Stephen Darlington, Oxford Philomusica - George Frideric Handel: Acis & Galatea (arr. Mendelssohn) (2012)

Posted By: ArlegZ

Date: Oct. 10, 2023

The young Felix Mendelssohn's acquaintance with Acis and Galatea was due to Carl Friedrich Zelter, his composition teacher and conductor of the Berlin Singakademie. In 1828 Zelter asked Mendelssohn, by then a student at Berlin's university, to produce rescored versions of both Acis and Galatea and the Dettingen Te Deum for the use of the Singakademie. According to Fanny these orchestrations were a quid pro quo for obtaining Zelter's blessing on Felix's proposed revival of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and securing the cooperation of the Singakademie in the venture, which came to fruition on 11 March 1829. The reason behind Mendelssohn's re-orchestration, lay in the complete change of orchestral texture that occurred between the first and second halves of the 18th century in the transition from the Baroque to the Classical era. With the gradual abandonment of the keyboard continuo in the second half of the 18th century, its filling-in role was taken over by the wind and brass as well as by a fuller string texture. For most numbers Mendelssohn first wrote out the new material for viola, wind and brass separately, and this was then incorporated with Handel's original parts into a new score. This recording of Mendelssohn's arrangement of Handel's Acis and Galatea is a true Oxford project. Not only are the performers (the Oxford Philomusica and the Choir of Christ Church) central in the musical life of the city, but Mendelssohn's original score is here in the Bodleian Library. Add to that the fact that Handel conducted the work in the Great Hall in Christ Church in 1743 and it is easy to see why I was so excited to be performing it in this new edition of the Oxford manuscript. I set out to view this score through the lens of the early 19th century. It runs counter to the spirit of our own age to take an iconic work from the past and translate it into a contemporary culture, but this was not so in Mendelssohn's day. His achievement is not only to pay homage to the dramatic and musical skill of Handel but also to stamp his arrangement with his own identity. The result is compelling and has an integrity of its own, providing a fascinating insight into Mendelssohn's imagination as a composer. Stephen Darlington, 2012

Performer:
Galatea - Jeni Bern
Acis - Benjamin Hulett
Damon - Nathan Vale
Polyphemus - Brindley Sherratt
Christ Church Cathedral Choir
Oxford Philomusica
Stephen Darlington, conductor

Tracklist:
George Frideric Handel (1689-1759)
Acis & Galatea (arr. Mendelssohn)
01. Overture
02. Chorus. Oh the pleasure of the plains
03. Recitative. Ye verdant plains
04. Aria. Hush, ye pretty warbling choir
05. Aria. Where shall I seek the charming fair?
06. Recitative. Stay, shepherd, stay
07. Aria: Shepherd what art thou suing?
08. Recitative. Lo! Here my love!
09. Aria. Love in her eyes sits playing
10. Recitative. Oh! Didst thou know the plains of absent love
11. Duet & Chorus. Happy, happy we
12. Chorus. Wretched lovers!
13. Recitative. I rage, I melt, I burn
14. Aria. O ruddier than the cherry
15. Recitative. Whiter, fairest, art thou running
16. Aria. Cease to beauty to be suing
17. Aria. Would you gain the tender creature?
18. Recitative. His hideous love provokes my rage
19. Aria. Love sounds th'alarm
20. Aria. Consider, fond shepherd
21. Recitative. Cease, O cease thou gentle youth
22. Trio. The flocks shall leave the mountains
23. Recitative. Help! Galatea!
24. George Frideric Handel arr. Mendelssohn, Acis and Galatea:Chorus. Mourn, all ye muses!
25. Chorus. Galatea, must I my Acis still bemoan
26. Recitative. Tis done
27. Aria. Heart, the seat of soft delight
28. Aria & Chorus. Galatea, dry thy tears

EAC LOG

Exact Audio Copy V1.3 from 2. September 2016

EAC extraction logfile from 24. June 2019, 18:57

Jeni Bern, Benjamin Hulett, Nathan Vale, Brindley Sherratt; Stephen Darlington / Handel - Acis & Galatea (arr. Felix Mendelssohn)

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==== Log checksum 8F7DEA6DF4D2F67BBAED1EDBFDBDFC3F6D7D907E678F67DFFC4C52D0D6151966 ====

Thanks to the original releaser

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