One of my best memories
was a few years ago visiting Halle in Saxony and wandering round the
“Händel-Haus” where Georg Fridiric Händel was born and
lived until he was an advanced teenager. I was in the church in the
Marktplatz where Handel learned to play the organ (and I attended a
midday recital on that same organ). What a man! At 21 years old,
already an established composer and musician, he was to be found in
Italy, where he stayed for a few years absorbing everything that
mattered musically of that period. On a new CD, the wonderful Julia
Lezhneva sings music Handel composed during that Italian period
when he was in his early 20s. Lezhneva is 25, so it's a meeting of
two young musicians of top quality. I love her new Handel disc! The
music is exuberant and challenging to perform (the many violin solos
were probably written for Arcangelo Corelli, whom Handel met many
times). Lezhneva surmounts 99% of the obstacles (no living mortal
could score 100% in this show-off music of youth without a Walter
Legge demanding 120 re-takes). Her long notes in Per dar pregio
all'amor mio are something to be heard; she must have the lungs
of a whale. For an hour or so, one has the impression of two young
people – composer and singer – revelling in their youthful powers
to impress and astound.
Not to forget a mention
for Il Giardino Armonico,
led by Giovanni Antonini. As a frequent sour critic of many “period”
instrument bands, I can at least admire the better ones. A day or so
before I had listened to the admirable Lucy Crowe in much of
the same Handel in Italy music. Alas, her accompanying band, The
English Consort, sounds very much full of Inglesi when
compared with Antonini's enthusiastic Italiani. For the
“Corelli” violin accompaniment on this disc, we have Dmitry
Sinkovsky. A rare treat. Straight into my “keep to hand”
rack. I could happily ascend to Heaven (or somewhere lower, in all
probability) listening to Julia Lezhneva singing the music of
Handel's Italian period.
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