Dunedin Consort’s pioneering recording presents a brand new performing version of one of Handel’s greatest dramatic works, Samson.
• For the first time listeners can enjoy an authentic Handelian chorus, comprising both solo sopranos and boy trebles – a sonority largely unheard in the modern age.
• The singers available to Handel for the work’s first set of performances in 1743 varied considerably, leading many researchers to speculate upon the composer’s own preferences.
• But new thinking by director John Butt has led to the evolution of this recording and to what he considers to be the definitive performance in line with Handel’s intentions.
• This powerful oratorio – an opera in all but name – features Joshua Ellicott in the title role with soloists Sophie Bevan, Matthew Brook, Mary Bevan, Hugo Hymas, Jess Dandy, Vitali Rozynko and Fflur Wyn.
• Matching the revelatory historical practice begun in its award-winning recording of Messiah (Dublin Version, 1742), the soloists lead their sections to unite the solo and choral forces, creating a highly effective and cohesive sound.
• With rich orchestration and highlights such as ‘Let the bright seraphim’ and ‘Total eclipse’, Samson is Dunedin Consort’s most ambitious undertaking to date.
