Handel: Agrippina / Gardiner [highlights]

On this CD:

1. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Sinfonia
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

2. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 L'alma mia fra le tempeste
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Della Jones
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

3. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Vaghe perle, eletti fiori
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Donna Brown, English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

4. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Vieni, o cara
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Alastair Miles
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

5. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Non ho cor che per amarti
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Della Jones
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

6. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Se giunge un dispetto
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Donna Brown, English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

7. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Di timpani e trombe
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Donna Brown, Michael Chance, Julian Clarkson, English Baroque Soloists, Della Jones, Jonathan Peter Kenny, George Mosley, Derek Lee Ragin
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

8. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Otton, qual portentoso fulmine
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Michael Chance, English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

9. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Voi che udite il mio lamento
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Michael Chance, English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

10. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Par che amor sia cagion ... Vaghe fonti
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Donna Brown, Michael Chance, English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

11. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Qual bramato piacere ... Quando invita la donna l'amante
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Derek Lee Ragin
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

12. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Favorevol la sorte oggi m'arride ... Ogni vento ch'al porto lo spinga
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Della Jones
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

13. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Tacerò, tacerò
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Michael Chance, English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

14. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Coll'ardor del tuo bel core
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Derek Lee Ragin
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

15. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Piega pur del mio cor ... Bel piacer
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Donna Brown, English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

16. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Come nube che fugge dal vento
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Derek Lee Ragin
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

17. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Se vuoi pace, o volto amato
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists, Della Jones
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

18. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Lieto il Tebro increspi l'onda
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

19. Agrippina, opera, HWV 6 Ballo
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Baroque Soloists
Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

Tracks:

Agrippina: Sinfonia
Agrippina: L'alma mi fra le tempeste
Agrippina: Vaghe perle, eletti fiori
Agrippina: Viene, o cara
Agrippina: Non ho cor che per amarti
Agrippina: Se giunge un dispetto
Agrippina: Di timpani e trombe
Agrippina: Otton, qual portentoso fulmine
Agrippina: Voi chi udite il mio lamento
Agrippina: Par che amour sia cagion - Vaghe fonti
Agrippina: Qual bramato piacere - Quando invita la donna l'amante
Agrippina: Favoreval la sorta oggi m'arride - Ogni vento ch'al porto lo spinga
Agrippina: Tacero, tacero
Agrippina: Coll'ardor del tuo bel core
Agrippina: Piega pur del mio cor - Bel piacer
Agrippina: Come nube che fugge dal vento
Agrippina: Si vuoi pace, o volto amato
Agrippina: Lieto il Tebro increspi l'onda
Agrippina: Ballo

Customer Reviews:

Fragmented and Dissected.......2001-01-30

I have been listening to film scores for years. For the majority of those years many of us have had to settle for the selections that made it to the album from the actual film score. Contented? Not Quite! Thanks to the emergence of the film score as a legitimate cousin to `Classical' symphonic and/or choral compositions we are now getting recordings of `complete scores.' I think this can be attributed to the compositional and orchestral genius of Bernard Herrmann through his simple yet effective mastery of the human emotion. Turning that picture 180 degrees, I now find myself reciprocating and exploring music and compositions before the birth of the cinema. This CD: "Handel: Agrippina - Highlights" is a bit of a disappointment. I am no longer settling for just a section of the pie. I'll admit that the cover of this CD is rather appealing, but after listening to the music and reading the reviews I am left with a feeling of the glass being half empty. Highlights leave me yearning for the deleted parts and that brings me full circle and still not satisfied.

No highlights, please!.......2000-06-04

I don't know why Philips released this disc (to attract those who have the McGegan's complete recording?)! I am principally against highlights, but this CD made me particularly angry: to compress this 3 hour humorous operatic masterpiece into a short (mere 57 min.) recital was a barbarian act. "Agrippina" is one of these Handel's operas which doesn't work without recitativi. One can argue that no opera really does, but in this case it is the quality of libretto - one of the best Handel ever worked with - that makes "Agrippina" such a delightful listening from start to finish. Here both elements of opera - words and music (and what music it is!) are wonderfully balanced, something that cannot be said about many of Handel's musically great works. Imagine listening to the "Marriage of Figaro" in highlights only! I am not afraid of using this comparison, because "Agrippina"'s sparkling recitativi often reminded me of the Mozart's masterpiece.

The selection of arias on this disc makes me wonder about this failed release even more. There are at least two inexcusable omissions which would add ca. 11 minutes to the meagre total timing. One of them is Agrippina's aria "Pensieri, voi mi tormentate" (2nd act), 'broken' by a short recitativo. The aria is one of the central points of the opera: Agrippina's scheme 'lies in great peril' and she summons her 'cunning wiles' to stand by her side and help her succeed in her plan. This aria wouldn't be out of place in a collection of the greatest operatic 'invocations', such as Medea's (Charpentier), Circe's (in Leclair "Scylla et Glaucus") or Armida's (Lully, Gluck), to name just a few. Musically it is also one of the greatest moments of the opera, with a chilling orchestral accompaniment and a lovely oboe obligato. The other omission is von Otter's cameo appearance as the goddes Juno. This disc would certainly sell a few copies more if von Otter's short (3 min.) aria was included here - there are always numerous collectors who buy recordings exclusively for the tracks featuring their beloved artists. They will have to buy the complete set and that's probably what Philips wanted to achieve by this odd omission.

To sum up - I don't understand why this great recording of the baroque masterpiece has been released in this flawed form. No Handel fan can afford to be without a complete set, be it Gardiner's or McGegan's. If you want to limit yourself to this disc, imagine once again what you would miss having Mozart's Figaro in highlights only.

And just a last word - I reviewed this disc without actually listening to it! I know the complete recording and I marked the libretto with the highlights' track listing. I checked many internet sites to make sure that the two discussed omissions are really NOT included here. If I am wrong, I would be grateful for a correcting note.

Music Track:

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