C 9620 GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: DUETTI ITALIANI [11,99 Euro]

Composed in three batches (probably Italy, Hanover and London), these delightful duets contain much music that Handel later re-used in great works such as Messiah, Brockes Passion, Solomon, Chandons Jubilate, Alcina, Water Musick, Esther, Belshazzar, Judas Maccabeus, Deborah or Utrecht Jubilate, to name but a few. Technically very demanding, these gems present many movements of quite melting beauty. Full of virtuoso passages, these duets demonstrate not only Handel's brilliant and thrilling vocal writing but also his unsurpassed melodic vein and his delicate word-painting.

Rossana Bertini and Claudio Cavina, founders of Alessandrini's Concerto Italiano, and winners of no less than three Gramophone Awards for Early Music, fully demonstrate here why they are considered among the most important specialists in Italian baroque singing. Blessed with an outstanding technique, they will re-discover this repertoire to those who already knew it. Their natural understanding of textual nuance allow them to give a dramatically different reading of these, at turns, fierce, moving, and extremely beautiful duets.

For those who thought that these works could even be given "an instrumental rendering without losing much of their musical interest" the surprise will even be greater. For the first time, Handel's Italian duets are sung with the flexible speeds, carefully graded dynamics and a natural understanding of the sense and expressive possibilities of the text as to produce a sequence of deeply felt accounts of these remarkable pieces. The great emotional versatility of these wonderful duets is revealed in this recording: the result is overwhelming. Once, these singers re-discovered Monteverdi; now, they are re-discovering the "Italian" Handel for us. No serious Handelian can miss this!