This recording originally appeared in 1972, when it would have shared shelf space with sopranos belting out Handel's melodies over the accompaniment of giant symphonic string sections. Adele Stolte, a Bach specialist from the former East Germany, and conductor Kurt Sanderling were thus ahead of the game when they offered this selection of Handel's Italian cantatas and respected the chamber-sized virtuosity of the works. Handel was in his early twenties when he wrote these pieces, of which about 30 survive of an originally ...
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This recording originally appeared in 1972, when it would have shared shelf space with sopranos belting out Handel's melodies over the accompaniment of giant symphonic string sections. Adele Stolte, a Bach specialist from the former East Germany, and conductor Kurt Sanderling were thus ahead of the game when they offered this selection of Handel's Italian cantatas and respected the chamber-sized virtuosity of the works. Handel was in his early twenties when he wrote these pieces, of which about 30 survive of an originally larger group (some for voice with strings and continuo, some without the strings). They are explosive works of a young genius, and they need to have room for the explosions. The spare accompaniment by Sanderling, leading members of the Handel Festival Orchestra of Halle, is ideal, with a sharply delineated gamba-and-harpsichord continuo and a nicely balanced ensemble including a pair of flutes, oboe, and bassoon in Tra le flamme, HWV 170. Stolte's voice is a bit thin in spots, and...
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