WOW! WOE! and WHOOPS!

WOW beause the Monteverdi Choir opens this work 'Dixit Dominus' with much excitement and fervor and speed! In fact the 6 choruses in this performance are performed with all the attributes of Handel's music that a very scholarly John Eliot Gardiner can ascertain. My hand wanted so much to give this disc 5 stars BUT

WOE crept in with the entrance of the first solo performed by Charles Brett; his voice was 'edgy' very non-legato; close to being somewhat breathy; in short: he either had a bad day or it was not his 'bag' so to speak. I have him on some other recordings and he sounds better on those than on here. The tenor voice of Richard Morton was OK, but he is no Mark Padmore. The bass voice of David Wilson-Johnson was very resonant until he went lower in his register, at which time the word endings did not come forth. The soprano Felicity Palmer was quite good and performed her solo well.

AS for the WHOOPS! The tempos are somewhat questionable in two of the selections: 'De torrente in via bibet'(soprano duet) dragged on to the point of boredom, which is so unlike Gardiner, one has to wonder who was at fault???? In the choral selection : 'Tu es sacerdos in aeternam' the tempo was so fast that many of the words were lost, but I didn't mind because I knew the words and the sound was fabulous.

Did I enjoy this recording? You bet I did, and I'll listen to it and pass up most of the solo tracks and enjoy the overall aggressive excitement of the performance as only Gardiner can produce. We all have to be careful that we don't analyze a recording so much, that we lose the joy contained therein.

However, I own another rendition of this work that fulfills my expectations somewhat better than this one: 10 years later (1986) Stephan Cleobury produced a disc with the King's College Choir and a truly superb line-up of soloists: sopranos: Isobel Buchanan, Anne Mackay- countertenor:Michael Chance- tenor: Wm. Kendall and bass: Henry Herford. A wonderful listening treat, although a totally traditional approach
with an element of the romantic as opposed to the aggressive! Depending upon my mood at the time, I'll make my choice, but they both have a place in my library.

As for 'Zadok the priest' I think maybe the enjoyment of this work depends upon whether you prefer hearing female sopranos or boy sopranos. I lean to the boy's voices, but have no objection to the females because Gardiner has chosen such good ones, and they seem to emulate the required 'lightness' and crystal-clear sound of the boys.

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.9 (35 ratings)
Price	$21.16
Category	Anthems

Dixit Dominus

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