CD Review
Handel: Finest Arias for Base Voice, Christopher Purves, bass
- Composer
- Handel
- Artist
- Christopher Purves, bass; Arcangelo / Jonathan Cohen
- Label
- Hyperion
- Catalogue
- CDA67842
- Reviewed by
- Anne McAlister
Somewhat unusually, on leaving university Christopher Purves joined the highly innovative rock and roll group Harvey and the Wallbangers before turning to more classical musical delights. His career to date has embraced the full range of opera and oratorio, winning praise for his portrayal of characters as diverse as Falstaff, Wozzeck and Saul (this last in The Sixteen’s new recording of Handel’s oratorio). This is his first solo disc, and what a magnificent debut!
It is quite a task to conjure sufficient variety in seventy minutes of music devoted to the bass voice. However, courtesy of Handel’s genius and chamber group Arcangelo’s spirited playing, variety is what we get, in a selection of “finest arias for base voice” drawn from Handel’s earliest years in Italy through to his last English oratorios written four decades later.
The thrilling intensity of Purves’s voice is immediately apparent, powerful yet focused in his rousing opening aria from Rinaldo. His diction is impeccable, and his vocal range is huge, as demonstrated in Polifemo’s Fra l’ombre e gl’orrori from the early Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, where frequent leaps in excess of two octaves show off both his velvety growling bottom notes and the strength at the top of his voice. The aria itself is subtle in the way it conveys Polifemo’s grotesque nature; it is quite different in character from Polyphemus’s amusing O ruddier than the cherry from the later Acis and Galatea, which Purves sings with uncomplicated gusto.
Calmer arias from the biblical oratorios such as Deborah and Belshazzar give us the chance to hear Purves in more intimate voice, with some delicious flute and string playing in the former, while a jaunty horn soloist competes for the ear’s attention in a tuneful air from L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. Purves gives a commanding performance in Revenge, Timotheus cries (listen for the sparkling trumpet playing here), before concluding the disc with a soft, smoothly sung “sleep aria” from Semele.
Christopher Purves has a wonderful voice, and uses it to vivid effect on this most accomplished and highly enjoyable recording.
A note on this page
Originally published by Anne McAlister, recovered from mmmusic's own archive and reproduced here as the critic wrote it.
Questions about this recording
Who is Christopher Purves?
A British bass-baritone who, after university, first performed with the rock and roll group Harvey and the Wallbangers before turning to classical music. By the time of this disc he had built a wide-ranging opera and oratorio career, including roles such as Falstaff, Wozzeck and Saul.
Is this Purves's first solo recording?
Yes, this Hyperion disc was his first solo recital album.
What repertoire does the disc cover?
Handel's finest arias for bass voice, drawn from his earliest years in Italy through to his last English oratorios written four decades later, a deliberately wide historical span within a single voice type.
Is this recording still available to buy?
Yes, Hyperion's catalogue number CDA67842 remains findable through classical retailers. We don't run an in-house shop, so we link out to Amazon and Discogs below.
