Search - George Frederick Handel, Joel Thiffault, Montréal Baroque Orchestra :: Handel: Ouvertures

Jarring and Bizarre Performances

Don G. Evans | Randallstown, MD USA | 12/18/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I have been listening to Handel's overtures for decades and they are among my favorite pieces. I have dozens of recordings of them, both as collections and as part of the complete works they preface. I bought this disc for my son, presuming he would enjoy them too. Well, this one stays in my collection, because I find it hard to imagine someone liking this music after listening to what is done to it on this disc. The instrumentalists are certainly competent for the most part, and deserve a medal for doubtlessly doing their best to execute M. Thiffault's desires. So what's wrong? Try listening to any track and you will see. We have jarring, surge and halt rhythmns, new phrases beginning almost in the middle of the previous ones, bizarre ritards and accelerandos, inexplicable "hiccups" that pop up in the strangest places. Often, if it weren't for the pitches staying the same, you would swear someone had gummed up your CD player so that it sounds like an old LP played on a turntable with a worn belt. What this most reminds me of is the pre-1960 way of doing Handel-- i.e., before the age of the baroque revival, but unlike those conductors who saw Handel through a Wagnerian lens, M. Thiffault seems to aim at an impressionistic approach to the music where rhythms are as unsteady as Wagner's tonalities. Handel's notes are all there, and there are some nice ornamental flourishes on occasion, but it's not the Handel that I know and love. While most of the music is painful to listen to, there are a few moments of eloquence in the slow movements, and even some worthy ideas now and then. But these are very rare. I do appreciate conductors that try to "think outside the box" and there sure has been a box for Handel's overtures, but this is more of an attack on the music than a performance. I'd be curious to see if listeners unfamiliar with this music (or especially Handel) have the same reaction-- or is it just that I'm trapped into the conventional mode of hearing these pieces? I don't think so. Meanwhile, to hear what these pieces really have to offer, stick with the likes of Pinnock, McGegan, Leppard, Mackerras, Gardiner, Palmer, Rousset, Hickox, Minkowski, Christie, McCreesh, King, Corboz-- well, the list goes on."

GHASTLY PERFORMANCES

N. Bunning | New york, NY USA | 04/24/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Obviously this group doesnt understand Handel! Total waste of money!!! For a moment I thought there was a fault with my equipment. There are so many better recordings to buy thank this."