DISCO\' ERIES DISCS OF THE MONTH Handel: Gloria Emma Kirkb:r,, soprano _ Royal Academy of Music Baroque . Orchestra Laurence Cummings, organ and conductor with Handel: Dixit Dominus Hillevi Martinpelto, soprano, Anne Sofie von Otter, alto Stockholm Bach Choir Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble Anders Ohrwall, conductor BIS CD-1235 Handel: Gloria, Dixit Dominus; Vivaldi: Gloria RV 589 Gillian Keith, soprano; The Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Philips 462 597-2 Handel: Gloria; works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi Suzie LeBlanc, soprano Academie Baroque de Montreal Alexander Weimann, harpsichord and director ATMA ACD2 2215 The Gloria for solo soprano, strings and continua featured on these three discs was rediscovered in .the library of the Royal Academy of Music in London two years ago, bound up in a collection of Handel opera arias. After much research, controversy, and media hype, it has been "definitely" (according to the editor of the score published by Barenreiter) attributed to Handel. It certainly sounds like Handel, with gorgeous melodies, dazzling passagework, rich textures and thrilling contrasts in mood. Less typically, for Handel, it is concise, the six movements lasting just under sixteen minutes. It is a splendid showpiece, demanding refined dramatic powers, as well as fluent coloratura technique. All three recordings are wonderful. Pre-eminent British soprano Emma Kirkby is unmatched for vividness and substance. Altfiough she takes the final movement of the Gloria, "Quoniam tu solus," unbelievably fast, her profound interpretation of the text is sublime. Her breathtaking virtuosity is matched by the Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra KEITH under Cummings. Handel's masterful Dixit , Dominus is a well-chosen companion-piece from the same period, but this fine performance from 1988 is buried in over-resonant church acoustics and a less than immediate recording quality. Canadian soprano Gillian Keith, the delightful Papagena in Opera Atelier's wonderful production of Mozart's Magic Flute in Toronto last fall, is nuanced and radiant. Her voice shimmers beguilingly in the dialogue with the solo violin in the Laudamus te. Gardiner gets highly articulated ensemble playing from his large forces. This disc also includes very fine performances of Dixit Dominus and Vivaldi's magnificent Gloria RV 589, both with the outstanding Monteverdi Choir. 60 www.thewholenote.com M ay 1 - June 7 2002
