A Handel Celebration - Christophers, The Sixteen (2010)

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A Handel Celebration - Christophers, The Sixteen (2010)

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This BBC Proms concert, titled A Handel Celebration, commemorates the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death and the 30th anniversary of the founding of The Sixteen, which got its name from the fact that the original chorus had 16 members. The forces used here are a bit larger than those Harry Christophers usually employs. The mixed-voice chorus numbers 30, and the orchestra is listed at 42 members, although it does not appear that they are all onstage at the same time.

The Sixteen has been one of the best period-instrument groups since its founding, and one can see and hear here that both chorus and orchestra remain at the top of their form. Christophers leads performances that are respectful of Handel’s scores, with well-chosen tempos. The orchestra plays with precision (with the occasional slightly sour note to be expected of a live performance), and the chorus projects the words of the four Coronation Anthems vividly. Carolyn Sampson is outstanding in the Salve Regina and the three excerpts from Semele. In the Semele selections, she more than sings the notes; she uses her body and face to create the character she is portraying.

I have stated before that I do not see much use for a DVD preserving a concert because of the limited variety of visual images available in such a setting. Sampson’s portrayal of Semele does, however, provide some justification for seeing as well as hearing her performance, especially in the case of “Myself I Shall Adore.” Christophers hands Sampson a mirror before she begins the aria, and she uses it in giving an engaging performance that draws laughter from the audience, followed by a well-deserved ovation.

The version of the organ concerto featured here is the original version. Although Handel’s organ concertos were written to be performed between the acts of his oratorios, in the first performances in London of Athalia, the concerto was written to be performed before the final (“Hallelujah”) chorus and integrated into it. That is the version we get here, with the chorus.

The DVD has a short interview with Christophers during the intermission of the concert and a slightly longer one as a bonus feature. For some unknown reason, one of the anthems and the Salve Regina are removed from their places in the concert and put into the bonus features section. The anthem My Heart Is Indicting originally concluded the first half of the concert, and Christophers refers to it in his intermission interview, a reference that is puzzling unless one knows that he had just performed the anthem. The Salve Regina was originally the second item in the second part of the concert. Their placement as bonus tracks is nonsensical. The only other bonus feature is written biographies of the principals.

Christophers has recorded most of this material on CD, all available on Coro. His Coronation Anthems is one of my two preferred versions. The organ concerto and the sinfonia from Solomon can be found as additional tracks on that CD. The Salve Regina and selections from Semele are not otherwise available from these forces.

For those who enjoy concert performances, this DVD is an easy recommendation. For the rest of us, the previously unrecorded selections, especially Sampson’s items from Semele, make this a tempting purchase.

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A Handel Celebration - Christophers, The Sixteen (2010)

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