpera (HWV 50a, then called TheOratorium)became theprototype forthe English Project. oratorio,which wastosustain thelatterpart of hiscareer.Equally important wasthe pastoral‘entertainment’, Acis andGalatea,which washis first setting Matthew Brook bass-baritone of asubstantialdramatic English text.Hehad alreadyset this story–derived Matthew Brook hasappeared as asoloistthroughout Europe, Australia, South from theversion in Ovid’s Metamorphoses –inanItalian Serenataof1708 Africa and theFar East. He hasworkedwithSir ,Richard (Acis,Galatea ePolifemo, HWV 72), and poetryinthe pastoralgenrewas well Hickox,Sir CharlesMackerras, Emmanuelle Haïm, HarryChristophers, suited to the da capo aria form that Handel hadlongcultivatedinhis Italian Christophe Rousset and Paul McCreesh, and many orchestras and groups dramatic works. He wasclearly on excellent terms with themajor figures in the includingthe Philharmonia, theLondon SymphonyOrchestra, theRoyal literary movementconcerned with definingand developingEnglish pastoral Philharmonic Orchestra, St PetersburgPhilharmonic, FreiburgBaroque poetry, acircle centredaround another of Handel’s patrons. Theleadingtheorist Orchestra, theBBC National OrchestraofWales, theOrchestraofthe Age and practitioner wasAlexander Pope,whosemodelslie behind severalnumbersin of Enlightenment, theChamber OrchestraofEurope, theScottish Chamber Handel’s libretto(e.g.‘Wretchedlovers!’and‘Theflocksshallleavethemountains’), Orchestra, theEnglish Baroque Soloists,the City of London Sinfonia, Collegium closely followedbyJohn Gay, whoprobablywrote much of thetext. Brian Trowell Vocale Gent, theGabrieli Consort, DresdenStadtskappel, Les Talens Lyriques, hassuggestedconvincinglythat, at some stage in theprocess of creating Acis theSixteen, TheDunedin Consort and OrchestraNationaledeLille. As asoloist andGalatea,itwas decided to expand it from athree-character piece(involving and former member of IFagiolinihehas performed at many of Europe’stop Acis, Galateaand Polyphemus alone,asinHandel’s Italian setting) to one with festivals, includingEdinburgh, Cheltenham, Utrecht, theBBC Proms, Aix- an advisor each forAcis and Polyphemus –Damon and Coridon respectively. en Provence, Athens, Ambronay,LaChaiseDieu, Innsbruck and theBermuda AccordingtoTrowell, much of thenewerpoetrywas addedbyJohn Hughes, but Festival.Hehas appeared regularlyatthe ThreeChoirsFestival, oftensinging

425 repertoireisvaried. Hisextensive recent engagements includeBach St.John other poetsmight have been involved too, such as one of theCannons tenors, John Passion (StMartin in theFields), thereconstructed Bach St.MarkPassion Blackley.AsGraydon Beeks notes, Blackley wrotethe libretto foratleastone and Handel (StJohn’s SmithSquare), Monteverdi Vespers (Three Choirs cantata by , director of theCannons Concert. Festival), Handel Messiah (HanoverBand) and Dvorak Stabat Mater (Exeter Cathedral). Thestory is disarminglysimple:the nymph Galatealoves theshepherdAcis and he loves her.After an agonizinglyprotracted separation, they find each other nicholas Hurndall smith tenor and anticipate everlastingbliss. Thegiant, Polyphemus (the personification of NicholasHurndallSmith read MusicatCorpus Christi College, Oxford where MountEtnainsome of theearlier versions of thestory), hashis ownambitions he wasOrgan Scholar, and then went on to studywithDavid Pollardonthe forunion with Galatea-her evidentrepulsion notwithstanding–and eventually GuildhallSchoolofMusic &Drama’s OperaCourse,supported by bursaries from kills Acis with an enormous rock (‘massyruin’), one of only twoactions in the TheLeverhulme Trust, TheWorshipful CompanyofSalters and TheWorshipful entiredrama.The final section of thestory involves theinevitable lamentfor CompanyofTobacco Pipemakersand Tobacco Acis and thesorrow of Galatea, thelatterrealizingthatshe can useher divine Blenders. powers to turn Acis into an everlastingfountain. This, thesecond action, is the Nicholas’ rolesincludeLurcanio, metamorphosis that restores orderand contentmenttothe seeminglytimeless Snout and Don Curzio forEnglish Touring paradisewithwhich thestory began. Despite thecomparative lack of narrative , Tamino forLongborough Festival flow (manyofthe arias followingone another without thetraditional link of Opera, McHeathfor OperaProject, Ecclitico recitative), Handel grasped theopportunitytomakemusic theprincipalmeans and Normanno at Ilford Arts, TomRakewell at of injectingnew life into