No listener can claim to know the mind of any performer, especially on a recording. However, it’s safe to say that the members of the Scholars Baroque Ensemble were totally sincere and committed to making the best possible performance of these three early, moderately interesting Handel choral works, composed during his stay in Italy in 1707. The reason for this assumption is the unfaltering level of exuberance and emphatic expressiveness that defines these performances. No one tries this hard unless they’re trying to make a point. With a vocal style that can only be described as “aggressive” (just listen to the opening chorus and you’ll see what I mean), the eight singers plow forth as if trying to convince us that they can make just as much sound as a choir of 30. Unfortunately, the effect is something like taking a sledgehammer to Handel. While we can appreciate such fearless display of energy and feeling in sacred music, the relentless barrage of percussive vocal power–does every note need to be accented?–merely leaves us wishing for the onslaught to stop. A little subtlety, please? A little sensitivity, perhaps?
Granted, the two psalms are thematically upbeat–concerned with celestial power and God’s care for his children–but the music benefits from a more balanced sense of ensemble in the choruses, rather than what sounds like a contest of soloists, each trying to prove his or her voice is better than the next singer’s. There are moments of respite, with some very fine solo singing by soprano Kym Amps in the Salve Regina and by countertenor Angus Davidson in his Nisi Dominus aria (“For so he giveth his beloved sleep”). The orchestral playing, too, is very good–well-balanced and articulate, with nicely chosen tempos. All of these singers are experienced performers with impressive solo voices. Their decision to “go for the fences”, vocally speaking, in these straightforward, lesser-known pieces may have been an attempt to make the music seem larger and more important. Whatever the reason, it didn’t work.
