Mozart's oratorio Betulia liberata, K. 118 (he called it an "azione sacra"), is one of his least-often-performed works, and on those grounds alone this attractive performance by L'Orfeo Barockorchester and conductor Michi Gaigg is worthy of notice. Mozart composed it when he was 15 and on the road, probably for a small-scale performance in Padua, and the 27-piece orchestra used here, with natural brasses that don't overwhelm the rest of the group, has the right dimensions. The neglect of the work is a bit odd in that much ...
Read More
Mozart's oratorio Betulia liberata, K. 118 (he called it an "azione sacra"), is one of his least-often-performed works, and on those grounds alone this attractive performance by L'Orfeo Barockorchester and conductor Michi Gaigg is worthy of notice. Mozart composed it when he was 15 and on the road, probably for a small-scale performance in Padua, and the 27-piece orchestra used here, with natural brasses that don't overwhelm the rest of the group, has the right dimensions. The neglect of the work is a bit odd in that much less competent pieces of Mozart juvenilia have received more attention. A certain Mozartian voice is lacking, but the work could have competed (it was apparently never performed during Mozart's lifetime) with any number of Italian sacred pieces of the day; it resembles the sacred music of Johann Adolf Hasse, with well-shaped arias whose vocal acrobatics are toned down in respect for the sacred material. The weakness is probably the libretto, although it was set many times and remained...
Read Less
