Judas Maccabaeus. Oratorio, HWV 63

Chorus: O Father, whose Almighty power


  • Recorded: 2nd September 2012
  • Record Place: Basilica of St. Prokop, Třebíč,
  • First Release: 2012
  • (P) 2012 SUPRAPHON a.s.
  • Genre: Vocal

Artists

  • music by: Georg Friedrich Händel
  • original lyrics by: Thomas Morell
  • chorus master: Tereza Válková
  • conductor: Roman Válek
  • musical group: Czech Ensemble Baroque Choir
  • musical group: Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra

Album

Adam Plachetka

Händel: Oratorio Arias

Catalogue Number: SU 4116-2
Published: 9th November 2012
Genre: Vocal
Format: 1 CD
Georg Friedrich Händel - arias from the English oratorios: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75; Messiah, HWV 56; Acis and Galatea, HWV 49; Judas Maccabaeus HWV 63

Adam Plachetka - baritone
The Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra & Choir, conductor: Roman Válek

The oratorios represent the apex of Händel's professional career and they even saved the composer when he was facing repeated crises of his operatic enterprise. These works of his have remained in the European repertoire and even if Händel hadn't written anything else, his Messiah alone would have earned him immortality. The programme of this CD is made up of arias that Händel wrote in his oratorios for bass or bass-baritone - the vocal category embodying heroism, enduring faith and resolve. Owing to his distinct masculinity, combined with determination, pleasantly tinted timbre and natural musicality, Adam Plachetka, a soloist of the Wiener Staatsoper, is an ideal singer to portray such Handel roles. A watershed in the artist's meteoric career came in September 2011, when Plachetka dazzled the Viennese audience in the title role of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. On this recording, the soloist has a worthy partner: the superlative Czech Ensemble Baroque, conducted by Roman Válek, who prove beyond all doubt that Händel is not the exclusive preserve of the English.

The Wiener Staatsoper soloist Adam Plachetka's debut album, featuring Händel arias.

Reviews

”The Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra play solidly and Adam Plachetka's rich yet supple singing is up to the task most of the time.”
Gramophone, Awards Issue 2013

Georg Friedrich Händel
Alexander's Feast, HWV 75
1. Overture 05:47
2. Revenge, Timotheus cries 07:23
Georg Friedrich Händel
Messiah. Oratorio for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra, HWV 56
3. Recitativo accompagnato: Thus Saith the Lord of Hosts 01:22
4. Aria: But who may abide 04:13
5. Recitativo accompagnato: Behold, I tell you a mystery 00:29
6. Aria: The trumpet shall sound 08:46
Georg Friedrich Händel
Acis and Galatea, HWV 49
7. Overture 02:57
8. Recitativo accompagnato: I rage, I melt, I burn! 01:03
9. Aria: O ruddier than the cherry 02:59
10. Recitativo: Whither, Fairest art thou running 00:58
11. Aria: Cease to beauty 05:35
Georg Friedrich Händel
Judas Maccabaeus. Oratorio, HWV 63
12. Overture 05:53
13. Chorus: O Father, whose Almighty power 02:20
14. Recitativo accompagnato: I feel the Deity within 00:46
15. Aria: Arm ye brave / Chorus: We come, in bright array 04:03
16. Recitativo: Be comforted 00:44
17. Aria: The Lord worketh wonders 02:49
18. Chorus: Fallen is the foe 03:10
19. Recitativo: Enough! To Heaven we leave 00:48
20. Aria: With pious hearts 02:43
21. Chorus: Sing unto God 02:28
22. Aria: Rejoice, O Judah 01:44
23. Chorus: Alleluia 01:34