It’s surprising that Handel’s many overtures aren’t exploited more often by performers and record companies for programs such as this, especially since they represent some of the most dramatically charged and abundantly inviting music from one of the greatest and most successful theatre composers of all time. The trouble here is not with the well-chosen program–a pleasing mix of more and less familiar selections–but with the interpretive approach. As if to make extra sure that we grasp, make that feel, the impact of the works’ inherent drama, the Orchestre Baroque de Montréal assails each of these seven opera and oratorio overtures with a rhythmic vengeance–a supercharged, aggressive physical energy that dominates and ultimately consumes any hope for a refreshing breath of counterbalancing subtlety or lyricism. Indeed, these performances presume a complete absence of these features in Handel’s curtain-raising creations–a mistake, but one consistently followed nevertheless. Especially bothersome is the excessive use of messa di voce, a sort of extended, reverse sforzando, a dynamic swell that was applied by 18th-century string players to certain long notes, usually in solo performance. While you can’t complain about the clarity of articulation or the uniformity of the ensemble’s playing, the slash and burn style seems at worst like a gimmick, or, at best, just overindulgent. The close, rather hard-edged sound serves to enhance the whole effect. Whatever, some listeners undoubtedly will find this an exciting or even “realistic” approach to Handel. While I am happy to see these pieces receive serious attention by such high-caliber musicians, I wish I could have enjoyed them more.