thepastoralgenre, bringingout some of itscentral Dartington, Lysander forBritish YouthOpera, implications with adegreeofinsight and vividness that hasseldombeen Ferrandoand Don Ottavio forStJohn’s Opera, matched. Howdoes our civilization relate to asupposed stateofnatureorto and Joabel in Charpentier’s David et Jonathas for apast‘GoldenAge’? Howdowereconcilereason and thelessons of experience theAcadémie Baroque Européenne (conducted with physicaland emotional urges that areundeniablypresent?Isthe natural by William Christie). worldatour command or is it alwaysthreatening to gain theupper hand? He recently sangthe arias in Bach’s St John Passion at theLondon Handel Festival, Handel’s musiccan oftenevoke astate of nature that seems complete in itself Bach Cantatas63and 65 with theAcademy and into which humanvoices enteralmostunexpectedly(e.g. thebeginningof of AncientMusic, Schubert’s Winterreise at theopeningchorus ‘Oh, thepleasureofthe plains!’) or surreptitiously(e.g. the St.Marien Spandau,Berlin, thetitlerolein final aria ‘Heart, theseatofsoftdelight’). Amusicalmenagerie of nature skips

24 5 along, seeminglyoblivious to thefeelings it stimulates in Galatea, in ‘Hush, Berio Sinfonia with theRLPO,Une Parque in Rameau HippolyteetAricie at ye pretty,prettywarblingchoir!’,though just twiceitseems to respond to her theTheatreCapitale de ToulousewithHaïm, and EvangelistinWeihnachts- call, perhaps moreinparodythansympathy. Yetwhen she exercises whatever Oratorium,alsowithGardiner,inLondon. divine powershe has, at theend with ‘Heart, theseatofsoftdelight’, therivulets of themusic aredelightfully compliant. She seems to teach theearly modern thomas Hobbs tenor humanthat, while we might not be able to controlthe volcanic ragingofraw Born in Exeter,Thomas Hobbsgraduated in HistoryfromKing’sCollege nature,wehaveenough of thedivine sparkofintelligencetobeabletoredirect London. He also studied singingwithIan Partridge before movingtothe Royal asmall watercourse.The musiccan also support and flesh out theemotions the CollegeofMusic, under thetutelage of Neil Mackie,wherehewas awarded charactersundergo,whetherthenervousquestingofAcis(‘WhereshallIseekthe theRCM PeterPearsand MasonScholarships. He wasalsoawarded aSusan charmingfair?’), hisalmostexplosive tenderness in thewakeofGalatea’ssexual Chilcott Scholarship and hasbeen made aRoyal Philharmonic Society Young appetite (‘Love in her eyes sits playing’), or hishapless pugnaciousness in ‘Love artist. Thomas is currently continuinghis studies on theRoyal Academy sounds th’alarm’. If musiccan bothunderline and unifythe emotions of groups OperaCourse,whereheholds afullentrance –the unstoppable bubblingofhappiness in ‘Happy,happy we!’ or thePurcellian scholarship and studies with Ryland Davies. funeral lament‘Mourn, allyemuses’–itcan also provideadevastatinglyironic Thomas hasperformed with many perspective.Justafter Polyphemus intends to construct thelargestpossible pipe leadingensembles includingThe Cardinall’s of ‘a hundred reeds of decent growth’, hisattempt at wooingGalatea(‘O ruddier Musick,,IFagiolini, The than thecherry’) is accompanied by thesopranino recorder,the smallestpipe Sixteen, , EnsemblePlusUltra that Handel couldpossibly find –anunmanningthatisshamelesslydirect. As and Ex-Cathedra. He hasrecordedfor labels Winton Dean hasobserved, theportrayal of Polyphemus as acomic character includingHyperion, Decca, ASVand Herald. hasits precedentinOvid; ridiculingthe darkestforcesofnatureissurelya On stage,hehas performed therole healthy step on theway to learninghow to controlthem. Meanwhile,the cynical of Acis in Handel’s Acis andGalatea;Ferrando, Damon, ever free with hisrealistic, worldlyadvicefor Acis, hasone of themost Cosi FanTutte;Ramiro, Cenerentola and Conte, compellinglyenergetic arias (‘Shepherd, whatart thou pursuing?’) and also Barber of Seville forRCM operascenes. An one of themosttender and movingnumbers(‘Consider,fond shepherd’); it is acclaimed recitalist, recent highlights include as if themusic givesanunusually subtle beauty to themodeofthoughtthat Vaughan Williams On WenlockEdge with surrendersunthinkinglyneither to personalpassion nor to theforcesaround theEdinburgh Quartet, Schubert DieSchone us, but sizes up thesituation with adegreeofwry calculation (might we not be Mullerin and Schumann Liederkreis Op.39. hearingsomething of thevoiceofHandel himselfhere?). Equallyathome on theconcert platform, his

