British tenor Mark Padmore has stolen my heart with his sheer tonal beauty and cool, suave delivery on this disc of Handel arias, 'As steals the morn' from Harmonia Mundi. This recent release (4 February 2007 in the UK) is a collection of songs, recitatives and airs by German-born English composer, George Frideric Handel, taken from his operas, Alceste, Tamerlano and Rodelinda, and oratorios, Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, Semele, Samson, Esther, Jephtha and L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.
ON MARK PADMORE’S SOOTHING TONAL BEAUTY (AND HIS LOOKS AREN'T TOO SHABBY, EITHER).
Mr Padmore sings with such ease and delicacy that every note becomes a soothing balm and a restorative for the droopy soul. Melismas (ornamental phrase of several notes sung to one syllable) are few and far between, and present small difficulty for his fluid vocal technique.
. . . HOWEVER . . .
However, therein also lies the sole weakness I could find on this disc. For all his lovely singing, Mr Padmore barely varies the rhythm and volume; he keeps to such a regular beat and maintains so even a tone that somniferous episodes are never too far away for the listener.
Even the more dramatic tracks are voiced with unusual care and gentleness. In 'Oh per me lieto, avventuroso giorno' ('Oh, happy day, rich in events!'), and 'Figlia mio' ('My daughter'), from the opera, Tamerlano, Mr Padmore's Bajazet exudes a sweetness when addressing his daughter, Asteria, which easily contrasts with the palpable defiance and anger that flare up in Asteria’s lines, here given vivid vocal life by young British soprano Lucy Crowe (who recently sang Poppea to justifiably enthused critics in the English National Opera’s production of Handel’s ‘Agrippina’ in February/March).
Mr Padmore succeeds better elsewhere. He reserves his character’s more fiery outbursts for the tyrant, Tamerlano, virtually spitting out the lines, ‘Tu, spietato, il vedrai’ ‘You, merciless one, will see them ‘). In ‘Urne voi’ ‘Loathsome urns’) from Il Trionfo del Temp e de Disinganno, his Tempo (Time) wants to sadistically, almost, emphasise to Beauty the horrific ravages of time brought upon so many other beauties who came before by showing her the unbeautiful contents of these ‘loathsome urns’. However, Rodelinda’s ‘Fatto inferno’ in which Grimoaldo sings of ‘Jealousy, Anger and Love’ in his heart, while emotionally punchy, too, could benefit from a bit more choler in the singing.
NON-FATTENING, NON-DIABETIC EAR CANDY.
There’s loads of ear candy to please most listeners here (with 18 tracks in all that run to some 77 minutes of playing time), but the sweetness never overwhelms. Of irresistible appeal is the popular air from Semele, ‘Where’er you walk’, sung caressingly by Jupiter to his human girlfriend-of-the-month, Semele. Mr Padmore brings a similarly loving tenderness to ‘Waft her, angels’, rendered by the title character from the oratorio, Jephtha. Angels will not remain untouched here by Jephtha’s sincerity in pleading with them to bear his daughter’s spirit up to Heaven.
The selections from Samson all give spiritually refreshing as well as majestic aural pleasures: ‘Total eclipse’, and ‘Thus when the sun from’s wat’ry bed’, and even the castigating ‘Your charms to ruin led the way’ are all musical delights. And from Rodelinda, we are treated to the calming air, ‘Pastorello d’un pevero armento’, which follows on the heels of the bitterly sung ‘Fatto inferno’ discussed previously. Here the ruler Grimoaldo finds refuge from his royal woes in the restfulness offered by sleep.
On a slightly different tack comes the winsome ‘Tune your harps’ from the oratorio, Esther, whose pizzicato (plucked strings) adds both elegance and whimsy to this tranquil air. Katharina Spreckelsen’s genial oboe and Mark Padmore exchange melodic lines following a charming, question-and-answer motif.
Besides the more dramatically rendered bits from Tamerlano mentioned earlier, a couple of other tracks perk things up from the doldrums of relentlessly soothing arias. The opening number, ‘Enjoy the sweet Elysian grove’ from the opera, Alceste, and the triumphant ‘His mighty arm’ from the oratorio, Jephtha, especially bring mirth and joyfulness to one’s listening hour.
However, my especial favourite of all is the title track, ‘As steals the morn’, from the oratorio, L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed Il Moderato. Again Ms Spreckelsen’s oboe graces with its presence, introducing the sweet poignancy that underlies this blissful and languid piece that speaks of contentment and wisdom in the sunset of one’s life. It’s sung as a gorgeous duet by Mr Padmore and Lucy Crowe, and makes for a most agreeable way to close the disc.
One mustn’t fail to mention the major contribution here from the excellent Baroque violinist in his own right, Andrew Manze. He conducts the English Concert with both verve and sensitivity, and so while Mr Padmore might be lulling one to drowsiness in spots, Mr Manze and the English Concert’s captivating performance on period instruments keeps things hopping along nicely.
A DISC HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ESPECIALLY FOR HANDELIANS & LOVERS OF THE BAROQUE
I think every Handel fan should consider adding this disc to his or her music library. Having said that, I must also say I’m eagerly awaiting the still-unreleased Handel arias disc that that other wonderful English tenor, Ian Bostridge, has just finished (‘twill hit the streets sometime in mid-July in the UK). On tap are 16 popular Handel selections which he sings with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Harry Bicket. (For a sneak peek, cut-’n’-paste this link into your browser’s URL window:
http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/3822432.htm)
In the meanwhile, this excellent disc by Mark Padmore will just have to do, I suppose. Final rating is four-and-a-half stars (methinks Ciao should still give us the half-star option in the ratings!).
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Note regarding online audio samples:
Frustratingly, I found no online vendors offering audio clips from this disc. The only option left to sample this album is to do a search in the iTunes store using the phrase ‘as steals the morn’. At least the audio quality on that site remains one of the best on the ‘net.
Personal note:
This review has been published by the author elsewhere on the 'net in modified form.
===CD Notes:
As steals the morn. . . George Frideric Handel(1685 - 1759) Arias & Scenes for Tenor
MARK PADMORE, tenor with Lucy Crowe, soprano Robin Blaze, countertenor Katharina Spreckelsen, oboe obbligato
