Composed in 1718, Handel's Acis & Galatea is based on a Greek love story retold in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Acis loves Galatea, a sea nymph, incurring the wrath of a powerful rival, the Cyclops Polyphemus. Polyphemus kills Acis and the young man is turned into a river.What makes this particular performance interesting is the effort to attain the elusive ideal of authenticity. As Stanley Sadie pointed out in the liner notes, conductor John Eliot Gardiner has come quite close to this ideal, for he not only creates the original ...
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Composed in 1718, Handel's Acis & Galatea is based on a Greek love story retold in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Acis loves Galatea, a sea nymph, incurring the wrath of a powerful rival, the Cyclops Polyphemus. Polyphemus kills Acis and the young man is turned into a river.What makes this particular performance interesting is the effort to attain the elusive ideal of authenticity. As Stanley Sadie pointed out in the liner notes, conductor John Eliot Gardiner has come quite close to this ideal, for he not only creates the original instrumental sound, but also used the five vocal soloists for ensembles, just as Handel would have done since additional singers were not available. Despite its tragic undertones, Acis & Galatea is a musical version of a pastoral, and the opening sinfonia beautifully conjures up the atmosphere of a pastoral world. While there is much charm in Handel's music, the listeners may discern a spirit of elegant, deliberate restraint, reflected in the pleasing transparence of the music. Like...
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