Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt, HWV 54, bombed at its first performance in 1739 and was heavily revised by Handel. The revisions go even further here, in what is marked as an adaptation by Apollo's Fire director Jeannette Sorrell. She makes wholesale cuts, removing numerous arias, consolidating others, and leaving only a few recitatives. Sorrell retains, however, the three-part structure of Handel's first attempt (the librettist was probably Charles Jennens of Messiah), consisting of the "Lamentations by the Israelites for the Death of Joseph," "Exodus," and "Moses' Song." She also keeps the chorus-heavy quality of Handel's originals. The nearly three-hour oratorio usually heard is sliced to just over 74 minutes. All this might seem an unwarranted intrusion, but Handel himself obviously struggled with the material of this oratorio, which isn't one of his more commonly heard works. And lo, Sorrell's reworking succeeds solidly, creating convincing dramatic arcs where they previously existed only in outline. The ten plagues are shortened considerably but make more of an impact in their abbreviated form. The greatest strength here is the choral writing, in many places the equal of anything in Messiah. Apollo's Fire is a rather underrated choral-orchestral group from the U.S. Midwest that offers a satisfyingly good-sized choir with clear text articulation and a fine sense of expressing what they are singing about. A strong offering that will be appreciated by Handel lovers during the 2023 holiday season and beyond.© James Manheim /TiVo

The "greatest hits" album is generally the province of traditional symphony orchestras and large popular choruses; ensembles from the historical performance movement, generally intent on the exploration of specific musical moments, have avoided the format. Yet there's a place for such recordings by authentic performance groups, as this release by The Sixteen and their director, Harry Christophers, shows. The new listener who has been moved by the "Hallelujah" chorus from Messiah, HWV 56, ought to have a place to go next, and that place should not by default be the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its ilk: the size of the ensemble here, with 16 singers, give or take a few, and roughly that many instrumentalists, is closer to what Handel would have known. The selections on the album were recorded between 1990 and 2018 in a group of four London churches that have been skillfully knitted together sonically by remastering engineers. They include the "Hallelujah" chorus and the other favorites one would expect, nicely paired with pieces of similar impact but lesser renown. The mood is generally triumphal but is intelligently varied so as to give the listener an idea of the unerring dramatic sense that lies behind the popularity of Handel's choruses and of the various ways he used the chorus. There is a lengthy excerpt from Esther, HWV 50, "The Lord our enemy has slain," which is like a self-contained cantata with varied sections, and a chorus from the masque Acis and Galatea, HWV 49, which is made up of different stuff than the big oratorio choruses. The bottom line is that this collection fulfills its worthwhile purpose.© TiVo

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Just in time for the coronation of King Charles III comes this release, featuring music written for the coronations of George II in 1727 and of George I before him. The Handel works, written for the 1727 event, are the pure public Handel, with imposing choral-orchestral chords interspersed with straightforward but not simple episodes of counterpoint. They are meant to be crowd-pleasers, and indeed, they are; they're hard to ruin. What is on offer here from the RIAS-Kammerchor Berlin and the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin under conductor Justin Doyle are elegant but undersized performances characteristic of the Continental historical performance movement. Reports from Handel's time indicated an orchestra of 160; here are but 20 players. The choir, at 36 singers, is closer to Handel's 40, and this veteran group delivers a rich, satisfying sound with a rounded tone from the smaller solo group (not indicated in the score but often performed as it is here). The anthem The Lord Is a Sun and Shield is not by Handel but by William Croft, and one will be struck by how close it is to Handel stylistically. The overture to Handel's Occasional Oratorio, HWV 62, serves as an overture to the whole program, and there is a typically odd Chaconne by John Blow as an interlude. These are less-splendid but highly enjoyable performances for reliving the coronation atmosphere.© James Manheim /TiVo

