Fans of early music expect the works of George Frederick Handel to have the distinctive colors of Baroque instruments, authentic ornamentation, brisk tempos, and lean ensembles. But few have experienced the variety and energy of Cleveland-based Apollo's Fire, whose historically informed performances of Handel's choral music are impressive in their bravura style, richness of details, and joyous vitality. The ode "Eternal Source of Light Divine," the coronation anthem Zadok the Priest, the psalm Dixit Dominus, and the chorus ...
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Fans of early music expect the works of George Frederick Handel to have the distinctive colors of Baroque instruments, authentic ornamentation, brisk tempos, and lean ensembles. But few have experienced the variety and energy of Cleveland-based Apollo's Fire, whose historically informed performances of Handel's choral music are impressive in their bravura style, richness of details, and joyous vitality. The ode "Eternal Source of Light Divine," the coronation anthem Zadok the Priest, the psalm Dixit Dominus, and the chorus "The Lord Shall Reign" from Israel in Egypt are treated with the finest period techniques on this 2012 release from Avie, but are also given credible interpretations that really speak of the era. For example, the opening track of J.D. Philidor's "Batteries des timballes," which has been chosen as an introduction to the chorus "God Save the King" from Zadok the Priest, is a vigorous and virtuosic display, typical of Handel's showmanship and the kind of exuberant readings Jeannette...
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