A complete version of Georg Frideric Handel's "Acis & Galatea" (Joan Sutherland, Peter Pears, Owen Brannigan & David Galliver) - No. 2

While my two votings are still going on, I decided that I should do something new. Each two months I'm going to put out a whole opera on Youtube. The opera of this month (actually, two months) is Handel's gentle Acis and Galatea. A quite short work, Acis and Galatea still has quite a bit of wonderful music: for example, Galatea's "Hush, ye pretty warbling" and "As when the dove laments her love", Polyphemus's "O ruddier than the cherry" and the duet for two lovers "Happy we". I do hope that you enjoy this beautiful pastoral opera (comments are required). There are many versions to choose from, but my favorite one is the Adrian Boult 1960 recording. Although it isn't terribly authentic (some repetitions are just skipped, there aren't any variations), Adrian Boult leads a very commpassionate recording, the soloists (Joan Sutherland, Peter Pears and Owen Brannigan) are top-notch; actually, everything is absolutely right. The second part includes:
3. Recitative: "Ye verdant plains";
4. No. 2 - Aria: "Hush ye pretty warbling".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Handel
• Joan
• Sutherland
• Peter
• Pears
• Adrian
• Boult
• Coloratura
• Baroque

[essenciademusica]

lindo

[RevolutionaryJam]

I must sa I prefer the version conducted by John Butt as the voice is sexier on it and I think it's important that the voice is sexy in this one because Galatea is basically singing how she's horny for Acis...

[Malloyism]

an opera is acted out with a ful cast. an oratoria may simply be the singers standing out front of an orchestra doing the arias with a choir in the backgraond.

[TheProphetEliza]

this is an OPERA people. I know because I have performed in this!

[jpandyaraja]

really enchanting......to be honest i only

started listening to Handel recently.....

trying to make up for the deficit now so

thanks and pls post more...jr

[Goltermann]

in oktober i will play this as solo cello (german).

thanks you for the video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

very well played!!!!!

[tom0554]

Opera or oratorio? It's actually described as a Masque, which doesn't really help, does it? :)

But I love this recording - lack of 'authenticity' really doesn't bother me.

And what about the harpsichord continuo? The late Thurston Dart on top form, full of wit and imagination. Listen to the recitative at the beginning of this video. At the words 'purling streams' you get rippling water, and at 'bubbling fountains', a little arpeggiated flourish. Tiny details, but they make me smile every time!

[lottietoo]

I certainly don't mean to flog a dead horse but you sound like you really want to know. An oratorio can be sacred like The Messiah and Samson or secular, like Acis and Galatea and Semele. By the way, there is a beautiful recording of Semele with Samuel Ramey and Marilyn Horne

[handelfan610]

all of this i did know (the differences that is)but i though he would have staged it and i thought his oratorios were sacred works...thank you so much for the info.

[lottietoo]

It (Acis and Galatea) is an oratorio, as is Semele, Samson, etc. The most famous of Handels oratorios is The Messiah. The primary difference between oratorio and opera is that an oratorio was never meant to be staged, i.e. acted out with costumes, etc. but sung in concert by soloists standing in front of a choir and accompanied by an orchestra.