Announcement

**Rod** · 08-16-2005, 11:42 PM

Originally posted by untamed_personality:
Attention Handelians (especially Rod)! I have a chance to buy Handel's Theodora (3 discs) for a tenner. It's the McCreesh recording, with the Gabrieli Consort and Players. Rod has said in the past that this is GFH's masterpiece, and I'm eager to check it out.

Btw, I've never been able to 'get' Handel, if you know what I mean, but I was listening to an old 'Messiah' highlights disc the other day and was taken aback by its brilliance. I have McCreesh's 'Messiah', and I enjoyed it. Is his Theodora worth a punt at that price? Or any price? Money's a bit tight at the mo', you see.

Is this the set to go for?

My eyes almost popped out when I saw this post.

McCreesh's effort has been well received and is worth a tenner for sure but is not perfect. By far the best choice is the staged DVD prduction by Christie and the OAE at Glyndebourne. This is a miracle, and less than £20.

The best Messiah is Pinnock's on Archiv label. This is fantastic

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

**untamed_personality** · 08-16-2005, 11:57 PM

Originally posted by Rod:
My eyes almost popped out when I saw this post.

McCreesh's effort has been well received and is worth a tenner for sure but is not perfect. By far the best choice is the staged DVD prduction by Christie and the OAE at Glyndebourne. This is a miracle, and less than £20.

The best Messiah is Pinnock's on Archiv label. This is fantastic

Thanks, Rod! I'll send off for my Theodora right away!

I'll also check out your other recommendations. I get the feeling another voyage of discovery awaits me...

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Seizing fate by the throat...

**Rod** · 08-17-2005, 06:17 PM

Originally posted by untamed_personality:
Thanks, Rod! I'll send off for my Theodora right away!

I'll also check out your other recommendations. I get the feeling another voyage of discovery awaits me...

Your wallet might suffer, Handel can be very addictive. At one time I never even considered buying a Messiah recording because the art of playing Handel had been forgotten, but now my collection of his music is huge.

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[This message has been edited by Rod (edited 08-17-2005).]

**Chaszz** · 08-17-2005, 07:18 PM

Originally posted by Rod:
Your wallet might suffer, Handel can be very addictive. At one time I never even considered buying a Messiah recording because the art of playing Handel had been forgotten, but now my collection of his music is huge.

Well, everytime you turn around now in New York, they are playing his operas on the radio classical station or the TV cable classical channel. I must admit for operas consisting of little more than recitifs and solo arias, with an occasional chorus, they are very good. Some of those arias pierce the heart. I heard a chorus the other day of superlative counterpoint writing. Don't ask me the titles or the performers, don't know. But not bad for a Baroque composer whose first initals are not J.S.

[This message has been edited by Chaszz (edited 08-17-2005).]

**Rod** · 08-17-2005, 07:40 PM

Originally posted by Chaszz:
Well, everytime you turn around now in New York, they are playing his operas on the radio classical station or the TV cable classical channel. I must admit for operas consisting of little more than recitifs and solo arias, with an occasional chorus, they are very good. Some of those arias pierce the heart. I heard a chorus the other day of superlative counterpoint writing. Don't ask me the titles or the performers, don't know. But not bad for a Baroque composer whose first initals are not J.S.

The operas are simply constructed as you describe, but they work because Handel knew how to progress the music as well as the action from a dramatic sence. This he could do very effectively often by the simplest of means, something that impressed Beethoven a great deal. And through the beauty and energy of the music one experiences a strong sympathy for the characters, even the bad guys. I've seen Mozart operas and never felt this connection with the cast so strongly.

I was initialy weary of Handel's opera music as I am not a fan of opera in particular (Fidelio excluded!), but now I must have recordings of at least 25 of them.

Regarding Bach, imagine listening to 4 hours of opera in the strict German style!? Hard work for all concerned!

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[This message has been edited by Rod (edited 08-17-2005).]

**Steppenwolf** · 08-18-2005, 12:30 AM

Originally posted by Chaszz:
I heard a chorus the other day of superlative counterpoint writing. Don't ask me the titles or the performers, don't know. But not bad for a Baroque composer whose first initals are not J.S.

Recently I have been listening to a chorus from the oratorio Belshezzar, a chorus of Babylonians in Act 1 - it weaves a wondrous web of counterpoint, find it and listen if you can.

Untamedpersonality, where did you find Theodora for £10? I would buy a recording for that price, if I could.

**Chaszz** · 08-18-2005, 06:41 AM

Originally posted by Rod:

...Regarding Bach, imagine listening to 4 hours of opera in the strict German style!? Hard work for all concerned!

I have often listened to Bach's B Minor Mass and his Oratorios, lasting between 3 and 4 hours each, and ended refreshed and wanting more. Not hard work at all but a delight for the soul! Not to mention a tremendous depth of profundity.

**Rod** · 08-18-2005, 05:42 PM

Originally posted by Chaszz:
I have often listened to Bach's B Minor Mass and his Oratorios, lasting between 3 and 4 hours each, and ended refreshed and wanting more. Not hard work at all but a delight for the soul! Not to mention a tremendous depth of profundity.

He would have had to do something different for the opera house. All of Handel's most solemn oratorios (like Theodora) were failures at the box-office.

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

**untamed_personality** · 08-18-2005, 08:24 PM

Originally posted by Steppenwolf:
Recently I have been listening to a chorus from the oratorio Belshezzar, a chorus of Babylonians in Act 1 - it weaves a wondrous web of counterpoint, find it and listen if you can.

Untamedpersonality, where did you find Theodora for £10? I would buy a recording for that price, if I could.

Steppenwolf (get your motor running!), I'm a member of Britannia, which is a music club in the UK (I'm sorry, I don't know your location). You can get all sorts of bargains, especially in clearance sales such as this. Unfortunately, I live in a part of the country where CM simply doesn't exist - apart from a small corner of my local WH Smith's that only stocks 'the usual suspects', i.e. Church, Watson, Mae, Bond, etc. Clubs like this are a Godsend for people like me.

Anyway, my order form is in the post and my Theodora should be with me shortly...

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Seizing fate by the throat...

**Chaszz** · 08-18-2005, 09:24 PM

Originally posted by Rod:
My eyes almost popped out when I saw this post.

McCreesh's effort has been well received and is worth a tenner for sure but is not perfect. By far the best choice is the staged DVD prduction by Christie and the OAE at Glyndebourne. This is a miracle, and less than £20.

The best Messiah is Pinnock's on Archiv label. This is fantastic

I have a 'Theodora' on CD by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants which I borrowed from the library. Sounds very good to me. How do you rate this version?

**Rod** · 08-18-2005, 10:32 PM

Originally posted by Chaszz:

I have a 'Theodora' on CD by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants which I borrowed from the library. Sounds very good to me. How do you rate this version?

I have heard it and it is pretty good, but there is more emotive gravity in Christie's DVD performance with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, which is significantly cheaper and had good sound quality too. Apparently this is regarded by some as Glyndebourne's finest hour, not that they'd let riff raff like me into the auditorium.

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[This message has been edited by Rod (edited 08-18-2005).]

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Handel's Theodora

Handel's Theodora

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