623 L’Etoile,aswellasMonteverdi Vespers and Most impressive of allisthe wayHandel balances thestatic and cyclic mood that Campra Requiem at theBBC Proms, Charpentier dominatesthe lyric worldwiththe notion of metamorphosis and development. Actéon with Emanuelle Haïm, Evangelistin Thefirst‘state’ of thedrama,uptothe duet‘Happy,happy we!’,isone of timeless St MatthewPassion at SymphonyHall, and recurrence(as suggestedbythe cycle of seasons in themiddlesection of the forLaurenceCummings at theLondon Handel openingchorus, the da capo form bringingthe senseofrecurrencetoactuality Festival,Monteverdi Combattimento (Testo)for in musicaltime). Thelove-pains and ultimatesatisfaction of Acis and Galatea BBCRadio (followingthe title role in thesame reflect ahuman experiencecommon to allages and cultures; they arethus composer’s L’Orfeo last year), Tamino in Magic historicallyunspecific. TheSinfoniaand theduetact as highlyenergetic Flute at theHelix in Dublin and at Bridgewater bookends to this state, as if thechargeofthe former sustains us through to that Hall, Manchester, theworld premiereofJoubert’s of thelatter. An intermediate injection of movementisprovided by Damon’s aria WingsofFaith with CBSO, St John Passion with ‘Shepherd, whatart thou pursuing?’, which is theonlyaria in this section that is boththe OAEand theHanoverBand, and the not in tripleorcompound time.Fromthispointonwards thereisasensethatAcis UK premiereofRautavaara Vigilia with Stephen and Galateaset up complementary metres in their arias (‘Love in her eyes sits Layton. playing’ in 12/8, followedby‘As when thedove’ in 3/8) which somehowcombine OperaticperformancesincludeMozart’s in thejoyful gigueof‘Happy,happy we!’.The junction between this duetand the Ferrando, Belfiore(La FintaGiardiniera), Don entirelynew worldofthe chorus ‘Wretched lovers!’ is one of themoststriking Ottavio,MonostatoswithSir Colin Davis, as well wrenches in thepiece, articulated by abreak in laterperformances of themasque as Tenor Actor in Judith Weir’s ANight at theChineseOpera,and le Chevalier in but apparently continuous at Cannons (unfortunately, it is impossible to convey Les Dialoguesdes Carmélites in Poland. In recital,highlights includeVaughan this continuity in CD format,but this can be demonstrated in thedownloadable Williams On WenlockEdge with theBadkeQuartet, Britten SevenSonnets of version of this recordingfromwww.linnrecords.com). Thischorus is thefirst Michelangelo forthe Oxford Lieder Festival,and Schumann Liederkreis Op 24 of severalmovements that ends differently from howitbegan, as thegraphic and DieSchöneMüllerin with regularcollaborator John Reid. depiction of thegiantPolyphemus graduallydominates thetexture,likeastorm Nicholas’srecordings includea2007 Gramophone Award-winning appearingonthe horizon, and thusheraldinghis actualappearance. Messiah forLinn RecordswithJohn Butt and theDunedin Consort, Monteverdi Vespers with boththe King’s Consort and Rodolfus Choir,aseries of Monteverdi Soon, though, thesequenceofda capo arias is resumed (four of them, with IFagiolinifor Chandos and acriticallyacclaimed EvangelistinMatthew consecutively,are in tripletime). Theinterventions of Coridon and Damon seem Passion with John Butt on Linn Records. Meanwhile future engagements to step into thespaceofthe characterstheysupport; Coridon, continuingin includeperformances with Les ArtsFlorissants at theOperaComique in Paris, thetripletime of Polyphemus’s ‘Ceasetobeauty to be suing’ with ‘Would you

22 7 gain thetender creature’, but temperingthe latter’sminor modewithamove and composersHarveyBrough, Pascal Dusapin, GabrielJackson, Witold to therelative major. Damon’s ‘Consider,fond shepherd’ likewisefollowson Lutoslawski, James MacMillan, PeterNelson, Ronald Stevenson, Bill Sweeney directly from Acis’s ‘Love sounds th’alarm’withaslowertripletime that seems and ErrollynWallen. She hasperformed with theAmsterdamBaroque Orchestra, to temper thelatter’sreckless mood (perhaps relatingtothe cross-beat ‘hemiola’ London SymphonyOrchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, ASei Voci, La Caccia, of theclosing bars?). Afterthisfollowsone of themostremarkablepieces of all, Cantus Cölln, CollegiumVocale Ghent, Florilegium, FlandersRecorderQuartet, thetrio ‘The flocks shallleave themountains’. Here then is theobvious contrast Gabrieli Consort, TheMonteverdiChoir and TheNew London Consort. She also of mood between theloveduetofAcis and Galateaand theincreasinglyfurious