FestspielOrchester Göttingen / Laurence Cummings HÄNDEL Saul

SAUL

Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn ECCLES The Judgment of Paris - Three Mad Songs

At last we have a recording of John Eccles’s Judgment of Paris, the pastoral masque composed for a competition in 1701. The text itself, by Congreve, presents a contest between three goddesses (Juno, Pallas and Venus) for a golden apple, judged by a lowly shepherd (Paris). In the competition, organised by a group of English noblemen, Eccles came second to John Weldon, followed by Daniel Purcell and Gottfried Finger; Eccles’s version alone has stood the test of time, but except for a recording of the opening “Symphony for Mercury” by the Parley of Instruments (Hyperion, 11/88), none of the music has until now been available on CD.

Eccles’s one-act “semi-opera” calls for five solo singers, a choir and relatively modest instrumental resources – four-part strings, four trumpets, two recorders, kettledrums and continuo. Absent are castrati and countertenors. The music is tuneful, the boundaries between recitatives and airs often blurred. To address the lack of anguish or whiff of treachery in the masque, three “mad” arias by the composer, each sung by a different soprano, are included at the end. The Early Opera Company band delivers delicately balanced homophonic accompaniments to the airs, varied by ground basses that remind us of Henry Purcell, and occasional solos, duos and quartets. As charming as it is, it doesn’t bear comparison with opera seria of the day and, in particular, Handel’s Rinaldo, presented to London audiences a decade later.

Christian Curnyn offers an unaffected, faithful reading of the printed score. If anything, it is understated, the instrumental forces reduced (the premiere employed 85 musicians in addition to the “verse singers”) and the recording acoustic intimate. Lucy Crowe’s Venus may win the prize, but all of the soloists contribute beautifully judged portrayals. (Julie Anne Sadie / Gramophone)

Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn HANDEL Alceste

After a century of neglect, many of Handel’s once sensationally popular operas are now an established part of the operatic mainstream. But here is something of a rarity: the incomplete ‘incidental music’ for Alceste.

Conceived as a hugely lavish production, it was possibly Alceste’s overreaching ambition that led to its downfall. A team of top talent was assembled for its creation: Scottish-born playwright Tobias Smollett, impresario John Rich, celebrated set-designer Giovanni Servandoni, Handel's librettist Thomas Morell and, of course, the towering genius composer of the opera world himself. Intended for performance at Covent Garden, the production collapsed soon after rehearsals had begun in 1749. Quite why remains a mystery – but it seems likely that the involvement of too many temperamental cooks spoilt the proverbial broth.

Smollett's play disappeared and remains lost; but, fortunately, Handel's music survives. Indeed, much of it will be familiar to anyone acquainted with the subsequent works into which Handel pragmatically recycled its material – The Choice of Hercules, Belshazzar and Alexander Balus. This new Chandos release offers a welcome chance to appreciate the music of Alceste in its original, never realised, guise.

The classical drama tells of Alceste's self-sacrifice to save her dying husband, King Admetus, and of Hercules' journey to Hades to bring Alceste back to the world of the living. Smollett assigned the principal roles to actors; Handel's arias are sung by secondary characters. Pick of the bunch is the ravishing ‘Gentle Morpheus, son of night’, in which Calliope (goddess of poetry) consoles Admetus, sung with affecting tenderness here by Lucy Crowe to sumptuously lilting accompaniment from the Early Opera Company orchestra under conductor Christian Curnyn.

Occasionally he doesn't get the mood quite right – the wedding celebration chorus ‘O bless, ye pow'rs above’ needs greater rhythmic spring. But, generally, Curnyn's lively and sensitive approach makes a strong case for this little-known score. (Graham Rogers / BBC Music)

Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn HANDEL Acis and Galatea

The award-winning Early Opera Company under the direction of founder Christian Curnyn celebrates the 300^th anniversary of the premiere of one of Handel’s most sublime creations: Acis and Galatea.

This unique interpretation is performed as Handel himself specified in the manuscript: supported by fourteen period instruments, the outstanding cast of singers takes on the solo parts as well as the magnificent choruses. This is Handel writing at his highest levels of intimacy and intensity; the music superbly supports the libretto's evocative portrayal of the story, simultaneously restrained, economical, and deeply moving.

It is exquisite music, and has been the Early Opera Company’s most frequently requested and played performance over the last few years. With the addition of Baroque experts Lucy Crowe and Benjamin Hulett, previously featured on the award-winning Chandos recording of Alceste, this album in surround sound is not only an extraordinary achievement for the company but a must-have for all early music lovers.