CD Review
Handel: Parnasso in Festa, Carolyn Sampson, Lucy Crowe, Diana Moore
- Composer
- Handel
- Artist
- Carolyn Sampson, Lucy Crowe, Diana Moore; The King's Consort / Matthew Halls
- Label
- Hyperion
- Catalogue
- CDA67701/2
- Reviewed by
- Ruth Squire
This premiere recording of Handel’s Parnasso in Festa will be welcomed by Handel fans. The work takes the form of a celebratory serenata. (Generally performed as a concert without stage action, a serenata was viewed as an evening’s entertainment.) Parnasso in Festa was written to celebrate the marriage of Princess Anne to Prince William of Orange. Set in Greece, the plot is based around the wedding of King Peleus (one of Jason’s Argonauts) and Thetis (a sea-nymph) where three Muses plus Apollo, Orpheus, Mars and Clori are in attendance.
This release, brought to us by The King’s Consort directed by Matthew Halls, is an excellent way to discover this little-known work. Soloists include Carolyn Sampson, Lucy Crowe and Diana Moore, whose voices are well-suited to their respective parts. The music is wide-ranging in style, from the virtuosic (take for example Diana Moore’s solo aria, Torni pure) to the mournful. Nel patto is an exquisite ensemble, bringing together four of the soloists and chorus in an emotional moment of contemplation.
The King’s Consort provides sensitive instrumental accompaniment, with choral singing coming from the Choir of the King’s Consort. The overall result is a beautiful performance of a work which deserves more attention. If this was Handel’s idea of an evening’s entertainment, I can only envy his audience!
About the occasion
Parnasso in Festa was first performed at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket on 13 March 1734, the day before the royal wedding it was written to mark. Much of the music was drawn from Handel’s own earlier English oratorio Athalia, reworked to fit the new Italian text, a common practice for Handel when a court occasion left little time to compose an entirely new score from scratch. Its comparative rarity on disc and in the concert hall, relative to Handel’s better-known operas and oratorios, made this premiere recording a genuine event for listeners who knew the work only by reputation.
A note on this page
Originally published by Ruth Squire, recovered from mmmusic's own archive and reproduced here as the critic wrote it.
Questions about this recording
What kind of work is Parnasso in Festa?
A celebratory serenata, generally performed as a concert without stage action, viewed in its own time as an evening's entertainment, written to celebrate the marriage of Princess Anne to Prince William of Orange.
What's the plot?
Set in Greece, it's built around the wedding of King Peleus (one of Jason's Argonauts) and the sea-nymph Thetis, attended by three Muses plus Apollo, Orpheus, Mars and Clori.
Was this genuinely the work's premiere recording?
Yes, this Hyperion release, directed by Matthew Halls with The King's Consort, was the first recording of the complete work.
Is this recording still available to buy?
Yes, Hyperion's catalogue number CDA67701-2 remains findable through classical retailers. We don't run an in-house shop, so we link out to Amazon and Discogs below.