The general revival of music by women has not done much for Elizabeth Poston (1905-1987), even though she was quite a familiar figure in her own time. She wrote two carols, The Boar's Head Carol and Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, that remain in common use, was a broadcaster on the BBC for some years, and edited several music collections for Penguin publishing that are still in print. This collection of sacred music from two choirs of St. Albans Cathedral and conductor Tom Winpenny adds a substantial chunk to the relative handful of Poston compositions that have been available up to now, and the album made classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2023. Both of Poston's familiar carols are included, and those not familiar with Jesus Christ the Apple Tree would do well to sample it here; it has a truly mysterious simplicity. All of the music might be described as artfully simple; even the main attraction, the mini Christmas oratorio The Nativity, has an attractive minimal quality, with texts gathered from folk carols. The second half of the program is largely given over to little carols for children sung by the St. Albans Cathedral Girls Choir; there may be smoother choirs in the English cathedral sphere, but few would get into the spirit of The Dormouse's Carol as these young singers do. Essential for collections of music by women, this would also make a good offbeat holiday gift for 2023 and beyond.© James Manheim /TiVo

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2023 marks the quatercentenary of the death of two huge names of the English Renaissance: William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes. Such an occasion calls for a gala of tribute albums and commemorative concerts. Of course, you need a cast worthy of kicking off these festivities, and who better than the legendary a cappella ensemble The King’s Singers and the viol quintet Fretwork? The two ensembles, both of which are internationally renowned for their cutting-edge work on early music, are simply delightful in this new recording, where the works of “Tom” and “Will” are set against each other. It's a stunning combination of secular and sacred, madrigals and instrumentals, dances and elegies. Listeners are also treated to the world premiere of two contemporary creations by Sir James MacMillan (‘Ye sacred muses’) and Roderick Williams (‘Death, be not proud’). These compositions are adapted from two elegies composed by Byrd and Weelkes respectively. Byrd’s elegy was written upon the death of his teacher, Thomas Tallis. Likewise, Weelkes’ was written upon the death of his teacher, Thomas Morley.A special mention must go to Fretwork's gambists, who put forward an assertive take on the melodies and showcase an exceptional mastery of metre and delay. The instruments and vocalists come together in perfect harmony, with the singers becoming one powerful voice that’s always perfectly intelligible. Four centuries after their deaths, "Tom" and "Will" still resonate with an immense grace that will stick with you long after the music stops. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

What a treat to have a first solo album from Philippe Pierlot, the Belgian viola da gamba player best known for being the director of the Ricercar Ensemble, and what a double treat for it then to sound so absolutely ravishing. In programming terms alone, “Meditation” is a joy for its combination of variety and musicological storytelling. A charting of the viola da gamba’s time in the sun via the music of its finest exponents, it opens with a selection of airs from Tobias Hume’s (1579-1645) The First Part of Ayres of 1605, which was the first complete collection of pieces for solo viola da gamba to be published on British shores. From there it’s a hop over the Channel to celebrate the instrument’s heyday in France. First for a handful of sarabandes and courantes, plus a chaconne, from Monsieur de Sainte Colombe (1640-1700). Then Les Voix humaines by Marin Marais (1656-1728), before returning to British shores for a few pieces by Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), whose love for the fast-becoming-unfashionable viol saw him adapt his own pre-Classical style to something closer to that of his family friend and onetime teacher Johann Sebastian Bach. Pierlot then winds things up with his own transcriptions of two German works – the Prélude, Sarabande and Menuet from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, and a Meditation for harpsichord piece that Johann Jakob Froberger wrote on a trip to Paris in 1660. Recorded in Santa Maria di Micciano, the performances themselves have been captured with vibrant-toned intimacy, and a nice amount of church acoustic in the mix; and while there’s audible breathing, I’m inclined to think that it’s worth it for the pleasure of being really able to appreciate the timbres of hair catching – and of subtle mid-bow modulations in weight and attack – on gut string. Pierlot’s Thomas Allred 1635 viola da gamba meanwhile fully lives up to the viola da gamba’s ‘ambassador’ nickname with its mahogany’s sweetness, and Pierlot’s actual playing is as beguiling in the rhythmic rise and fall of an up-tempo Sarabande as in his programme’s many slower-spun lyrical moments. As for the album title, this refers to the programme’s first and last pieces, which serve as an ear-pricking way to finish by coming full circle, while having moved to an altogether different and more exotic place in stylistic and harmonic terms. Don’t leave too soon either, because as the Froberger’s final chord dies away there’s an inspired postscript in the form of far-off church bell chimes. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

