Ian Bostridge's collection of Handel arias and recitatives plunges boldly into the familiar repertoire -- pieces done so frequently that they're likely to be greeted with a yawn. It's a measure of Bostridge's confidence that he devotes much of the CD to these warhorses, and of his skill, that they come across as fresh and newly imagined. Bostridge's "Comfort ye," and "Ev'ry Valley" from Messiah, are a case in point. First, he sings them with absolutely solid technical assurance, which sets him apart from the tenors in the ...
Read More
Ian Bostridge's collection of Handel arias and recitatives plunges boldly into the familiar repertoire -- pieces done so frequently that they're likely to be greeted with a yawn. It's a measure of Bostridge's confidence that he devotes much of the CD to these warhorses, and of his skill, that they come across as fresh and newly imagined. Bostridge's "Comfort ye," and "Ev'ry Valley" from Messiah, are a case in point. First, he sings them with absolutely solid technical assurance, which sets him apart from the tenors in the vast number of Messiah performances. Second, he freely ornaments them, avoiding the standards (such as the appoggiatura on the concluding "God," of the recitative), but adds others that are wonderfully effective; his appoggiatura on the second syllable of "iniquity" is shockingly dissonant, but is a beautiful example of text painting. Third, his pronunciation (except for his excessively rolled "r"s) is refreshingly natural, with little of the mannered, exaggerated precision that...
Read Less
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.