Handel was in Rome in 1707, and there
the 22 year old Saxon wrote Dixit Dominus, a setting of Psalm
109 for five-part chorus, five soloists and strings. It is an
astonishingly virtuoso work, as the young Handel exalts in his
incredible powers. I listened to it in a 1977 recording by the young
John Eliot-Gardiner, then went on to the same work led by
Emmanuelle Haïm (2006) and finally Marc Minkowski
(1998), the latter two being mainly French participants. The two
French-based teams come in at a whisker over 30 minutes. The
Englishman comes in at 35 minutes. Eliot-Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir
sounds a bit cumbersome, as recorded here, and his soloists are
nothing outstanding, featuring no less than two counter-tenors, one
of whom sounds suspiciously like a boy soprano. Nothing against boy
sopranos, just so long as I do not need to hear them sing.
Haïm is the most flamboyant and
Italianate of the three (quite rightly so, in my view, given the
work's provenance). Her choir and soloists are excellent and her team
includes the superb Natalie Dessay and Philippe Jaroussky. Haïm and
Handel always seem to get on well together, and with me. If I have a
criticism, it is that Haïm appears to concentrate her energies on
the soloists and choir, and leaves the orchestra to its own devices,
which is a great pity since Handel's writing for the string orchestra
is imaginative and attractive.
Marc Minkowski strikes the right
balance between orchestra, soloists and choir, and his is probably
the recording I am most likely to take to a desert island with me.
His soloists are not quite equal to Haïm's team, but the two
sopranos, Annick Massis and Magdalena Kozena are good, and the alto,
Sara Fugoni, is a welcome relief from Eliot-Gardiner's
counter-tenors. Three Dixit Dominus listenings within 18 hours
has been surprisingly invigorating and enjoyable. There is nothing
the equal of Handel's music for late-night listening.
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