Arleen Auger, Handel & Haydn Society, Christopher Hogwood - Haydn: Arias & Cantatas (1990)

Although pure lyricism is obviously Miss Auger's strong point, there is more to her than that; she is a singing actress of some depth.'' -- The New York Times Avie proudly returns a classic recording to international availability: the late, legendary soprano Arleen Auger singing cantatas and arias by Haydn. Joining her are renowned conductor Christopher Hogwood and the orchestra of Boston's Handel and Haydn Society, the organisation that produced one of Avie's best-selling classical CDs last year, the a capella choral album Peace (AVI-39). This re-issue marks the first in a series that mines the best of the Handel and Haydn Society's back catalogue, making them available again to a public where there is clearly still considerable demand.

The Handel and Haydn Society is America's oldest performing arts organization still in existence, having been founded in 1815 - a mere six years after the death of Haydn himself. With this recording of his arias and cantatas for solo soprano the society has done the musical world a great service: this is lovely music lovingly performed. It is almost a commonplace to say that Haydn has been consistently overshadowed by Mozart in the field of opera, but this has also meant the neglect of these quintessentially operatic miniatures. Arleen Auger is superbly dramatic in the cantatas, gauging the emotional temperature perfectly and translating that into her voice through a subtle use of tone-colour and a commendably flexible approach to vibrato: drama without vocal histrionics. I found this a most enjoyable recording, one I won't tire of hearing in a long time. – Gramophone