It was a happy idea to preface Apollo e Dafne‚ which lacks an overture‚ with the first move­ment of the Op 3 No 1 Concerto‚ a piece close in mood to the cantata‚ in the right key and similarly orchestrated. The cantata itself is a substantial one‚ more than 40 minutes long‚ telling the tale of Daphne’s metamorphosis into a laurel to escape the rapacious Apollo; the music‚ among the finest from Handel’s early twenties‚ marvellously conveys Apollo’s eagerness‚ Daphne’s resistance‚ the chase and the profound grief that finally overcomes the repentant god‚ who resolves accordingly to use laurel branches to crown future heroes. A lot depends on the singer of Apollo‚ the larger of the roles. Robert Pomakov‚ apparently only 19 when the recording was made in 2000‚ is a remarkably mature artist although his voice lacks something of the ideal fullness and variety‚ which it doubtless will acquire as it matures. It is a slightly ‘closed’ sound‚ even with a hint of the nasal. But he colours it quite effectively and his articulation is often delicate‚ the notes precisely ‘placed’‚ and he phrases warmly as well as showing energy and athleticism. There is lyricism‚ too‚ most of all in ‘Come la rosa su la spina’ (where Apollo tries persuasion) and in the beautiful final aria‚ ‘Cara pianta‚ co’miei pianti’‚ which is done very slowly. Olga Pasichnyk‚ as Daphne‚ provides a glowing‚ intense‚ rather instrumental quality of sound; she is rhythmically very alert and there are some nice details of timing and shaping of her lines. She is admirably supported by the woodwind‚ with a sweet and limpid flute in one aria and effective duetting with an oboe in another. While mentioning the woodwind I should also spare a word of praise for the bassoonist‚ who despatches his very demanding part with skill and taste. Roy Goodman paces the work well on the whole and is particularly successful in imparting due urgency to the duet music. He is rather less successful in the dances‚ originally written for Rodrigo but used for Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist‚ where the textures are spongy and the orchestra seem sluggish in response and heavy­footed; the old AAM version under Hogwood is altogether livelier. As to the alternative choices for Apollo‚ the Harnoncourt has some poised and distinguished singing from Thomas Hampson and especially Roberta Alexander‚ but it is marred by some extreme tempos that seem to me to miss the true character of some of the music; my own preference would be Standage’s version‚ sung with naturalness and charm by Michael George and Nancy Argenta and much more intimate in tone‚ if instrumentally not always perfectly polished and sometimes a shade rhythmically stiff. Both Apollos get round the music more skilfully than Pomakov can as yet.