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In this pioneering recording Dunedin Consort presents a brand new performing version of one of Handel’s greatest dramatic works, Samson. For the first time listeners can enjoy an authentic Handelian chorus, comprising both solo sopranos and boy trebles – a sonority largely unheard in the modern age. The singers available to Handel for the work’s first set of performances in 1743 varied considerably, leading many researchers to speculate upon the composer’s own preferences. But new thinking by director John Butt has led to the evolution of this recording and to what he considers to be the definitive performance in line with Handel’s intentions. This powerful oratorio – an opera in all but name – features soloists Sophie Bevan, Matthew Brook, Mary Bevan, Hugo Hymas and Jess Dandy, with Joshua Ellicott in the title role. Matching the revelatory historical practice begun in its award-winning recording of Messiah (Dublin Version, 1742), the soloists lead their sections to unite the solo and choral forces, creating a highly effective and cohesive sound. With rich orchestration and highlights such as ‘Let the bright seraphim’ and ‘Total eclipse’, Samson is Dunedin Consort’s most ambitious undertaking to date. Reviews BBC Music Magazine “Butt has created the best Samson ever…These choral forces make for a vibrancy unique among Samson recordings…Butt’s deep grasp of both Handel’s rhetoric and of large-scale structure turns the work’s patchwork quality into a virtue, bringing intimacy to each character’s reflections and urgency to crowd reactions. – 5 out of 5 stars Financial Times 15th November 2019 “As one would expect of conductor and academic John Butt, the recording breaks new ground. Butt gives us Handel’s first performed, and slightly longer, version of the work from 1743. He also has new ideas to present on the choruses…More importantly, the performance is unfailingly wide-ranging in its response to this epic oratorio. – 4 out of 5 stars Gramophone Magazine December 2019 “This new Samson now becomes the top recommendation: for its uniformly excellent soloists, its excitingly ‘present’ choral singing and, above all, its more urgent sense of theatre…Sophie and Mary Bevan, both natural Handelian stylists, are well-nigh ideal… Jess Dandy, a true contralto, is the oratorio’s voice of balm, singing the sublime prayer ‘Return, O God of hosts’ with warm, even tone and broad phrasing. The Observer 17th November 2019 “Butt directs with vigour: Joshua Ellicott could hardly be a more different Samson from the stentorian Jon Vickers of yesteryear, light and eloquent; Sophie Bevan is a sensual Delilah, while Dunedin regulars excel. The Arts Desk 16th November 2019 “Brisk speeds and agile accompaniments make this performance fly by. Joshua Ellicott’s Samson is an appealingly sympathetic character, delivering an eloquent “Total eclipse” in Act 1, Sophie Bevan’s Dalila equally charismatic. There’s fun alongside the drama too: sample the chorus of warring Israelites and Philistines which closes Act 2. Handsomely produced, with outstanding notes and glowing sound, this is a treat. Herald Scotland 26th October 2019 “With the Consort’s best instrumentalists in place and Linn’s Philip Hobbs producing, this is an immaculate, and hugely important, recording. More prizes assuredly await. |
