Handel: Streams of Pleasure

Bright, edgy woodwind; neat violins; an ever-purposeful bass line; two healthful, smiling voices and some lovely music. There is much to admire...but there is little sense of dramatic context...If... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2011, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 19th Sep 2011
Catalogue No: V5261
Label: Naive
Length: 75 minutes

Excerpt, Handel: Belshazzar

Work length2:27

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Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Belshazzar, HWV 61, Act III: Aria: Destructive war, thy limits know

Track length2:27

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Excerpt, Handel: Theodora, HWV 68

Work length4:46

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Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto), Karina Gauvin (soprano)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Theodora, HWV 68, Act II: To thee, thou glorious son of worth

Track length4:46

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Excerpt, Handel: Alexander Balus

Work length6:06

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Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III: Fury with red sparkling eyes

Track length6:06

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Excerpt, Handel: Susanna, HWV66

Work length6:49

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Karina Gauvin (soprano)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Susanna, HWV 66, Act II: Lead me - Crystal streams in murmurs flowing

Track length6:49

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Excerpt, Handel: Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63

Work length3:01

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$1.20

Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto), Karina Gauvin (soprano)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63, Act I: Duet: From this dread scene

Track length3:01

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Excerpt, Handel: Theodora, HWV 68

Work length12:36

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Act II: Aria: Streams of pleasure ever flowing

Track length5:40

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Act I: Recitative: Ah! whither should we fly? - Aria: As with rosy steps the morn

Track length6:56

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Handel: Joseph and his Brethren

Work length8:49

$2.00

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Karina Gauvin (soprano)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Joseph and His Brethren, HWV 59, Act III: Aria: Prophetic raptures swell my breast

Track length8:49

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Excerpt, Handel: Joshua, HWV 64

Work length2:59

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Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto), Karina Gauvin (soprano)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Joshua, HWV 64, Act I: Our limpid streams with freedom flow

Track length2:59

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Excerpt, Handel: Solomon

Work length4:26

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Karina Gauvin (soprano)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Solomon, HWV 67, Part II: Can I see my infant gor'd

Track length4:26

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Excerpt, Handel: Alexander Balus

Work length2:39

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Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I: Aria: Fair virtue shall charm me

Track length2:39

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Excerpt, Handel: Solomon

Work length4:03

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Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto)

Solomon, HWV 67, Act I: Recitative: Thou fair inhabitant - Welcome as the dawn of day

Track length4:03

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Excerpt, Handel: Hercules

Work length6:42

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Karina Gauvin (soprano)
Complesso Barocco, Il
Alan Curtis

Hercules, HWV 60, Act I: Recitative: Forgive me - Aria: My father

Track length6:42

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Excerpt, Handel: Theodora, HWV 68

Work length4:29

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Theodora, HWV 68, Act II: Recitative: But why art thour disquieted - Aria: Oh! that I on wings could rise

Track length4:29

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Excerpt, Handel: Belshazzar

Work length5:08

$1.00

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Karina Gauvin (soprano)

Belshazzar, HWV 61, Act III: Great victor, at your feet I bow

Track length5:08

$1.00

$1.20

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About

The oratorios from which Karina Gauvin and Marie-Nicole Lemieux perform excerpts on Streams of Pleasure were premiered between 1744 and 1750 and are among Handel’s last compositions. Soprano and contralto are joined for this pleasurable collection by internationally acclaimed early music ensemble Il Complesso Barocco under its musical director Alan Curtis.

Founded by Alan Curtis in Amsterdam in 1979, Il Complesso Barocco has become a renowned Baroque orchestra with a focus on Italian opera and oratorio of the period. Its rich discography was for a time devoted to the late madrigal repertory, but it has also released an award-winning recording of Rossi’s Primo Libro di Madrigali, as well as a disc of Handel’s arias and duets, Amore e Gelosia with Patrizia Ciofi and Joyce DiDonato. Il Complesso Barocco’s releases of Handel operas include Dmeto, Rodrigo, Arminio, Deidamia, Radamisto, Berenice, Alcina, and Ariodante, several of which have won the ‘International Handel Recording Prize’.

Highly regarded contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux has recorded for numerous labels, and now enjoys an exclusive contract with Naïve, for which she has recorded the title roles in Vivaldi’s operas Griselda and Orlando furioso, and La Fida Ninfa. In recent times she has released a critically acclaimed programme of Vivaldi arias with the Ensemble Matheus under Jean-Christophe Spinosi.

Fellow Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin’s has recorded for labels including ATMA, Astrée, and Dorian, and has appeared on Naïve’s recording of Vivaldi’s Tito Manlio as well Handel’s Ezio, Alcina, and Tolomeo with I’l Complesso Barocco for DG and DG Archiv.

Reviews

December 2011

Bright, edgy woodwind; neat violins; an ever-purposeful bass line; two healthful, smiling voices and some lovely music. There is much to admire...but there is little sense of dramatic context...If you can put that aside, you can relish the pizazz with which Lemieux and Gauvin attack each oratorio character's emotional state...It's a handsome, stylish, polished performance.

December 2011

Gauvin's soprano has a warm timbre that blends beautifully with Lemieux's deep, dusky contralto. Individually, too, they are fabulous - Lemieux's opening 'Destructive war' is a dramatic tour de force. The heart of the disc is the profound, moving duet 'Streams of pleasure'...these polished, beautifully balanced performances are a pleasure to listen to

15th October 2011

We prize Handel’s stage works for their tragic depth, but there is a gentler, nobler strain that explains the title given to this CD. Uniting two stylish Canadians, one a soprano and the other a contralto, it comprises 15 numbers from the English oratorios Handel wrote late in his career.

December 2011

There is indeed plenty to enjoy, especially where soprano Karina Gauvin is involved...[Lemieux] is a singer with temperament to burn...But in less overwrought music...I wanted less gusty phrasing, more care from true legato...If this is not quite the Handel recital I was hoping for, it's still worth investigating for Lemieux's viscerally exciting singing and, above all, Gauvin's ideal Handelian mix of grace and profound emotional truth.

November 2011

Part of the attraction of [the] blending of voices is that Gauvin's middle tones have a warmth, almost mezzo-ish, which accords well with Lemieux's rich bloom...I am not one who throws accolades around like confetti, but the enjoyment that this CD has provided brings from me an IRR Outstanding recommendation. The disc is entitled 'Streams of Pleasure' but for me it is a full, flowing river.

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Handel: Streams of Pleasure

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