performs regularlywith, Il Gardellino,PlusUltra,MrMcFall’sChamber,the interjections of Polyphemus, culminatinginhis throwingofthe rock,which Ricercar Consort and theDunedin Consort, which she co-founded and is one Handel seems to representinthe final play-out (by averyprominentrupturing of theartistic directors. She hasappeared at majorInternational Festivalsin of thesymmetrical da capo principle, which hasdominated allarias and duets Europe, Japan, Australia and theUSA includingthe Edinburgh International so far). Yetthereisalsothe senseofforebodingcreated in theinstrumental Festival,BostonEarly MusicFestival, Les Folles Journées in Nantes and Lisbon, accompaniment(marked ‘staccato’), which seems bothtosupport thelovers’ Melbourne,StMagnus, Salzburgand Utrecht. duetand to hint at whatistocome.Inall, thecounterpointofcharacter,mood Susan broadcasts regularlyonbothtelevision and radio and has and steadytransformation towardsPolyphemus’s murderous act shows Handel recorded forAstree-Auvidis, Delphian, Flora, Harmonia Mundi, Hyperion, Linn as acomposer with thesort of psychologicalinsight usuallyaccorded to Records, Ricercar and Virgin Classics. Hersolorecordings include A’eGowden Mozart and hisfollowers.Itmay well be that he wouldnot have devised such Lyric arecital of songsbyRonaldStevenson with thepianistJohn Cameron and atransformatoryprocess hadhenot felt theincentive to compensate forthe Dallapiccola’s QuattroLirichediAntonioMachado with David Wilde,bothfor static nature of thepoetic genreasawhole. Delphian Records, Haydn’s Scots songs on theFlora label, ConsortSongs by AlfonsoFerrabosco with theRicercar Consort, Purcell’s OdetoStCecilia’sDay Thefinaltransformation is, of course,thatachievedbyGalateainher final aria, with PhilippeHerreweghe,Handel’s Messiah(Dublin Version, 1742) and most wherethe expected da capo form is subverted afterthe momentwhen she turns recently Bach’s MatthewPassion with theDunedin Consort on Linn Records. thedead Acis into afountain. As Winton Dean and Ellen Harris have observed, fragments of theopeningofthe aria areextended and developed, with both nicholas Mulroy tenor theundulatingmotive and thefinallines of text recastinthe latterpart of the Born in Liverpool, Nicholasstudied at Cambridge Universityand at theRAM. closing chorus. The‘missing’ da capo (missing, just likeAcis himself, according Recent appearances includeperformances at theGlyndebourne Festival to Harris) is thusaptly compensatedbythe recurrenceofthe newmaterialin under Vladimir Jurowski (Novice/Prokofiev Betrothal in aMonastery), the thefinalbarsofthe entertainment. If we cannot avoid death, at leastlasting Concertgebouw and RoyalFestivalHallunder SirJohn Eliot Gardiner (Bach benefit can be found if we exercisethe powers we still have.Inall, Handel has Cantatas 147,60and 70), at Paris’s OperaComique as PatachainChabrier’s

821 tourshavetaken himtothe USA, Canada,Germany, Bermuda, Istanbul,Poland presentedadelightful pictureofthe humanworld as aplace wherethe paradise and Korea. In 2008heand Kevin Bowyer performed theentireorgan worksof of amythologicalpastisregained in modestincrements,buildingonthe lessons Olivier Messiaen. learned from inevitable tragedy. As amusicologist, John haspublished five books with Cambridge The Cannons performing version of Acis and Galatea UniversityPress, relatingtoBach, theBaroque period, modernityand our contemporaryculture of historicalperformance. He haswrittennumerous hile themusicalforcesatCannons were excellent (theywere, afterall, articlesand reviews and hasseveral essays in theOxfordand Cambridge Wledbythe composer Johann Christoph Pepusch), their balancewas Companions to Bach, NewGrove 2 and the Cambridge HistoryofNineteenth- idiosyncratic -evenbythe standards of theday.AsGraydon Beeks hasshown, CenturyMusic.Heisalsoco-editorofthe Cambridge HistoryofSeventeenth- theforcesfor theCannons Anthems and AcisandGalateaseem to matchthoseof CenturyMusic.His book, Bach’s Dialogue with Modernity: Perspectiveson thehouserecords almostdirectly.The vocalcomplementcontained no alto and thePassions,will be appearingin2009. John hasbeen elected to Fellowship consistedofasoprano,bass and threetenors(thus, presumably,necessitating of theBritish Academyand theRoyal Society of theexpansion of themasquefromthree voices to five, whotogether constituted Edinburgh. In 2003 he receivedthe DentMedal thefive-part chorus). Thestrings seemed to comprisethree violins, two of theRoyal MusicalAssociation and hisbook, ‘cellosand bass (with no violas); however,giventhatatleastone of thelater PlayingwithHistory,was shortlistedfor the Cannons Anthems seem to requireafourthviolin, an extraplayermay have book prize of theBritish Academy. been available on occasions (Beeks suggests that this couldhavebeen Pepusch himself). Thetwo oboists presumably doubled on recorders, thusprovidinga susan Hamilton soprano differentsonority forGalatea’sfinalaria (and thefirstplayerprovidingthe high Susan Hamilton wasborn in Edinburgh and recorder obbligatofor ‘Hush, ye pretty,prettywarblingchoir!’ and ‘O ruddier beganher musicalcareer as achoristeratSt than thecherry’). Beeks hasshown that abassoonistwas available at thetime Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral and apupil at St of thefirstperformancetoo.Around this pointhinges amisunderstandingin Mary’s MusicSchool. She specialises in baroque whatwould otherwisebethe mostauthoritative modern edition of Acis and and contemporarymusic and is in demand Galatea (Hallische Händel-Ausgabe), which interpretssourcescontaining as asoloistworkingwithmanyconductors referencetothe bassoonasevidenceofasecond distinct performingversion includingPhilippeHerreweghe,John Butt, of thepiecelater in 1718. Thisedition thusprivileges theautograph(which SirJohn Eliot Gardiner,Raphael Frühbeck de contains no referencetobassoon) as the‘original’performingversion of the Burgos, Josvan Immerseel,Robert King,Paul pieceand consequently undervaluesseveral other revisions that were almost McCreesh, Masaaki Suzuki and TonKoopman, certainly made forthe first performance. Part of thedifficulty lies in thefact

20 9 that while Handel’s composingautographsurvives, hisrevised scoreislost TheConsort hasappeared at festivalsinBelgium, Canada,France, Italy, (his practicewas normally to commission aworkingcopy, sometimes referred Spain, Northern Ireland and theChannelIslands as well as at theEdinburgh to as the‘performingscore’or‘conductingscore’, that contained changes he International Festival.Ithas worked in collaboration with ensembles including made in therun-up to performances, and which supersededthe workings of theBBC Scottish SymphonyOrchestra, Sinfonia 21,Scottish Ensemble, Mr theautograph, at leastinterms of performingversions). Nevertheless, thereis McFall’sChamber,Paragon Ensemble, Florilegium, La Serenissimaand the acollection of manuscriptspreservingstrongtracesofthe lost score, headed Scottish Chamber Orchestra, hasappeared on themajor BBCtelevision channels, by one (dated 1718), largelyinthe hand of acopyistwho laterbecame closely and been broadcastonRadio 3and BBCScotland. associatedwiththe preparation of Handel’s performingscores, J.C. Smith ContinuingtoworkwithLinn Records, in 2008the Dunedin Consort (senior). Thisispart of thecollection of theEarlofMalmesbury, nowlodged &Players released Bach’s MatthewPassion (Last PerformingVersion,c.1742) at theHampshireRecordOffice. Whilethisdoes not contain anyofthe tell-tale (LinnCKD 313) and recorded Handel’s Acis andGalatea (Linn CKD 319). signs of Handel’s ownhand (which wouldbethe casewithatrue‘performing score’) it does indeed seem to be thecopyofsuchascore.Moststrikingisthe John Butt director designation of thefive chorus lines with thenames of thefive characters, thus John Butt is Gardiner Professor of Musicat suggestingthatthe work wasoriginally performed with just thefive singersand theUniversityofGlasgow. Themajority of his no extrachorus (indeed, Handel’s autographsimilarly givesthe names of some performanceactivity since2003 hasbeen as of theoriginal singersfor thevocalpartsofthe first chorus). TheMalmesbury MusicalDirector of theDunedin Consort, involv- scorealsoconfirms thecharacter of Coridon, whosearia wasonlyprepared for ingnumerous performances of bothBaroque and in theautographscore,and which became associatedwithDamon in some of Contemporaryrepertoire. He hasalsomadeeleven thelater performances (and in modern editions). Beeks and AnthonyHicks note recordings on organ, harpsichordand clavichord severalother importantdifferences with theautographtext: Handel originally with Harmonia Mundi (France), includingthe marked theopeningof‘Wretched lovers!’ as a‘cello solo,but sourcespreserving Bach organsonatas, thetoccatasand Schübler thetradition of theperformingscore mark this ‘tutti li bassi’,thusimplyinga chorales. He hasalsorecordedElgar’scomplete much fullersound at theoutset. Thedecision to useasmall recorder (‘flauto organmusic and severalrecordings forthe piccolo ottavo’)for ‘O ruddier than thecherry’ wasalsoprobablymadebefore BBC. As soloistand conductorhehas performed thefirstperformance, and the‘cello and harpsichordoriginally specified forthe throughout theworld,includingthe Göttingen beginningof‘Must ImyAcis still bemoan’was expanded with bassoon. Thefact Handel Festspiele,Philharmonia Baroque and that thebassoon is specificallynoted forthismovementmight suggestthatitis theBerkeley Festival (wherehedirected anewly not used continuouslyelsewhere(thesame goes forthe doublebass and second discoveredScarlattioperain1996); recent recital

10 19 Dunedin Consort and Players ’cello). Certainly,later sourcessuggestthatthe bassoon wasusedmainly in the director John Butt openingand closing instrumental ritornelli of arias (but throughout in those Galatea Susan Hamilton forbass), and this wastaken as thestartingpointfor this recording, but, in the Acis Nicholas Mulroy absenceofclear evidenceofHandel’s practicehere, thelayout of thecontinuo Damon Thomas Hobbs section wasdeveloped on an ad hoc basis (likewisefor theplaceswherethe Coridon Nicholas Hurndall Smith oboes might doublethe violin parts). Polyphemus Matthew Brook Closer studyofthe Malmesburyscore suggests afew further refinements that violin 1 Lucy Russell, Ruth Slater violin 2 Jean Paterson, Sarah Bevan Baker Handel mayhavemadefor thefirstperformance: it seems to confirm that no cellos Christopher Suckling, Anna Holmes oboes were used in ‘Shepherd, whatart thou pursuing?’(something which can be double bass Timothy Amherst inferredbytherangeandstyle of theinstrumental linebutwhichisnotindicated recorders Patrick Denecker, Catherine Latham in modern editions); it contains some differences of underlayand rhythm, some oboes Alexandra Bellamy, Catherine Latham (but not all) of which couldberead as improvements rather than errors. Finally, harpsichord John Butt and mostinterestingly, severalofthe arias begin with a‘segue’ marking(i.e. an bassoon Zoe Shevlin indication that they should ‘follow on’); if thesedoderive from Handel himself, Winnersofthe2008MidemBaroqueAwardandthe2007ClassicFMGramophone they suggestthathemadeparticular effortstocultivate asenseofcontinuity, Award forBestBaroque VocalAlbum fortheir recordingofHandel’s Messiah something requiringmoreattention giventhe largenumber of arias in arow (Dublin Version, 1742) (Linn CKD285),the Dunedin Consort, under theartistic and thecomparative lack of connectingrecitative.Insum, it seems that Handel direction of John Butt,Susan Hamilton and PhilipHobbs, performs throughout took thepeculiarities of boththe pastoralgenreand theforcesavailable to him Scotland and Europe. seriously, givingconsiderable attention to theopportunities affordedbyasmall, John Butt is MusicalDirector forall larger projectsand under himthe chamber-likesituation. WhileHandel’s musicnormally benefitsfromalarge group hasconsolidated itsexistingstrengthinthe baroque repertoire, with the number of stringplayers,for instance, herehehas carefully devised theviolin developmentofthe Dunedin Players, as an ensemblededicatedtoperformance partssothattheydoubleone another when amoreincisive sound is needed, but with period instruments.The group also continuestocommission newpieces areotherwisesubtly integrated with oboes and voices to create asonority of to contrast theold:William Sweeney, ErrollynWallen, PeterNelsonand Sally particular flexibility and intimacy. Beamish have recently writtenorarranged workstocomplementthe eraof George Buchanan and Song of Songs settings of Heinrich Schütz, themotetsof Iamverygrateful forthe extraordinarilyhelpful adviceIhavereceivedfroma Bach and thetercentenaryofBuxtehude’s death. number of Handel scholars:toDavid Vickers, whourged us to look at theearly

18 11 version of Acis afresh, and to GraydonBeeks and AnthonyHicks whowerea 13. Chorus 15. Recitative constant source of adviceand information and patiently kept me further away Mourn, allyemuses! Weep,all ye swains! Galatea from scholarlyerror than wouldotherwisehavebeen thecase. Finally, thanks Tune,tune your reeds to doleful strains! ‘Tis done! Thus Iexert my pow’r divine; aredue to HampshireRecordOfficeand theEarlofMalmesburyfor access to Groans, cries and howlings fill the Be thou immortal, neighb’ringshore: though thou art not mine! themicrofilm of theMalmesburymanuscript. Ah, thegentle Acis is no more!