Two Highways is the first album Alison Krauss recorded with her excellent backing band, Union Station, and, appropriately, it demonstrates that she could lead a band through a number of bluegrass standards, as well as several more contemporary numbers. Of course, her instrumental solo continue to be the most impressive thing about her music on Two Highways, but her duets with guitarists Jeff White demonstrate that her vocals are beginning to come into their own.© Thom Owens /TiVo

Angel Band is yet another fascinating left turn, an acoustic record comprised of country-gospel songs like "We Shall Rise, " "If I Be Lifted Up" and "Someday My Ship Will Sail, " performed with great subtlety and nuance.© Jason Ankeny /TiVo

The stated aim of this Signum Classics release is pretty murky: "Inspirations and imaginings, evolving, changing English usage, landscapes, friendships, and passings lie behind this album," reads the booklet. The idea is that the divine relates to beauty these days. More important, perhaps, is another feature: countertenor Iestyn Davies and the superb pianist Joseph Middleton offer a new entry in the increasingly common trend of countertenor performance of music outside the usual Renaissance and Baroque repertory. Davies' program includes some Purcell songs but is mostly drawn from the contemporary era. Listeners will make up their own minds about this, but it is worth noting that Davies has done it quite intelligently. He includes pairs of works by Thomas Adès and Nico Muhly. All of his contemporary pieces refer, some quite subtly, to Renaissance and Baroque styles, even the dissonant The Lover in Winter of Adès. Muhly's Four Traditional Songs are a fascinating modern take-off on the folk music strain in 20th century English music. Perhaps the highlights are the Six Songs from "A Shropshire Lad" of George Butterworth, which retain the foursquare construction of A.E. Housman's poetry but add a deep note of uneasy nostalgia that, although the songs were written prior to World War I, seem to prefigure the losses of that war, losses that included Butterworth's own death. Listeners who find countertenors self-indulgent when they depart from their usual circles should hear this release.© James Manheim /TiVo

Handel’s Messiah has been adored by the English since it premiered. It’s a masterpiece in the British repertoire and has never been eclipsed. It’s been sung in every possible style, in every possible size. “Bigger is better” seems to be the general rule of thumb and the number of musicians and singers has approached the thousands. Attending one of these huge performances, Haydn was inspired to write his own oratorio: Die Schöpfung (The Creation).Recorded in January 2020 in Berlin’s famous Jesus-Christus Church, where so many legendary performances have been recorded, this new version uses the ‘reasonable’ size of its 1742 Dublin premiere. The fabulous RIAS-Kammerchor and the Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin joined forces for the occasion with an amazing English vocal quartet consisting of Julia Doyle (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor) and Roderick Williams (bass).After their three editions devoted to Handel's Concerti grossi, the Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin continues to invest in the music of the most English of German composers. Just to give you a taste of what it’s all about, the RIAS-Kammerchor has been led by English choirmaster Justin Doyle since 2016. Here he gives an intimate reading of Messiah, conducting an incredible choir and orchestra that are among the best in the world at performing this music. Berlin was treated to this at the Philharmonie for the 2020 New Year Concert a few days before this recording. © François Hudry/Qobuz

The career of the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov goes back to the days of suppression of modernist styles by Soviet authorities. He has been underexposed in the West compared with other Eastern European composers working in accessible idioms. This may be because he is not readily classifiable or marketable among the minimalists or among the neo-Romantics, but instead has forged an individual language drawing on both, as well as on Slavic sources. This collection of a cappella choral pieces from the 1990s and 2000s is a good introduction to his rather inward late style. Silvestrov may write hypertonal music if it fits the text (such as the Ave Maria, which appears twice in this set of mostly sacred pieces), refer to Rachmaninov's sacred music, or employ static textures as needed. His palette has subtle shades such as the distinction between chant and song in the Two Sacred Chants and Two Sacred Songs, both from 2006; the songs, naturally enough, have a more purely melodic idiom. But his pieces tend to end luxuriously in big stacks. The closest comparison might be Henryk Górecki, but lovers of Pärt's music should also check this out. The Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava is an ideal ensemble for this music, with brilliant highs that resound in the unidentified but excellent space employed by Ondine for its recording. The booklet is also worthwhile, containing a biography of Silvestrov that will be news to many listeners outside the vicinity of the composer or performers.© TiVo