NEW • NOUVEAUTE • NEUHEIT

08/08- (5)

Title: G.F. Händel (1685-1759) - A sacred Drama (1747)

Artists: James Gilchrist, tenor Konstantin Wolff, bass Myung-Hee Hyun, soprano Alex Potter, alt Georg Poplutz, tenor (Angelus)

Kölner Kammerchor Collegium Cartusianum Peter Neumann, cond.

2 CDs

Order No.: MDG 332 1532-2

UPC-Code:

Pounds Sterling Handel himself was at the baton when Joshua was immediately go over into nine measures of a high A’s premiered in Covent Garden Theatre in London on 9 radiant sunlight. March 1748. One day later the composer deposited the handsome sum of 250 pounds sterling at the Bank Gold of England. Exactly 260 years later Peter Neumann Peter Neumann has brought together an ensemble of and the Cologne Chamber Choir are presenting a vocalists that would be the apple of any artistic fascinating new recording of this Old Testament director’s eye: the tenor James Gilchrist in the title subject. It is sung in the English original version, role, the bass Konstantin Wolff, the soprano Myung- accompanied by international instrumental stars in the Hee Hyun, the countertenor Alex Potter, and the tenor field of historical performance practice, and produced Georg Poplutz. The Cologne Chamber Choir again with MDG’s trademark excellence. gives its all in this CD following the success of its live recording of Handel’s , , , and Glorious Revolution . “Handel at his best” (Die Zeit); “First rate“ On the surface of it, the libretto concerns the conquest (Fanfare); “On the highest level“ (FonoForum); of Canaan by the Israelites under Joshua, but what “Exemplary performance“ (Klassike Zaken). Handel is actually doing is paying tribute to the self- assertiveness of the relatively young British nation, G. Fr. Händel: first constituted with the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Saul HWV 53 Handel needed no more than a month to compose MDG 332 0801-2 (3 CDs) Joshua, with some clever recycling enabling him to work at this pace. He drew on earlier compositions, Susanna HWV 66 some by himself, some by others, for some of the MDG 332 0945-2 (3 CDs) numbers in his three-part oratorio. Theodora HWV 68 Solar Orbit MDG 332 1019-2 (3 CDs) The choruses set strong musical accents when the walls of Jericho fall to the sound of blaring trumpets. A Belshazzar HWV 61 MDG 332 1079-2 (3 CDs) fascinating detail occurs at the end of Act II when

Joshua commands the sun to stop so that he will have HWV 52 the proper lighting for the impending battle. The violin MDG 332 1276-2 (2 CDs) figures depicting the orbit of the sun

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