Marco Vitale - Handel: La Resurrezione (2009)

Handel's early oratorio La Resurrezione, written for performance in Rome in 1708, has little in common with the English oratorios he began writing in London in the 1730s, which decisively redefined the genre. The composer was only in the second year of his Italian sojourn, but he had thoroughly absorbed Italian musical culture, and the style and conventions of the oratorio have more in common with Italian opera than anything else. La Resurrezione consists of arias alternating with recitatives (with an occasional rare duet), and the chorus appears only twice, at the conclusion of the work's two sections. Listeners might easily mistake the writing for that of Corelli (who participated in the work's premiere) or Alessandro Scarlatti.

This performance is based on the research of conductor Marco Vitale, using what is believed to be the composer's performing score to verify details of orchestration, and the work is performed at a lower pitch (a whole step lower than usual) to conform to Roman conventions of the time. The recording's performance practice credentials are impeccable, but the unevenness of the soloists keep this from being an entirely satisfactory enterprise. Sopranos Klaartje van Veldhoven and Stefanie True and tenor Marcel Beekman have light, pleasant, supple voices that work well with the elegance and delicacy of the music. Bass Mitchell Sandler sounds strained and constricted at both ends of his range. Kristine Gether also has an unusually covered tone, and timbrally she sounds like an underpowered countertenor. Ensemble Contrasto Armonico plays with refinement, but doesn't have the vibrant flexibility that characterizes the most memorable Baroque performances. The sound is clear and clean, with a realistic ambience. -- Stephen Eddins