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Our Top Reviews
Reviewer: J. Luis Juarez Echenique
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: One of the year’s best recordings.
Review: Handel’s Belshazzar has been lucky on disc. The 1976 pioneer Harnoncourt recording is outstanding, and the singing especially is magnificent, with wonderful performances by Felicity Palmer, Maureen Lehane, Paul Esswood and of course Robert Tear. Trevor Pinnock also made a very enjoyable recording with Arleen Augér and Anthony Rolfe-Johnson for Archiv, the choral work even finer than with Harnoncourt. And another version with Peter Neumann in the MDG label is never less than good.But here comes William Christie with the exquisite forces of Les Arts Florissants to give us, quite simply, the finest recording so far of Belshazzar. The chorus are magnificent, with crystal clear English, and the soloists are all admirable, especially Rosemary Joshua, one of the finest Handel sopranos around, as Nitocris, Belshazzar’s mother, and countertenor Iestyn Davies as the prophet Daniel. Newcomer tenor Allan Clayton in the title role has a most attractive voice, and can stand comparison with Tear and Rolfe-Johnson. But it is William Christie’s magisterial, electrifying conducting what makes this Belshazzar quite simply a must have. This is Les Arts Florissant’s recording debut in their own label and it is a very classy job, the sound quality is state-of-the-art, the booklet is gorgeous and comes with an extra essay on Babylon. Add it to your Christmas list, it is one of the year’s best recordings.
Reviewer: Cetalir
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Quelle merveilleuse idée a eu là William Christie d’enregistrer sous son label le trop rare oratorio “Belshazzar”. Ecrit en 1745, l’oeuvre fit l’objet de cinq modifications successives jusqu’en 1751 toutes dictées par les contraintes des chanteurs qui se produisaient et demandaient des ajustements de tessiture ou de style ainsi que par des contraintes de scènes sur lesquelles l’oeuvre au caractère imposant était représentée. C’est la première édition qui a servi ici de trame à cet enregistrement studio qui a fait par ailleurs l’objet d’une maturation en concerts donnés à plusieurs reprises avant la prise en studio. D’où une perfection d’exécution.Le résultat pour cette dernière oeuvre majeure écrite par Haendel en langue anglaise et avant que la cécité ne finisse bientôt par le condamner au silence de toute composition est absolument splendide.A cela, un ensemble de raisons qui font de “Belshazzar” un de ses chefs-d’oeuvre qu’il conviendrait de remettre à sa place dans la production du génie allemand installé à Londres. Le livret tout d’abord, tiré de la Bible, mais magnifiquement rédigé dans une langue anglaise un peu archaïsante mais d’une superbe poésie (si vous êtes angliciste) par un grand dramaturge Charles Jennens. Sur ce bijou de texte, Haendel applique une musique faite d’une inventivité sans cesse renouvelée. Le style de l’oeuvre, à caractère à la fois religieux et politique, appelle de nombreuses références à Bach avec un usage sublimé de la fugue et de grands choraux par exemple. Mais, aussi et surtout, Haendel démontre ici qu’il a atteint le sommet absolu de son art produisant des arias bouleversants, des choeurs enthousiasmants, des duos célestes, le tout brodé sur une dentelle de partition d’orchestre.William Christie voue une passion à Haendel et il nous le démontre ici une fois encore. Il respire avec les chanteurs qui jamais ne passent en force sur un orchestre qui se fond au service du drame et de la narration qui progressent. Le chef anglais a par ailleurs pris soin de sélectionner exclusivement des chanteurs de langue maternelle anglaise afin de respecter au plus près le texte si important ici. Tous sont excellents et ne souffrent pas la moindre critique.Grâce à la prise de son d’une grande précision et d’une absolue neutralité, on écoute cette oeuvre sur un véritable nuage. Soulignons enfin le luxueux coffret offrant un livret à la fois soigneusement mis en page et au contenu des plus informatifs, complété d’un texte de Jean Echenoz inspiré du thème de Babylone et d’un packaging des disques aussi original que pratique.Un superbe objet musical que tous les amoureux de belles choses se doivent de supporter !
Reviewer: Stephen Midgley
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I’ve been listening recently to a number of recordings of ‘Belshazzar’, including those directed by Harnoncourt, Pinnock, Neumann, and this present one from Les Arts Florissants under William Christie. I’ve now come to the conclusion that this one from 2012 is my favourite by a fair margin.The period-instrument orchestra of Les Arts Florissants are quite outstanding, as are the choir who sing their powerful choral movements with spirit and fervour as well as accuracy. The vocal soloists cannot be faulted either, with special credit due to Rosemary Joshua in the central role of Belshazzar’s mother Nitocris, Allan Clayton as Belshazzar, and Caitlin Hulcup’s Cyrus, while Iestyn Davies’ voice and diction are well suited to both the musicality and the somewhat goody-two-shoes character of the prophet Daniel.Above all, Christie’s stylish direction and absolute mastery of the Handelian idiom make for a dramatic and flowing interpretation, with many imaginative touches but without the frequent quirkiness of one such as Harnoncourt. Recorded sound is excellent and the accompanying booklet offers very informative essays, synopsis and texts in English, all with translations into French, together with nicely reproduced illustrations and recording session photos.
Reviewer: KaleHawkwood
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Recorded in 2013, on their own label, by the impeccable Les Arts Florissants under their visionary France-based American conductor William Christie, with an intriguing cast, this is a near-perfect three-disc reading of Handel’s beautiful oratorio.For me, Rosemary Joshua is almost a guarantee of quality, and she shines here as the title character’s mother Nitocris. (Handel’s excellent librettist Charles Jennens used not only the biblical story in the book of Daniel, but also plundered Herodotus to eke out the tale and its background.)Counter-tenor Iestyn Davies is suitably smooth-toned as Daniel, with Allan Clayton superbly insightful as Belshazzar. The choral passages are gloriously sung and the playing is as sensitive and subtle as most recordings from this source.I thought Caitlin Hulcup, the Australian mezzo, starts off rather underpowered as Cyrus, as if the musicians are drowning out her not particularly forceful voice, and I wasn’t too sure either about the bass of Jonathan Lemalu as Gobrias, which sounds at first slightly uncertain and fails to make its mark as it should. However, these quibbles faded into irrelevance the more I listened, since this cast really do sound like a team – Christie must be an inspiring conductor. In the end, all are singing wonderfully, despite any ‘false starts’.The packaging, including two booklets of various notes, photos, biographies and synopsis, is exemplary, and is worth an extra star in itself.I do have Handel recordings by other forces, but I often find myself plumping for Christie and his hand-picked Arts Florissants, whose performances seem to have something extra that others miss: not too ‘period’ and not at all heavy or old-fashioned, with the singers given plenty of breathing-space, as it were, to flourish and give of their best.Highly recommended.
Reviewer: FABIEN LAFITTE
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Un oratorio manifeste qui contient les grands principes du genie de Handel.Une interpretation exceptionnelle et une prise de son remarquable, avec livret et coffret, du grand Handel servi aux petits oignons.
Reviewer: FRANZ1828
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: En effet cet enregistrement avait été accueilli franchement en France, et très bien ailleurs ! C’est totalement injustifié , si vous aimez Haendel à posséder absolument !
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