© John Butt,2008 16. Air 14. Solo &Chorus Galatea Galatea Heart, theseatofsoftdelight,

SOuRCES: Must ImyAcis still bemoan, Be thou nowafountain bright! Inglorious crush’d beneath that stone? Purple be no morethy blood, Hallische Händel-Ausgabe, I: 9/1(Kassel,1991), Glidethou likeacrystal flood. Chorus Prefaceand CriticalCommentary,ed. WolframWindszus Rock,thy hollow womb disclose! Cease, Galatea, ceasetogrieve! Thebubblingfountain, lo!itflows; GraydonBeeks, ‘Handel and theMusic forthe EarlofCarnarvon’, Bewail not whom thou canstrelieve. in Bach,Handel, Scarlatti:TercentenaryEssays, Through theplains he joys to rove, ed. PeterWilliams (Cambridge,1985), pp.1-20 Galatea Murm’ringstill hisgentle love. ReviewofHHA edition, Notes, v. 50 no.3(March1994), 1168-73 Must thelovelycharmingyouth Diefor hisconstancy and truth? 17. Chorus Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios andMasques (London, 1959) Chorus Galatea, drythy tears, Ellen Harris, Handel andthe Pastoral Tradition (London, 1980) Cease, Galatea, ceasetogrieve! Acis nowagod appears! Bewail not whom thou canstrelieve; See howherearshim from hisbed, AnthonyHicks, Review of HHA edition, MusicalTimes,v.134 (Nov 1993), 639-42 Call forththy pow’r,employ thyart, See thewreaththatbinds hishead. Brian Trowell, ‘Acis, Galateaand Polyphemus: a“serenata atre voci”?’, Thegoddess soon can healthy smart. Hail! thou gentle murm’ringstream, Shepherds’pleasure, muses’ theme! in Musicand Theatre: EssaysinHonour of Winton Dean, Galatea ed. NigelFortune (Cambridge,1987), pp.31-93 Through theplains still joytorove, Saywhatcomfort can youfind? Murm’ringstill thygentle love. Fordarkdespair o’er cloudsmymind. Chorus To kindred gods theyouthreturn, Through verdantplains to roll hisurn.

12 17 7. Recitative 10. Recitative 4. Air ,HWV 49a Acis Galatea Galatea libretto by Hishideous loveprovokesmyrage. Cease, oh cease, thou gentle youth, Hush, ye pretty warblingchoir! John Gay, and John Hughes Weak as Iam, Imustengage! Trustmyconstancy and truth, Your thrillingstrains Inspir’dwiththy victorious charms, Trustmytruthand pow’rsabove, DISC 1 Awake my pains, Thegod of lovewill lend hisarms. Thepow’rspropitious still to love! ACt one And kindlefierce desire. Ceaseyour song,and take your flight, 1. Sinfonia 8. Air 11. Trio Bringback my Acis to my sight! Acis Acis &Galatea Hush… da capo Chorus Love sounds th’alarm, Theflocks shallleave themountains, 2. Oh,the pleasureofthe plains! And fear is a-flying! Thewoods theturtle dove, 5. Air Happy nymphs and happyswains, When beauty’sthe prize, Thenymphs forsakethe fountains, Acis Harmless, merry, free and gay, What mortal fearsdying? EreIforsakemylove! Whereshall Iseek thecharmingfair? Danceand sport thehoursaway. In defenceofmytreasure, Direct theway,kind geniusofthe mountains! Polyphemus Forusthe zephyr blows, I’dbleed at each vein; Otellme, if yousaw my dear! Torture! fury!rage! despair! Forusdistills thedew, Without her no pleasure, Seeks she thegrove,orbathes in Icannot, cannot bear! Forusunfolds therose, Forlifeisapain. crystal fountains? And flow’rsdisplaytheir hue. Love sounds… da capo Acis &Galatea Where… da capo Forusthe winters rain, Notshow’rstolarks so pleasing, Forusthe summersshine, 6. Recitative Norsunshine to thebee, 9. Air Springswells forusthe grain, Damon Notsleep to toil so easing, Damon And autumn bleeds thewine. Stay,shepherd, stay! As thesedear smilestome. Consider,fond shepherd, Oh,the pleasure… da capo. See,how thyflocks in yonder valley stray! Howfleeting’sthe pleasure, Polyphemus