Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Mary Wilson Sings Handel

Next month American Bach Soloists releases a CD of 3 Handel sacred works featuring soprano Mary Wilson. Handel's music is of course attractive & vigorous, & I'm happy that the CD includes Silete venti, which the same personnel performed so gorgeously last season. Ms. Wilson is a great fit for this repertroire. Her voice is wonderfully warm, smooth & gleaming & communicates joy. She executes the many virtuosic passages with ease. In the bravura Alleluja of Silete venti, her singing is agile & her rapid notes connected yet distinct. She sounds perfectly smooth & gliding in the long phrases of the "Suscitans a terra" of Laudate Pueri Dominum. Just like ABS's live performances, this recorded performance is well-prepared & immaculate. Oboist John Abberger's solos are impressively clean & sustained. The orchestra & chorus sound tidy, & the tempos are regulated & balanced, feeling neither too fast or too slow.

The CD will be officially released on December 10th, 2013 & is available for pre-order on iTunes. If you buy it on iTunes, you can download the 1st track now, & the rest of the album will download automatically on December 10th. Program notes are also on-line.

§ Mary Wilson Sings Handel
American Bach Soloists
Jeffrey Thomas, music director
Mary Wilson, soprano

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: 
Silete venti HWV 242
Laudate, pueri, Dominum HWV 237
Gloria HWV deest

Release date: December 10th, 2013
Pre-Order on iTunes

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