Chen Reiss / Academy of Ancient Music / Richard Egarr IMMORTAL BELOVED

                                                           IMMORTAL BELOVED

Steven Isserlis / Richard Egarr BACH – HANDEL – SCARLATTI Gamba Sonatas

None of these pieces was written for cello and harpsichord, and at no stage does that matter one bit. Bach’s sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord may not have been conceived for that combination but they are such sublime creations that the identity of the instruments is perhaps the last thing that should worry us. Rather, it is the performers’ musicianship that counts, and in this case that is of high quality indeed. 

Steven Isserlis makes no attempt to make his cello imitate the wispy resonance of the gamba, instead claiming the music for his instrument with vigorously articulated lines, robust technical athleticism and ravishing cantabile. Indeed, it is this wondrous singing quality—which never loses its bearing and employs vibrato only as one of its discreet expressive elements—that stands out in these performances, its presence felt above all in the slow movements, of course, but also constantly governing the sense of line in busier ones. Also telling is the profound awareness of architecture and the inter-relationship of movements, for instance in the gathering joy with which the finale of BWV1027 picks us off the floor following the sudden shaft of desolation that has ended the preceding Andante (astutely likened by Isserlis to ‘Es ist vollbracht’ from the St John Passion). In short, these are full-blooded but sensitive readings which, far from being contrary to Bach’s spirit, seem rather to magnify it. 

Isserlis is excellently partnered at every turn by Richard Egarr’s bustling harpsichord-playing, though I would have liked a greater presence for it in the balance to give more definition to the unsupported bass-line. In the two non-Bach items—sonatas probably originally conceived for violin and continuo by Handel and Scarlatti (the latter working up a fiery head)—the balance works better, with Egarr typically inventive and Robin Michael’s lightly drawn doubling of the bass adding just enough weight without drawing attention to itself. Otherwise, they show the same quality in performance as the Bach—namely first-class. (Gramophone)

Emma Bell HANDEL Operatic Arias

 Emma Bell gets better and better. This sparkling recording confirms her reputation as one of the most exciting of the younger generation of Handelians. Berenice’s arioso ‘Tutta raccolta ancor’ is warmed into life with honeyed tones, and there’s heart stopping decoration as Cleopatra in the central section of ‘Piangerò la sorte mia’ from Giulio Cesare. It’s the suppleness of the voice that excites, with trills that really trill and scales that effortlessly climb the heights above the stave. So who cares if now and again Bell snatches at her topmost notes?
It’s Bell’s instinct for the drama of a Handel Aria that keeps you listening. Technique is always subordinated to psychology as she turns queens, princesses and sorceresses into flesh and blood women: Melissa spitting fury in ‘Destero dall empia Dite’ from Amadigi or Rodelinda shrouded in deepest sorrow in ‘Se’l mio duol non è sì forte’.
Richard Egarr directs a Scottish Chamber Orchestra on its very best behaviour with fine string playing throughout and a magnificently angry trumpet obbligato in the aria from Amadigi. Soloist and ensemble seem to egg each other on to ever-greater brilliance, which surely is just as it should be in the Baroque. (Christopher Cook, BBC Music Magazine)