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Esther – Rosemary Joshua London Handel Orchestra & Choir/ Laurence Cummings This recording is drawn from two live concerts, on 23rd and 25th April 2002, which celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the London Handel Festival. Great care had been taken in preparation for this event, and with the lovely acoustic of St George’s Church, Hanover Square, the result is no doubt very close to Handel’s intentions. Esther has the distinction of being the first English oratorio, and it is a relatively tranquil piece. There are no battlegrounds or opposing armies, no conquering heroes, no startling miracles, and no walls come tumbling down. Instead it concerns itself with a diplomatic struggle within the palace of the Persian King for racial and ideological power. It’s arguable that the Ahasuerus, the King, should have given his name to the title of the piece (though it is not hard to see why that idea would have been rejected), certainly he has the lion’s share of the singing as he is swayed in turn between his Israelite wife, Esther, quietly petitioning for the benefit of her people, and his chief minister, Haman, who wishes to see them plucked root and branch from the land. Laurence Cummings adopts a measured tempo which allows the music to expand freely, and the soloists are universally excellent. The belligerent Haman has the only deep voice in the cast, and Christopher Purves sings with considerable firmness of purpose. He contrasts superbly with the gentleness of his opponents: Mordecai (Susan Bickley) calmly confident of justice and Esther (Rosemary Joshua) fervently pleading – there is a real sense of warmth and affection in her duets with her husband Ahasuerus (James Bowman). He has the longest and most complex arias, most beautifully delivered by this great Handelian. When Haman’s plot is thwarted there are splendid moments of rejoicing, culminating in the hymn Blessed are all they that fear the Lord (familiar in it’s Coronation setting as Zadok the Priest) which ends Act 2. The trumpets are heard for the first time in Act 3 reflecting Esther’s newly confident status. She dismisses Harman’s pleas for mercy without hesitation and there is a jubilant chorus of allelujahs to bring the work to an appropriate conclusion. This is one of Handel’s most interesting scores, and the performance is a sheer delight from start to finish. Serena Fenwick |
Handel – Esther