What means this melancholy air? Thatflatters our hope Flyswift, thou massyruin, fly! 3. Accompagnato No morethy tuneful pipe we hear. In pursuit of thefair! Die, presumptuous Acis, die! Galatea Thejoysthatattend it, Ye verdantplains and woodymountains, 7. Air By moments we measure, Accompagnato Purlingstreams and bubblingfountains, Damon Butlifeistoo little 12. Acis Ye paintedglories of thefield, Shepherd, whatart thou pursuing? To measureour care. Help,Galatea! Help,yeparentgods! Vain arethe pleasures which ye yield; Heedless runningtothy ruin; Consider… da capo And take me dyingtoyour deep abode. Toothinthe shadow of thegrove, Shareour joy, our pleasureshare, Toofaintthe gales, to cool my love. Leave thypassion till tomorrow,

16 13 Let theday be free from sorrow, When he returns, 2. Accompagnato Polyphemus Free from love, and free from care! No moreshe mourns, Polyphemus Thee,Polyphemus, greatasJove, Shepherd… da capo Butloves thelive-longday. Irage —Imelt—Iburn! Calls to empireand to love, Billing, cooing, Thefeeblegod hasstabb’dmetothe heart. To hispalace in therock, 8. Recitative Panting, wooing, Thou trusty pine, To hisdairy, to hisflock, Acis Meltingmurmursfill thegrove, Prop of my godlikesteps, Ilay thee by! To thegrape of purple hue, Lo,heremylove, turn, Galatea, Meltingmurmurs, lastinglove. Bringmeahundred reeds of decent growth To theplumofglossyblue, hither turn thyeyes! As when… da capo To make apipefor my capacious mouth; Wildings, which expectingstand, See,atthy feet thelongingAcis lies. In soft enchantingaccentslet me breathe Proudtobegather’dbythy hand.

12. Duet Sweet Galatea’sbeauty,and my love. Galatea 9. Air Acis &Galatea Of infant limbs to make my food, Acis Happy we! 3. Air And swill fulldraughts of humanblood! Love in her eyes sits playing, What joys Ifeel! Polyphemus Go,monster, bid some other guest! And sheds delicious death; What charms Isee Oruddier than thecherry, Iloathethe host, Iloathethe feast. Love in her lips is straying, Of allyouths/nymphs thou dearestboy/ Osweeter than theberry, And warblinginher breath! brightest fair! Onymph morebright 5. Air Love on her breastsitspanting Thou allmybliss, thou allmyjoy! Thanmoonshine night, Polyphemus And swells with soft desire; Happy… da capo Likekidlings blithe and merry. Ceasetobeauty to be suing, No grace, no charm is wanting, Ripe as themeltingcluster, Ever whining lovedisdaining. To setthe heart on fire. No lilyhas such lustre; Let thebrave their aims pursuing, Love in her eyes… da capo DISC 2 Yethardtotame Still be conqu’ringnot complaining. ACt tWo As ragingflame, Cease… da capo 10. Recitative And fierce as storms that bluster! Galatea Chorus 1. Oruddier… da capo 6. Air Oh,didstthou knowthe pains of absent love, Wretched lovers! Fate haspast Coridon Acis wouldne’er from Galatearove. Thissad decree: no joyshall last. 4. Recitative Wouldyou gain thetender creature, Wretched lovers, quit your dream! Polyphemus Softly,gently,kindlytreat her: Whither,fairest, art thou running, 11. Air Behold themonsterPolypheme! Suff’ringisthe lover’spart. Galatea See whatample strides he takes! Still my warm embraces shunning? Beauty by constraintpossessing As when thedove Themountain nods, theforestshakes; Galatea Youenjoy but half theblessing, Laments her love, Thewaves run frighten’dtothe shores: Thelion calls not to hisprey, Lifeless charms without theheart. Allonthe nakedspray; Hark,how thethund’ringgiantroars! Norbids thewolfthe lambkin stay. Wouldyou… da capo

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