London Early Opera follow up their debut release (Handel in Italy, Vol. 1) with a treasure trove of music by George Frideric Handel (as well as his contemporaries Thomas Arne and John Hebden) centered on the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens – a carnival of music and entertainments that entertained visitors for nearly 200 years. The booklet notes features images and expert commentaries of the Vauxhall Gardens by author David E. Coke and conductor and musicologist Bridget Cunningham.
Vauxhall Gardens was a “pleasure garden,” a kind of private park where entertainment of various kinds might be presented indoors and outdoors. Part of it still exists today. Handel and others wrote music for the venue, only to see it disparaged by Samuel Johnson; partly for this reason, the selections on this album qualify as genuinely neglected Handel. They are light, but not unsophisticated. Contained on this release is music that roughly reconstructs part of an evening’s music at Vauxhall. One of the park’s pavilions contained a small organ, and the Organ Concerto in B flat major, Op. 4, No. 2, HWV 290, receives a delightful small-scale performance here from organist Daniel Moult and players from the London Early Opera orchestra under Bridget Cunningham, the creative force behind this album. The outdoor pieces would have included little strophic songs and pastoral scenes by Handel and others; these are small gems that have hardly been touched by performers. Sample the rather comically overwrought The Melancholy Nymph, HWV 228, No. 19 (track 12), or the comic pastoral Colin and Phoebe by Thomas Arne, one of a pair of Handel contemporaries included. The sound disappoints; the church acoustic makes no differentiation among the types of music heard here and isn’t really right for any of them. But this release is essential for anyone interested in understanding Handel’s musical world, and it holds a good deal of charm for any listener.
Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com
London Early Opera
Bridget Cunningham, conductor
Daniel Moult, organ (2-6)
Kirsty Hopkins (soprano) 7-8
Eleanor Dennis (soprano) 9, 17
Sophie Bevan (soprano) 11
Greg Tassell (tenor) 9
Charles MacDougall (tenor) 12
Benjamin Bevan (baritone) 9
Tracklist:
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
01. Sinfonia (3:36)
02. Organ Improvisation in the style of John Worgan and Handel (0:59)
Organ Concerto in B flat major, Op.4 No.2, HWV 290
03. I. Sinfonia: A tempo ordinario e staccato (0:49)
04. II. Allegro (4:56)
05. III. Adagio e staccato (0:48)
06. IV. Allegro ma non presto (3:07)
Acis and Galatea, HWV 49
07. Ye verdant plains and woody mountains (0:42)
08. Hush, ye pretty warbling choir! (5:43)
Thomas Arne (1710-1778)
09. Colin and Phoebe (3:34)
George Frideric Handel
10. Saul, HWV 53 – Dead March (3:06)
11. The Advice (2:10)
12. The Melancholy Nymph, HWV 228 No.19 (3:35)
John Hebden (c1712-1765)
Concerto for Strings and Basso Continuo No.1 in A major
13. I. Adagio (1:59)
14. II. Fuga (1:55)
15. III. Largo (1:33)
16. IV. Allegro (3:33)
George Frideric Handel
17. L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, HWV 55 – As steals the morn upon the night (6:12)
EAC extraction logfile from 7. October 2016, 23:17
London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham / Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1
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17 | 42:04.25 | 6:11.63 | 189325 | 217212
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==== Log checksum 42ACB7E19C44B73D336043D9B781F7EE1B5D6F0AD1207E02D4CA876B4D7DD189 ====
log date: 2017-07-19 02:53:36
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Daniel Moult, London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham / Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR12 -9.27 dB -24.40 dB 0:49 03-Organ Concerto in B flat major, Op.4 No.2, HWV 290 – I. Sinfonia: A tempo ordinario e staccato
DR12 -9.22 dB -27.95 dB 4:56 04-Organ Concerto in B flat major, Op.4 No.2, HWV 290 – II. Allegro
DR10 -16.53 dB -31.90 dB 0:48 05-Organ Concerto in B flat major, Op.4 No.2, HWV 290 – III. Adagio e staccato
DR12 -11.13 dB -27.84 dB 3:07 06-Organ Concerto in B flat major, Op.4 No.2, HWV 290 – IV. Allegro ma non presto
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 4
Official DR value: DR12
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 659 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Daniel Moult / Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1 (1)
Eleanor Dennis, Greg Tassell, Benjamin Bevan, London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham / Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1 (2)
Eleanor Dennis, Greg Tassell, London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham / Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1 (3)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR8 -18.93 dB -32.06 dB 0:59 02-Organ Improvisation in the style of John Worgan and Handel
DR13 -2.90 dB -20.18 dB 3:34 09-Arne: Colin and Phoebe
DR13 -2.99 dB -22.07 dB 6:12 17-L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, HWV 55 – As steals the morn upon the night
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 3
Official DR value: DR11
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 659 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Kirsty Hopkins, London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham / Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR11 -5.06 dB -23.88 dB 0:42 07-Acis and Galatea, HWV 49 – Ye verdant plains and woody mountains
DR16 -0.40 dB -23.33 dB 5:43 08-Acis and Galatea, HWV 49 – Hush, ye pretty warbling choir!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 2
Official DR value: DR14
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
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Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 659 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham / Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR13 -9.01 dB -25.24 dB 3:36 01-Acis and Galatea, HWV 49 – Sinfonia
DR12 -6.70 dB -23.85 dB 3:06 10-Saul, HWV 53 – Dead March
DR12 -10.62 dB -27.91 dB 1:59 13-Hebden: Concerto for Strings and Basso Continuo No.1 in A major – I. Adagio
DR12 -12.79 dB -27.58 dB 1:55 14-Hebden: Concerto for Strings and Basso Continuo No.1 in A major – II. Fuga
DR11 -13.63 dB -29.73 dB 1:33 15-Hebden: Concerto for Strings and Basso Continuo No.1 in A major – III. Largo
DR14 -9.44 dB -26.90 dB 3:33 16-Hebden: Concerto for Strings and Basso Continuo No.1 in A major – IV. Allegro
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 6
Official DR value: DR12
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 659 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Statistics for: 11-The Advice
Number of samples: 5719476
Duration: 2:10
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Left Right
Peak Value: -8.41 dB –- -6.81 dB
Avg RMS: -25.65 dB –- -24.86 dB
DR channel: 13.54 dB –- 13.32 dB
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Official DR Value: DR13
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 659 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2017-07-19 02:53:32
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Statistics for: 12-The Melancholy Nymph, HWV 228 No.19
Number of samples: 9464448
Duration: 3:35
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Left Right
Peak Value: -4.86 dB –- -5.22 dB
Avg RMS: -28.07 dB –- -27.27 dB
DR channel: 16.50 dB –- 15.94 dB
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Official DR Value: DR16
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 659 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
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