Joshua is one of Handel's so-called "victory oratorios": like the
Occasional Oratorio,
Alexander Balus and, most famously,
Judas Maccabeus, it is one of the London works in which Handel used
his musical subject to reflect and celebrate the victory of the Duke of
Cumberland's Hanoverian forces over the Jacobite armies of Bonnie Prince
Charlie. The conquest of Canaan lends itself to that theme fairly easily,
but this is never mere tub-thumping. In fact,
Joshua is a work of
great sensitivity and breadth, including orchestral fireworks for the fall
of Jericho and, most impressively of all, a very inventive treatment of the
moment where the sun stands still.
The Göttingen International Handel Festival are experts in this sort of
repertoire, and they have assembled a very good cast for this 2014
performance. Kenneth Tarver's bright, pingy tenor is more used to
bel
canto roles, but he actually suits the divinely ordained military
leader very well, and he slots into the Baroque technique very convincingly,
to my ears. His voice is clean, flexible, very beautiful and fully inside
the demands of the style, and he is the finest thing about this recording,
delivering a masterclass of Handel singing.
While Kidron's
brook is full of pastoral beauty, and his coloratura is very impressive
in
Haste, Israel, haste, as well as in the battle scenes. He is
beautifully lyrical in the Passover prayer but raises impressive grandeur
for the big moments of the final act. As Caleb, Tobias Berndt has an
authoritative voice, and his English is only slightly accented. He is
especially beautiful in the lovely
Shall I in Mamre's fertile
plain, the moment where the aged Caleb gets to enjoy his inheritance in
Canaan, and the subsequent, meditative chorus continues the mood
beautifully. The small role of the Angel isn't successful, however,
as Joachim Duske's singing is slight and unfocused, while his English
is rather too accented for comfort.
Anna Dennis is a rich, sympathetic Achsah, full of pathos or joy as needs
be, creamy and sumptuous into
To vanity and earthly pride, and
conjuring up both drama and beauty for the scenes where her lover Othniel is
in danger. In that castrato role, Renata Pokupić is a little less steady
than her colleagues, seemingly a little less comfortable with both the
language and the tessitura. She is finally heroic in
Place danger
around me, however, and the two lovers' voices blend beautifully in
their duets.
The chorus are all-important in this work, and the NDR Chor do not
disappoint, with very good English and flexible singing that responds
fittingly to every situation. The occasional orchestra are also great, the
trumpets and drums revelling in the full ceremonial moments of the battles,
and the various instrumental solos sounding very good, especially the winds
which mimic the birds in
Hark, 'tis the linnet. Laurence Cummings
directs the whole thing with an unfailing ear for the drama but never losing
sight of the music's beauty.
There isn't a lot of competition for
Joshua on disc, so this one
is all the more to be welcomed, if you can put up with the occasional
accents of the non-Anglophone members of the cast. I suspect, though, that
if you already have Robert King's 1990 King's Consort recording, then you
won't be tempted to swap it. The
packaging contains the text, alongside a contextual essay and cast
biographies. The recorded sound is very good indeed, with the audience so
well behaved that you forget they are there until they break into applause
at the end of each disc.
Simon Thompson
