Handel - Duets (Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly, Harry Bicket) (2010)
Handel - Duets (Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly, Harry Bicket) (2010)
Classical | Eac, Flac, Img+Cue, Log | Covers | 281.57 MB
Label: Chandos Records | Catalog N.: CHAN 0767 | TT - 62:44
Classical | Eac, Flac, Img+Cue, Log | Covers | 281.57 MB
Label: Chandos Records | Catalog N.: CHAN 0767 | TT - 62:44
Solo recitals of arias from Handel operas and oratorios are common, so it's a pleasure to hear an album devoted to his duets, particularly when they're performed as well as they are here by soprano Rosemary Joshua and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly. Both have had diverse careers, but are known especially for their Baroque roles. Their voices are especially well-matched in weight, and their blend is beautifully warm, but they are each distinctive enough that they retain a strong vocal identity even when singing in close harmony. They are absolutely secure technically, and handle even the most florid passages with easy assurance. The variety of the duets gives Joshua and Connolly ample opportunity for putting their gifts for dramatic characterization on display. In the joyful duets of lovers, such as "Streams of pleasure ever flowing" from Theodora, their voices have a relaxed radiance, that can turn blissfully ecstatic, as in "Caro! Bella!" from Giulio Cesare in Egitto, but for pure, giddy happiness, it's hard to beat their performance of "Per le porte del tormento" from Sosarme. Several duets, including "To thee, thou glorious son of worth" from Theodora, "Vivo in te" from Tamerlano, and "Io t'abbraccio" from Rodelinda, eloquently express melancholy yearning, aching grief, or simple sadness. Joshua and Connolly receive superb support from Harry Beckett, who leads the English Consort in exquisitely nuanced performances. Chandos' sound is clean, clear, and warmly ambient, and the balance is excellent.
Review by Stephen Eddins
Cast:
Rosemary Joshua, soprano
Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano
The English Concert
Harry Bicket, director / harpsichord / organ
Tracklisting:
01. Se teco vive il cor (Radamisto)
02. Io t’abbraccio (Rodelinda, regina de’ Longobardi)
03. Welcome as the dawn of day (Solomon)
04. Streams of pleasure ever flowing (Theodora)
05. Notte cara! (Ottone, re di Germania)
06. To thee, thou glorious son of worth (Theodora)
07. Bramo haver mille vite (Ariodante)
08. Great victor, at your feet I bow (Belshazzar)
09. Vivo in te (Tamerlano)
10. Per le porte del tormento (Sosarme, re di Media)
11. No, no, ch’io non apprezzo (Agrippina)
12. Caro! Bella! (Giulio Cesare in Egitto)
Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011
EAC extraction logfile from 5. January 2012, 15:17
Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly; English Concert, Harry Bicket / Handel - Duets
Used drive : Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5170S Adapter: 1 ID: 2
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 896 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : Yes
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 %source%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:15.31 | 0 | 14655
2 | 3:15.31 | 6:53.02 | 14656 | 45632
3 | 10:08.33 | 3:10.07 | 45633 | 59889
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7 | 29:38.06 | 4:51.04 | 133356 | 155184
8 | 34:29.10 | 4:58.16 | 155185 | 177550
9 | 39:27.26 | 7:00.54 | 177551 | 209104
10 | 46:28.05 | 7:33.07 | 209105 | 243086
11 | 54:01.12 | 3:53.43 | 243087 | 260604
12 | 57:54.55 | 4:50.35 | 260605 | 282389
Range status and errors
Selected range
Filename D:\temp\pics\Handel - Duets\Handel - Duets.wav
Peak level 98.0 %
Extraction speed 5.0 X
Range quality 99.9 %
Test CRC ACEFCDCF
Copy CRC ACEFCDCF
Copy OK
No errors occurred
End of status report
==== Log checksum DA7C7C2FC98D08A68A908137B171ECBCBB3F8F7ABF7DD97E99F663CB2BBFDF78 ====
EAC extraction logfile from 5. January 2012, 15:17
Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly; English Concert, Harry Bicket / Handel - Duets
Used drive : Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5170S Adapter: 1 ID: 2
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 896 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : Yes
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 %source%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:15.31 | 0 | 14655
2 | 3:15.31 | 6:53.02 | 14656 | 45632
3 | 10:08.33 | 3:10.07 | 45633 | 59889
4 | 13:18.40 | 6:48.24 | 59890 | 90513
5 | 20:06.64 | 4:36.01 | 90514 | 111214
6 | 24:42.65 | 4:55.16 | 111215 | 133355
7 | 29:38.06 | 4:51.04 | 133356 | 155184
8 | 34:29.10 | 4:58.16 | 155185 | 177550
9 | 39:27.26 | 7:00.54 | 177551 | 209104
10 | 46:28.05 | 7:33.07 | 209105 | 243086
11 | 54:01.12 | 3:53.43 | 243087 | 260604
12 | 57:54.55 | 4:50.35 | 260605 | 282389
Range status and errors
Selected range
Filename D:\temp\pics\Handel - Duets\Handel - Duets.wav
Peak level 98.0 %
Extraction speed 5.0 X
Range quality 99.9 %
Test CRC ACEFCDCF
Copy CRC ACEFCDCF
Copy OK
No errors occurred
End of status report
==== Log checksum DA7C7C2FC98D08A68A908137B171ECBCBB3F8F7ABF7DD97E99F663CB2BBFDF78 ====
“Thanks to the original releaser"