In spite of a misleading title, borrowed from the Clash's iconic 1979 album, and cover artwork possibly suggesting music of the '60s mod scene, London Calling!: Handel and His Contemporaries seems inappropriately packaged for what it really is, a sampler of Baroque opera arias and concertos, mostly Italian music that was popular in early 18th century London. This terrific-sounding hybrid SACD by the Norwegian period ensemble Barokksolistene should stand on its own as a delightful survey of vocal and instrumental music by ...
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In spite of a misleading title, borrowed from the Clash's iconic 1979 album, and cover artwork possibly suggesting music of the '60s mod scene, London Calling!: Handel and His Contemporaries seems inappropriately packaged for what it really is, a sampler of Baroque opera arias and concertos, mostly Italian music that was popular in early 18th century London. This terrific-sounding hybrid SACD by the Norwegian period ensemble Barokksolistene should stand on its own as a delightful survey of vocal and instrumental music by George Frederick Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Francesco Maria Veracini, and Francesco Geminiani, all well-known composers who don't deserve (and likely won't benefit from) the album's condescending tagline, "It's just old pop music." The vibrant singing by mezzo-soprano Tuva Semmingsen is an attractive feature of this 2012 release, and her flexibility and rich tone are well-suited to Handel's florid settings of Italian and English texts. The virtuoso ensemble, dominated by strings, plays...
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