 | from Handel: Acis and Galatea (CKD319) 1 Sinfonia [3'12] 95 minutes 10 seconds 29 tracks2 Oh, the pleasure of the plains! (Chorus) [6'13] 3 Ye verdant plains and woody mountains (Galatea) [0'45] 4 Hush, ye pretty warbling quire! (Galatea) [6'17] 5 Where shall I seek the charming fair? (Acis) [3'05] 6 Stay, shepherd, stay! (Damon) [0'22] 7 Shepherd, what art thou pursuing? (Damon) [4'10] 8 Lo! here my love, turn, Galatea, hither turn thy eyes (Acis) [0'30] 9 Love in her eyes sits playing (Acis) [6'51] 10 Oh! didst thou know the pains of absent love (Galatea) [0'16] 11 As when the dove (Galatea) [6'58] 12 Happy we! (Galatea/Acis) [2'35] 13 Wretched lovers! Fate has passed (Chorus) [4'24] 14 I rage, I melt, I burn! (Polyphemus) [1'28] 15 O ruddier than the cherry (Polyphemus) [3'17] 16 Whither, fairest, art thou running? (Polyphemus/Galatea) [1'11] 17 Cease to beauty to be suing (Polyphemus) [5'24] 18 Would you gain the tender creature (Coridon) [5'42] 19 His hideous love provokes my rage (Acis) [0'21] 20 Love sounds th' alarm (Acis) [4'50] 21 Consider, fond shepherd (Damon) [6'42] 22 Cease, O cease, thou gentle youth (Galatea) [0'26] 23 The flocks shall leave the mountains (Galatea/Acis/Polyphemus) [3'04] 24 Help, Galatea! Help, ye parent gods! (Acis) [1'30] 25 Mourn, all ye muses! Weep, all ye swains! (Chorus) [3'43] 26 Must I my Acis still bemoan? (Galatea/Chorus) [4'14] 27 'Tis done, thus I exert my pow'r divine (Galatea) [0'19] 28 Heart, the seat of soft delight (Galatea) [4'02] 29 Galatea, dry thy tears (Chorus) [3'19] 'Handel himself performed his masque in various ways at various times. John Butt and his period-instrument ensemble revert to its initial form, when it was written for Handel's wealthy patron, the Ear ... 'Ever the scholar, Butt performs here from the 1718 score, using only the forces that Handel had at his disposal—four violins, no violas, two cellos, bass, two recorders, two oboes and bassoon. All th ... 'The performance is perceptive, sparkling, with crisp rhythms and neatly pointed phrasing; the tragedy comes across starkly, yet is softened by the metamorphosis of Acis into a fountain. Susan Hamilto ... |