Handel: Neun deutsche Arien

Carolyn Sampson / The King's Consort

  • AllMusic Rating
    8
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Handel: Neun deutsche Arien Review

by James Manheim

Handel's "nine German arias" (he wrote other arias in German, but this is a discrete group) were written in the mid-1720s, long after the composer left his native Germany for Italy and then booming Great Britain. It is not known why he should have written music in German at that late date, and the pieces have a quietly contented tone that sets them somewhat apart from almost everything else in Handel's oeuvre. The texts are by Hamburg poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes, whose so-called Brockes-Passion had already been set by Handel a decade earlier. They are religious but not exactly sacred -- spiritual in a personal way, perhaps, with a good deal of nature imagery that is only lightly reflected in the music. Instead Handel sticks to the da capo aria pattern, forging a gentle language for the soprano soloist that evokes the outlines of the Italian operatic aria but tones the whole thing down to chamber dimensions. The voice of British soprano and Handel specialist Carolyn Sampson is ideal for this music, and the accompaniment of the small King's Consort (here consisting merely of violin and continuo) is both modest and sensitive to the small details of her singing. The nine arias are interspersed with a trio of sonatas for oboe and continuo -- a logical choice, and rendered in sharp performances by oboist Alexandra Bellamy. Her Baroque oboe is a tart-toned instrument indeed; however, after several minutes of Sampson's smooth, long tones, the oboe will definitely make you sit up and take notice. Texts are in German and English only, although the booklet essay also appears in French. In all this disc offers strong readings of some sparsely recorded corners of Handel's output.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 05:45 SpotifyAmazon
2 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 03:35 SpotifyAmazon
Oboe Sonata in F major, HWV 363a
3 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 01:40 SpotifyAmazon
4 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 01:54 SpotifyAmazon
5 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 02:13 SpotifyAmazon
6 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 00:49 SpotifyAmazon
7 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 01:23 SpotifyAmazon
8 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 06:35 SpotifyAmazon
9 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 05:42 SpotifyAmazon
Oboe Sonata in B flat major (Fitzwilliam), HWV 357
10 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 03:05 SpotifyAmazon
11 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 01:37 SpotifyAmazon
12 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 02:20 SpotifyAmazon
13 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 04:19 SpotifyAmazon
14 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 07:23 SpotifyAmazon
15 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 04:43 SpotifyAmazon
Oboe Sonata in C minor (Op.1/8), HWV 366
16 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 02:08 SpotifyAmazon
17 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 01:34 SpotifyAmazon
18 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 01:49 SpotifyAmazon
19 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 00:52 SpotifyAmazon
20 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 05:25 SpotifyAmazon
21 The King's Consort / Carolyn Sampson 05:29 SpotifyAmazon
blue highlight denotes track pick