Apollo E Dafne/Clori Tirsi

Nicholas McGegan directs the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, a period-instrument orchestra, in a recording of two dramatic cantatas by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759).

"A delightful disc that I can recommend with not reservations." (Gramophone)

The works on this recording:

1. Clori, Tirsi e Fileno, cantata for 2 sopranos, alto & orchestra, HWV 96

With Lorraine Hunt Lieberson & Jill Feldman, sopranos, and Drew Minter, countertenor

2. Apollo e Dafne, cantata for soprano, bass & orchestra, HWV 122

With Judith Nelson, soprano and David Evan Thomas, bass

3. Oboe Concerto in G minor, HWV 287 (possibly spurious)

With Bruce Haynes, baroque oboe

I don't remember how I happened to come across this work. I will admit that I was first attracted by the low price for two discs and then noticed the all-star cast including Lorraine Hunt, Jill Feldman, Judith Nelson, Drew Minter and David Thomas, with an orchestra led by Nicholas McGegan. Too good to pass up.In a word it is superb music performed as anyone familiar with these performers would expect absolutely magnificently. Because the theme in both works is pastoral you do not get the vigorous music one usually finds in Handel's operas and oratorios. This music is simply beautiful.

George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759): Italian Cantatas “Clori, Tirsi e Fileno” and “Apollo e Dafne”. Oboe Concerto in G Minor. Performed by various soloists and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, directed from the harpsichord by Nicholas McGegan.

Apollo e Dafne and the Oboe Concerto were recorded in February, 1985, at Old St. Hilary’s, Tiburon, California.

Harmonia Mundi HMX 2907348.49. Apollo e Dafne and the Oboe Concerto were originally published as HMC 905157 in 1985 and were re-issued as HMA 1905157 in 1996. Clori, Tirsi e Fileno was originally released in 1992 as HMU 907045.

As far as I can tell, Handel’s dramatic cantata “Apollo e Dafne” (presumably written in 1709 during the composer’s stay at Rome) and his oboe concerto (usually dated 1703, when Handel was still working at the theatre in Hamburg) were the first of a long series of recordings to be made by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra for Harmonia Mundi. Together they reach a total time of 52’10” and would have fit nicely on an LP (the earlier issues divided the libretto up into “Side A” and “Side B”. Listening to them again after many years, there are two things which immediately call attention to themselves. One is the beautiful, silvery quality of the strings and woodwind played so enthusiastically by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, which included as soloists such illustrious names as Michael Sand, violin, Susan Napper, violoncello, Janet See, transverse flute, and Bruce Haynes, oboe. In particular, it is the sound of Bruce Haynes’s wooden period oboe which dominates the recording and delights the listener over and over again, although not to the detriment of the other instruments. Nicholas McGegan’s leadership is obvious in the comparatively fast tempi; the sound of the orchestra as a whole is not quite as refined as it came to be some years later.

The second thing that becomes fairly obvious is how much the quality of the vocals falls behind what would be possible today (20 years on). Apollo is sung by David Thomas, an early music stalwart whose bass has a large range, but whose timbre is problematical, to say the least. He tends to sing the faster, more exciting passages with stentorian strength, his voice often sounding a little hoarse, while the tender aria “Cara pianta, co’ miei pianti” at the end of the cantata just sounds as though he had decided to turn down the volume somewhat. David Thomas made some beautiful recordings for Decca and Hyperion (often partnering the divine Emma Kirkby), but here his gruff vocals make one yearn for some of today’s singers (such as Laurent Naouri). Dafne is sung by Judith Nelson, who is probably best-known for her rendition of the Soprano I arias in Christopher Hogwood’s 1977 recording of Handel’s “Messiah”. By 1985, her voice was quite obviously the worse for wear, and there is some strain audible on the high notes.

I have not yet heard the Clori, Tirsi e Fileno disc, so I will refrain from comment, but I might add that it was originally awarded “Disc of the Month” status by a leading German-language early music magazine (“Alte Musik aktuell”, July, 1992).