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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Hyperion UK
Salesrank: 246831
Released: October 11, 2005 |
| Our Price: $7.95 |
| Used Price: $5.76 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Essential Handel Track Listing:
1. Occasional Oratorio, HWV 62: Overture
2. Solomon, oratorio, HWV 67: Welcome as the dawn of day
3. Ode for St Cecilia's Day (Song for St Cecilia's Day) for soloists, chorus & orchestra, HWV 76: The trumpet's loud clangour
4. Cecilia, Volgi un Sguardo, cantata for soprano, tenor, strings & continuo, HWV 89: Un puro ardor
5. Zadok the Priest, coronation anthem No. 1 for chorus & orchestra, HWV 258
6. The Choice of Hercules, oratorio, HWV 69: Yet, can I hear that dulcet lay
7. Water Music Suites Nos 1-3 for orchestra, HWV 348-350: Allegro
8. L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (Pastoral Ode), oratorio, HWV 55: As steals the morn upon the night
9. Music for the Royal Fireworks, for orchestra, HWV 351: La Réjouissance
10. Deborah, oratorio, HWV 51: In Jehovah's Awful Sight
11. Judas Maccabaeus, oratorio, HWV 63: See, the conqu'ring hero comes!
12. Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (Eternal Source of Light Divine), HWV 74: Eternal Source of Light Divine
13. Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op.3/2, HWV 313: Largo
14. L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (Pastoral Ode), oratorio, HWV 55: Or let the merry bells ring round
15. Joshua, oratorio, HWV 64: Solemn march during the circumvention of the ark
16. Alexander Balus, oratorio, HWV 65: Hark! hark! He strikes the golden lyre
17. Occasional Oratorio, HWV 62: To God, our strength, sing loud and clear
18. Judas Maccabaeus, oratorio, HWV 63: Oh liberty, thou choicest treasure
19. Samson, oratorio, HWV 57: Let the bright seraphim
20. My Heart Is Inditing, coronation anthem No. 3 for chorus & orchestra, HWV 261: Kings shall be thy nursing fathers
Essential Handel Reviews:
Robert King deserves to be famous in America, too 
2006-07-22 - Robert King and his King's Consort have made dozens of recordings, establishing themselves in London as a pre-eminent Baroque group. They benefit greatly from King's unflagging energy and musical insight. Twenty years ago you couldn't say that the period movement had attracted the best musicians and conductors. That situation has changed radically, and this sampler CD from King's complete recordings exhibits first-class playing throughout. Baroque singing is at a high level, too, but you couldn't say that his singers are of Met or Royal Opera House quality--even so, they are very good.
As an indicator of the strides that period performance has made, this is an eye-opening CD, but it's also engaging for the general listener, like me, who only dips into Handel's many, many operas and oratorios occasionally.
P.S. _ King's widely publicized conviction for pedophilia made it difficult to keep this positive review in print, but in the end I did. I mean no offense, but purely as music-making this is a wonderful disc.
Bargain-priced first-class overview
2006-05-01 - This is a great CD for beginners, but also for those who already have a few Handel CDs. So often samplers have all the favourites which you already have on other CDs. But this set has a few well-known tracks, such as Zadok the Priest, See the Conqu'ring Hero Comes and La Rejouissance from The Fireworks, but mostly wonderful music, superbly played which is not extremely well known.
Highly recommended.
