In Luxembourg, Handel program for William Christie and Les Arts Florissants
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Luxembourg. Grand Auditorium of the Philharmonie. 13-XII-2021. Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759): L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato HWV 55, pastoral ode in three parts on a libretto by Charles Jennens after John Milton. Soloist of Sankt Florianer Sängerknaben, boy soprano; Rachel Redmond, soprano; James Way, tenor; Sreten Manojlović, bass. Les Arts Florissants, directed by William Christie
Full version for the triptych elaborated by Handel around the poems of John Milton. An interpretation interpreted by grace, lightness and youth.
Contrary to the proposal made in Beaune last summer, Handel’s ode is given this evening in its entirety. It also includes the section ” It is moderate “, Sometimes omitted by certain conductors who consider that this textual addition constitutes a betrayal of the two poems” L’Allegro “and” Il Penseroso “, initially conceived as a diptych by John Milton, the author of Lost paradise. However, it was at Handel’s express request that the librettist Charles Jennens, also the compiler of the text of the Messiah, had written this synthesis of the two opposing temperaments which dialogue throughout the first two parts of the ode. Rarely has the naturalized English composer been so inspired by a text whose multiple contrasts he has managed to musically transcribe. Drawing a particularly successful portrait of life in England in town and country alike, contrasting the jovial and extroverted character of the Allegro with the introverted and melancholy temperament of the Penseroso, Handel at no time leads his listener to prefer one or the other. the other of the temperaments thus portrayed in his music. If the first part would rather seem to highlight the joyful and playful character of the cheerful character, the second highlights the gentle melancholy of the thoughtful, before advocating the one who, moderate and reasonable, was able to choose the golden mean presented as the only viable alternative.
One of Handel’s great merits was not to associate a role with a voice, and all the singers gathered on the stage embody in turn both temperaments. In the evening, the tenor and the boy soprano, the soprano and the bass being more in demand for the texts attributed to the Penseroso. Regarding the performance of Beaune, two of the singers are new to the cast, while two others are renewing their performance this summer. Among the latter, we will remember the noble and aristocratic song of Serbian bass Sreten Manojlović, who we hope to hear soon in other roles. If the singer lacks power in the air with horn ” Mirth, admit me to their crew “, He particularly excels in the colors and phrases of the” Come on, with native sparkle From Moderato. Rachel Redmond boasts a rich, fruity and deliciously vibrated soprano, remarkable as much in the legato of his lines than in the ease and virtuosity of his vocalizations. In ” Sweet bird », She enchants the public with her dialogue with the flautist Serge Saitta.
Among newcomers, the tenor James Way possesses a powerful and well-placed organ, and above all an extremely clear and precise diction which never loses a word of the text. Stylistically, however, the singer seems to belong to a different universe than that of the English eighteenth century, and we regret that we had to wait for the sublime duo ” As the morning flies over the night »To finally hear some singing legato. As you might expect, the young soloist from Sankt Florianer Sängerknaben blew everyone away. By his banter and his confidence, the little blond boy of barely ten years old, the only one to sing without a score and in a language that a priori is not his, will have been able to forget a number of approximations in terms of correctness and rhythmic accuracy. In a workforce larger than in Beaune, the twenty choristers of the Arts Florissants delivered a superb reading of one of Handel’s finest works. The orchestra, under the attentive baton of William Christie, and inquiring through the basso continuo of David Simpson, Jonathan Cable, Béatrice Martin and Thomas Dunford, gave an interpretation of which Les Arts Florissants, in their good nights, have the secret . The public reserved a triumph for this exciting concert.
Photo credit: Les Arts Florissants, William Christie and Rachel Redmund © Philharmonie / Sébastien Grébille
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Luxembourg. Grand Auditorium of the Philharmonie. 13-XII-2021. Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759): L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato HWV 55, pastoral ode in three parts on a libretto by Charles Jennens after John Milton. Soloist of Sankt Florianer Sängerknaben, boy soprano; Rachel Redmond, soprano; James Way, tenor; Sreten Manojlović, bass. Les Arts Florissants, directed by William Christie
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