Search - George Frideric Handel, Maurice de Abravanel, Jan Peerce :: Samson Oratorio

Very good on its own terms

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 02/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To those who think that all Handel oratorios are like "Messiah," in which a story is told in general terms using biblical texts, you are in for a pleasant surprise with . I must confess that when the Vanguard Classics reissue of the 1962 set (SVC 131/32) came my way, it was the first time that I sat down with the libretto open and heard it from start to finish. This is the closest you can get to grand opera and still have an oratorio! The text, by the way, is mostly drawn from Milton's "Samson Agnonistes" and some of his other poems; and where the paraphrases of Handel's librettist are less artistic than Milton's lines, the music more than compensates. Now for this recording the score has been cut somewhat and back in 1962 few if any orchestras were experimenting with "authentic instruments." Who cares? I was so impressed with the dramatic urgency of this reading that I was willing to forget all quibbles and simply enjoy the performance. Jan Peerce makes a very athletic sounding Samson and Phyllis Curtin a lovely Delilah. They are backed up by a fine cast that includes Louise Parker (Micah) and Roy Samuelson (Manoah) and by the Chorus and Orchestra of the Utah Symphony, all under Maurice Abravanel. Yes, I would still like to hear a "period" recording; but this will do just fine for many hearings to come."

Indispensable. Now, I want "Israel in Egypt".

Elias | São Paulo, Brazil | 02/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I subscribe the review from the NH gentleman. Yes, it's a masterpiece, and my old LP is worn, very tired from years of use. Nice to have a CD. Now, I want Vanguard to issue "Israel in Egypt", from the same Utah SO and M. Abravanel, wich is fantastic, with the best choir in the whole world. Would like also to see "Ode to St. Cecilia Day" conducted by Bernstein with NY SO, and, of course, all of the old Decca recordings of the NEW YORK PRO MUSICA. Hello, Vanguard, are you hearing me ?"

This 1962 recording hasn't aged well

Elias | 01/22/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This Vanguard reissue as a gesture of historical piety and preservation may be worthwhile for some. But as a recording of Handel's oratorio, while it probably was groundbreaking for 1962 (the year in which it was recorded), it has sadly been eclipsed by far better recordings. The score itself is severely cut, and while the contributions of Peerce and the other soloists, and of Abravanel, are musically adequate, the choral forces sound amateurish (cf. the hooty, overstraining tenors in the concluding chorus of part 1) and poorly miked to boot. The continuo playing of Alexander Schreiner sounds particularly dated; the poor man often sounds as though he is playing a piano arrangement of the score from the harpsichord, doubling the violin line in a way that is wholly and flagrantly inauthentic as a Baroque continuo part. For a "Samson" that is musically viable, check out the Karl Richter recording--far from a period-instruments undertaking itself, and recorded only a few years after this Vanguard set, but infinitely preferable to this one, which is perhaps best regarded as a historical document bearing on the musical legacies of Peerce, Curtin, and Abravanel."