Harmonia Mundi
Händel & Telemann - With "Akademie für Alte Musik"
George Frideric Handel and Hamburg town councillor and poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes were students at the same time in Halle, and it's probable that they knew each other and were perhaps even friends. Brockes wrote a nine-volume anthology, from the first volume of which Handel, between 1724 and 1727, set his Nine German Arias. In translation, the Brockes work is titled "Earthly Delight in God, Consisting of Physical and Moral Poems," the texts reflecting pleasure in the glory of God's natural creation. Handel had been writing opera in England since 1710; the reason behind the composition of these arias, his last works in German, and which were unpublished in his lifetime, remains unknown. Nevertheless, this is ravishingly beautiful music, impeccably crafted and here performed with exquisitely balanced and open textures by the award-winning Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Dorothea Röschmann is a wonderfully warm soprano, ideally suited to the generous spirit of this repertoire. She has previously recorded Handel's Messiah, Bach's Christmas Oratorio, and Telemann's Orpheus; Telemann's E minor and G major quartets from his 1733 collection of "Table Music" make delightful instrumental interludes in this vibrant, eloquent, and utterly captivating program. --Gary S. Dalkin, Amazon
1. Künft' ger Zeiten eitler Kummer (German Aria No.1), hymn for soprano & continuo, HWV 202
2. Die ihr aus dunkeln Grüften (German Aria No.7), hymn for soprano & continuo, HWV 208
3. Das zitternde Glänzen (German Aria No.2), hymn, for soprano & continuo, HWV 203
4. Süsse Stille, sanfte Quelle (German Aria No.4), hymn for soprano & continuo, HWV 205
5. Singe, Seele, Gott zum Preise (German Aria No.5), hymn, for soprano & continuo, HWV 206
6. Quartet for flute, violin, cello & continuo in E minor (Tafelmusik III/2), TWV 43:e2: Adagio
7. Quartet for flute, violin, cello & continuo in E minor (Tafelmusik III/2), TWV 43:e2: Allegro
8. Quartet for flute, violin, cello & continuo in E minor (Tafelmusik III/2), TWV 43:e2: Dolce
9. Quartet for flute, violin, cello & continuo in E minor (Tafelmusik III/2), TWV 43:e2: Allegro
10. Flammende Rose, zierde der Erden (German Aria No.9), hymn for soprano & continuo, HWV 210
11. In den angenehmen Büschen (German Aria No.8), hymn for soprano & continuo, HWV 209
12. Meine Seele hört im Sehen (German Aria No.6), hymn for soprano & continuo, HWV 207
13. Süsser Blumen Ambraflocken (German Aria No.3), hymn for soprano & continuo, HWV 204
14. Quartet for flute, oboe, violin & continuo in G major (Tafelmusik I/2), TWV 43:G2: Largo - Allegro - Largo
15. Quartet for flute, oboe, violin & continuo in G major (Tafelmusik I/2), TWV 43:G2: Vivace - Moderato - Vivace
16. Quartet for flute, oboe, violin & continuo in G major (Tafelmusik I/2), TWV 43:G2: Grave
17. Quartet for flute, oboe, violin & continuo in G major (Tafelmusik I/2), TWV 43:G2: Vivace
Listen to the tracks at Amazon
