When Handel had a difficult time as opera manager,
in the 1730s, he turned to oratorios, which required neither the expensive
Italian soloists nor complicated sets. Saul, based on the First Book
of Samuel, written in 1738, and first performed in 1739, was relatively
popular, with Handel reviving it several times through 1754. With all
of the dramatic features of Handel’s oratorios, this work, featuring
a bass in the starring role, opens with a festive four-movement instrumental
Symphony.
As for the other Handel oratorios that Peter Neumann
has recorded for MDG, this is a live recording, capturing the energy
and the defects of live performances. His soloists are all excellent,
and the sound, as for the other MDG recordings, is impeccable. However,
one could comment on the crispness of the sound, recorded in a church,
whereas the work was written to be played in a theatre with a warmer,
softer character.
Nevertheless, there is a great deal of pleasure in
this performance. From the opening Symphony, the tone is set - this
is a tense, grandiose work, with many high points. However, it is a
very fragmented work, with many short sections: recitatives, brief choral
movements, short arias, many less than two minutes long. There are a
total of 87 parts to this work - compared to two of Neumann’s other
Handel oratorios, Belshazzar has 57 parts, and Susanna 65.
This brevity of parts means that none of the arias
match the intensity of Handel’s long, strophic pieces, where a soloist
dialogues with an obbligato instrument. The soloists are very good,
especially bass Gregory Reinhart in the lead role. The choir, as in
all of Neumann’s Handel oratorio recordings, is also first-rate, though
it is not greatly used in this work.
Peter Neumann again presents a fine recording of a
Handel oratorio. While this is perhaps not one of Handel’s most interesting
works, the quality of the musicians and singers is as good as it gets.
Kirk McElhearn
Saul - Gregory Reinhart