Recordings
“Budding singers, composers, conductors and producers everywhere take note: this is how it’s done.” Classic FM Magazine
Handel Saul
Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor), Neal Davies (baritone),
Susan Gritton (soprano), Nancy Argenta (soprano), Mark Padmore (tenor)
Gabrieli Consort & Players
Paul McCreesh (conductor)
Saul is one of Handel’s most dramatic and touching oratorios. Saul’s insane jealousy and its tragic results are movingly told, with rich characterisations for the main characters and some of the composer’s most colourful music. The addition of a carillon is exotic and flavourful; the trumpets and drums are exciting.
Excerpt: “Gird on thy sword”
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“McCreesh conjures a performance of an unusual power and glory… Handel keeps this a very human drama, brilliantly embodied by McCreesh’s Gabrieli Consort Players and another creamy cast… the result is one of the most satisfying Handel oratorio performances for some time.”Times
“…the performance of Saul under Paul McCreesh is arguably the finest available…. Andreas Scholl, Neal Davies, Mark Padmore and Susan Gritton all in magnificent voice, and Paul McCreesh giving the score the mixture of spacious grandeur and sharp-edged drama it really demands.”Guardian
“The benchmark recording has long been John Eliot Gardiner’s on Philips. But this new version matches it in dramatic impact and arguably fields an even finer team of soloists. With his firm, darkly focused tone and incisive diction, Neal Davies powerfully conveys Saul’s jealousy and anger in the first two acts and his tragic self-knowledge in the Witch of Endor scene… A magnificent set, to rank alongside McCreesh’s Theodora and Solomon.”Daily Telegraph
DG Archiv
0289 474 5102 0 3 CDs
February 2004