HANDEL : Complete Chamber Music (L’Ecole d’Orphee) 6CD's BOX-SET (1991) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Although best known for his operas and oratorios along with a couple of occasional orchestral works called Water Music and Fireworks Music, Handel did from time to time turn his compositional attention to the chamber music forms of the late Baroque. This six-disc set on Brilliant released in 2006 collects all Handel's works in the genre in a single, inexpensive package featuring superb performances in 1991 by the English period instrument group L'Ecole d'Orphée. In the flute sonatas, soloist Stephen Preston plays with the kind of warm tone and lyrical phrasing that make Handel's music sound fresh and alive. In the recorder sonatas, Philip Pickett plays with the kind of deep feeling and honest sensitivity that make Handel's music sound even better than it is. And in the violin sonatas and trio sonatas, John Holloway plays with the kind of irresistible energy and unabashed virtuosity that make Handel's music seem fully the equal of their best contemporary competition. With the elegant Micaela Comberti on second violin, the dulcet David Reichenberg on oboe, and the subtle Susan Sheppard on cello as well as either the equally talented John Toll, Robert Woolley, or Lucy Carolan on harpsichord, L'Ecole d'Orphée makes the case for the excellence of Handel's chamber music -- a case only the hard-hearted or hard-headed could dispute. Brilliant's un-remastered digital sound is crisp and clean, but a tad too distant. James Leonard   Tracklist & Credits :

JACQUES LOUSSIER TRIO — Baroque Favorites (2001) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Jacques Loussier has spent most of his career blending jazz and classical styles into a lightly swinging and highly melodic hybrid. He is most well-known for tackling Bach, but here he covers a range of Baroque composers. Loussier, bassist Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac, and drummer Andre Arpino play pieces by Handel, Pachabel, Scarlatti, Marcello, Albinoni, and Marias. Loussier has a very light touch and the trio is laid-back, never distracting from the melodies. You can hear the influence of Dave Brubeck in Loussier's playing (especially on Marais' "La Sonnerie de Sainte-Geneviève du Mont"), and much like Brubeck's best work, there is a strong sense of warmth and intelligence on Baroque Favorites. The only complaint one might have is that the brevity of some of the songs breaks up the flow of the record. Nevertheless, Baroque Favorites is a very nice album. Tim Sendra
Tracklist :
Suite for keyboard (Suite de piece), Vol.2, No.4 in D minor, HWV 437 2:16
1 Theme and Variation No. 1
George Frederick Handel
2 Variation No. 2 1:36
George Frederick Handel
3 Variation No. 3 1:33
George Frederick Handel
4 Variation No. 4 0:42
George Frederick Handel
5 La Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont à Paris, for violin, viola da gamba & continuo in D minor 5:37
Marin Marais
6 Sonata for keyboard in B minor, K. 87 (L. 33) 4:55
Domenico Scarlatti
7 Sonata for keyboard in F sharp minor, K. 67 (L. 32) 1:30
Domenico Scarlatti
8 Largo in F major, instrumental arrangement ("Ombra mai fu" from the opera Serse) 3:21
George Frederick Handel
9 Canon in D major, instrumental arrangement 3:39
Johann Pachelbel
Concerto for oboe, strings & continuo in D minor, SF. 935 (often transposed to C minor)
10 Andante e spiccato 2:32
Alessandro Marcello
11 Adagio 2:23
Alessandro Marcello
12 Presto 3:09
Alessandro Marcello
13 Adagio 4:33
Tomaso Albinoni
Work(s)
14 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 4:08
George Frederick Handel
15 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 5:15
George Frederick Handel
16 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 2:39
George Frederick Handel
17 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 4:25
George Frederick Handel
18 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 3:48
George Frederick Handel
Credits :
Piano, Arranged By – Jacques Loussier
Bass – Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac
Cover [Image: "Angel with inscription INRI from the Cross" (1669)] – Bernini
Drums – Andre Arpino

HANDEL : The Complete Chamber Music (The Academy Chamber Ensemble) 9CD BOX-SET (2002) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

All Tracks & Credits

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL : Chandos Anthems Complete (1994) 4xCD / Mp3

All tracks & credits

KATHLEEN FERRIER - EDITION BOX SET (2004) 10CD / DECCA / Mp3

Although her career was tragically short, Kathleen Ferrier was among the most famous English singers of the twentieth century. Her contralto voice -- a rarity in itself -- was characterized by a firm, warm tone that found its expressive niche in the great works of oratorio and art song, as well as in her two operatic roles (only two!): Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Born in Lancashire on April 22, 1912, Ferrier studied the piano with great success as a child and intended a concert career; her concurrent vocal studies were considered more recreational in nature. In her mid-20s, however, after taking two first prizes at the 1937 Carlisle Festival -- one for piano and one for singing -- she made the decision to pursue singing as her vocation. She studied with J.E. Hutchinson in Newcastle upon Tyne, then with Roy Henderson in London.

During the years of WWII Ferrier toured widely in England, gaining a reputation as an especially fine concert artist. She joined the Bach Choir in London, and was alto soloist for a 1943 performance of Handel's Messiah at Westminster Abbey. Benjamin Britten first put her on the operatic stage at Glyndebourne on July 12, 1946, in the premiere of his chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia. She then toured with the work throughout England and appeared on an historic recording of major extracts from the work conducted by the composer. Britten would later compose the alto part in his Canticle No. 2 for her.

She appeared in the United States for the first time in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the New York Philharmonic and Bruno Walter; her subsequent recording of the work -- also under Walter's direction -- remains a classic. Walter also appeared as her accompanist in lieder recitals in Edinburgh and London. Another of Ferrier's notable successes was the part of the Angel in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius.

In February 1953, Covent Garden staged Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice specifically for Ferrier, who was deemed ideal for the part of Orpheus. However, she was able to appear in only two of the scheduled four performances because of weakness caused by her already advanced cancer. These were her last appearances; she died in London on October 8, 1953. Before she died she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.  by Rovi Staff

Tracklist

CD01 Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice

CD02 Bach St Matthew Passion

CD03 Kathleen Ferrier

CD04 Schumann-Brahms-Schubert

CD05 Chausson-Brahms-Ferguson-Wordsworth-Rubbra-Kathleen Ferrier

CD06 Purcell-Handel-Bach-Wolf-Stanford-Warlock

CD07 Historical Recordings 1947-1952

CD08 Blow the Wind Southerly - Traditional Songs

CD09 Bruno Walter - The Legendary Edinburgh Festival

CD10 Mahler-Brahms

KATHLEEN FERRIER - EDITION BOX SET

 [2004] 10CD / DECCA / CBR320 / scans

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