Recordings

Let the Bright Seraphim - Handel
Recorded live in concert on April 4, 2015
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Here we have the first complete recording of Gluck's charming one-act serenata teatrale for chamber orchestra and four treble voices, composed for the marriage of Hapsburg Archduke Joseph in January 1765. The Archduke's first wife had died. This time he was to marry the Bavarian princess, Maria Josepha. For this performance of the new Gluck work, four of the Archduke's daughters from his first marriage who were all accomplished musicians, sang roles in the new work. The new bridegroom's younger brother Leopold, conducted. That the four Archduchesses could successfully negotiate the florid soprano roles Gluck fashioned for them, is most impressive. One presumes that the youngest daughter, Marie Antoinette, was not so gifted. The serenata teatrale was presented as a surprise to the newly weds at Schonbrunn Castle in Vienna in the presence of the rest of the Hapsburg court. It was deemed such a success, that on the spot, Gluck was asked to compose another opera. The result was La Corona. The work was planned for November, but because the Emperor died suddenly, the work was not performed.

Available on Amazon (with Unlimited Free Streaming!) and iTunes.

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Producer John Ostendorf and Albany deserve grateful praise for releasing this obscure work, which has previously appeared on records only in an abbreviated performance on the Orfeo label. La corona is a beautiful opera and, though this music would prove a challenge for any singer, Albany's cast, headed by the plangent-voiced Julianne Baird, acquit themselves well, even if, not surprisingly, they occasionally wrestle with the hardest passages. High points include the duet Deh, l'accetta, ah giunga alfine sung with lovely tone by Danielle Munsell Howard as Meleagro and Julianne Baird as Atalanta. Ms. Howard also triumphs in the fabulous aria with clarinet obbligato, Fe germogliare il fato. If La corona were better known, this aria would be celebrated.

Available on Amazon and iTunes.

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