Eternal Heaven: Handel

by Iestyn Davies, Lea Desandre, Thomas Dunford, Jupiter

Overview

Eternal Heaven, featuring countertenor Iestyn Davies and mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre in fine voice, is a new kind of Handel aria collection. The early music group Jupiter and its director, lutenist Thomas Dunford, assemble a loose narrative of a love affair out of arias from various Handel operas and oratorios. This works well in at least three ways, one of them being that Handel, living in an age of pastiche opera, would not have found the idea too strange. For another, the idea enables Davies and Desandre to avoid the athleticism characteristic of most Handel collections in favor of slow, lyrical duets that were of critical importance in the original operas and oratorios. The chemistry between the two is palpable in a piece like "Thither let our hearts aspire," from Act III of Theodora, HWV 68. Moreover, Dunford has reached deeply into the Handel songbag, picking pieces from such obscure items as the Occasional Oratorio, HWV 62, and The Choice of Hercules, HWV 69, that even serious Handelians may not have heard. The result is an entirely fresh look at Handel. The inclusion of an original composition at the end by Dunford and Doug Balliett, not at all consistent stylistically with Handel, is a bit much, but that is the end of the list of complaints for this distinctive release that made best-seller lists in late 2022. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	01/13/2023
Label:	Erato
UPC:	5054197196775
Rank:	43721

Tracks

1. Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74~Eternal Source of Light Divine
2. Theodora HWV 68~Part II. Scene 2. Air. With Darkness Deep, as Is My Woe
3. The Choice of Hercules HWV 69~No. 15. Air. Yet Can I Hear That Dulcet Lay
4. Hercules HWV 60~Act II. Scene 8. Duet. Joys of Freedom
5. Theodora HWV 68~Part I. Scene 4. Air. As With Rosy Steps the Morn
6. Semele HWV 58~Act III. Scene 8. Air. Despair no More Shall Wound Me
7. Solomon HWV 67~Act III. No. 59. Air. Will the Sun Forget to Streak
8. Susanna HWV 66~Act III. Scene 2. Duet. To My Chaste Susanna's Praise
9. Saul HWV 53~Act I. Scene 5. Air. O Lord, Whose Mercies Numberless
10. Joseph and His Brethren HWV 59~Act III. Scene 2. Air. Prophetic Raptures Swell My Breast
11. Theodora HWV 68~Part III. Scene 6. Duet. Thither Let Our Hearts Aspire
12. Suite in D minor HWV 437~III. Sarabande
13. Semele HWV 58~Act II. Scene 4. Duet. Prepare Then, Ye Immortal Choir
14. Semele HWV 58~Act II, Scene 1. Air. Hence, Iris, Hence Away
15. The Triumph of Time & Truth HWV 71~Act III. No. 58. Air. Guardian Angels, Oh, Protect Me
16. Occasional Oratorio HWV 62~Part I. No. 8. Soprano air. Fly From the Threat'ning Vengeance, Fly!
17. Semele HWV 58~Act I. Scene 2. Duet. You've Undone Me
18. Esther HWV 50b~Act II. Scene 3. Duet. Who Calls My Parting Soul From Death?
19. Semele HWV 58~Act III. Scene 4. Air. No, No, I'll Take No Less
20. Semele HWV 58~Act II. Scene 4. Air. But Hark, the Heav'nly Sphere Turns Round
21. Theodora HWV 68~Part II. Scene 5. Duet. To Thee Thou Glorious Son of Worth / To Thee, Whose Virtues Suit Thy Birth
22. That's so You

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Iestyn Davies   Primary Artist,Counter Tenor (Vocal)
Lea Desandre   Primary Artist,Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Thomas Dunford   Primary Artist,Lute,Conductor
Jupiter   Primary Artist,Chamber Ensemble

Technical Credits

James Halliday   Arranger
Christophe Urbain   Photography
Daniel Zalay   Recording Producer
James Miller   Librettist
Hughes Deschaux   Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Mastering Engineer
Alain Lanceron   Executive Producer
William Congreve   Librettist
Thomas Morell   Adaptation,Librettist
Alexander Pope   Librettist
Benedetto Pamphili   Librettist
Newburgh Hamilton   Librettist
Thomas Broughton   Librettist
Moises Mendes   Librettist
John Arbuthnot   Librettist
Thomas Dunford   Composer,Liner Notes
Julien Benhamou   Photography
Doug Balliett   Composer
Lea Desandre   Liner Notes
Ambrose Philips   Librettist
Robert Sargant   Liner Note Translation
Daniel Fesquet   Libretto Translation
Samuel Humphreys   Librettist
George Frederick Handel   Composer
Charles Jennens   Librettist
Polina Chambaud   Tuning
Alex Blake   Liner Notes
Matthias Grosskloss   Liner Note Translation
Florian Donati   Tuning