The Triumph of Time and Truth was Handel's last oratorio. But its composition goes back half a century, to his very first work in the form, Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, written in Italy in 1707. For years Handel laid that work aside, or rather used it as a quarry for others (for example one of his best-known opera arias, ''Lascia ch'io pianga'' from Rinaldo, began life in that work); but, in 1737 he resurrected it, as Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verita (''Time and Truth'' rather than the original ''Time and Innocence''), with much new music. Then, at the very end of his oratorio career, when his impaired eyesight made fresh composition increasingly burdensome, he put together a further work on the same basis. This time he had the Italian text, the work of Cardinal Pamphili, put into English by his old colleague Thomas Morell, and extra English words were added, mainly for choruses which though never an important part of the Italian oratorio traditional had a firmly established place in the English one. But he wrote virtually no new music, instead adapting pieces from a variety of his earlier works (anthems, occasional sacred works, in particular). This was in 1757. He revived the work the next year, enlarging one of the roles (Deceit) though again largely drawing on earlier works. The version given here omits the 1758 additions, presumably for the sake of fitting the piece on to two discs, which is understandable and justifiable; the 1757 version is given complete bar a small amount of recitative and two choruses taken unchanged—and quite inappropriately—from anthems. The knowledgeable Handelian listener will find the work entertaining because, Hamlet-like, it is 'full of quotations'; also because it contains a great deal of first-rate music. I am not sure to what degree Handel was fired by this kind of allegorical and moralistic oratorio libretto; probably not very greatly in his mature years. But there are many fine, fresh ideas in his Italian-period compositions, and of these a goodly number are to be heard here, alongside generally choice pieces from works that he had not lately revived and were thus unfamiliar to audiences at the time. It is not consistently the best Handel. Time has some unexceptional pieces, but certainly there are excellent ones for the central figure, Beauty (who finally opts for Time as against Pleasure, thus taking Counsel's opinion in spite of the blandishments of Deceit)—from her spirited ''Ever flowing tides of Pleasure'' in the First Act to the gorgeous E major glow of her closing one, ''Guardian angels, oh, protect me'', a soft, intense yet serene piece with obbligato oboe, somewhat akin to Semele's ''Sleep'' aria in the same key. And there are some excellent choruses, of which the one beginning Act 2, ''Pleasure submits to pain'' (from a movement composed for the Anglo-Italian Acis revival of 1732, and including in its middle section music from the original ''Behold the monster Polypheme''), is an unalloyed delight—for this alone I would need to have these records.
Denys Darlow, who is head of music at the church which Handel himself attended (St George's in Hanover Square), has done much for the Handelian cause in his annual festivals there (as I write, he is on the point of performing the rarest of the oratorios, Joseph and his Brethren). This work was given there two years ago. I am grateful to have it on record and can say that the performance gives a very good idea of the piece. Darlow chooses sensible tempos, and is a reliable stylist: ornamentation is done but not overdone, appoggiaturas are correctly in place, cadences are properly elided, rhythms conventionally adjusted and so on. One might raise an eyebrow at the solo violin, as opposed to the indicated tutti, in one aria, and the questionable use of the bassoon as a continuo instrument in another. Generally the orchestral Playing, on period instruments, is clean and efficient, with pleasantly airy articulation from the strings and even some pleasing oboe solos; the timbres and textures are happily light. Much of the solo singing is satisfactory too. It is slightly unfortunate that the very distinguished contribution of Emma Kirkby is so small (the 1758 additions were mostly for her role, Deceit); but Gillian Fisher, as Beauty, does well too with her light and easy delivery and unaffected manner, heard at their best in the two arias I mentioned above. Charles Brett, with his distinctive alto, gives a dependable account of Counsel's music, sometimes even with a touch of virtuosity (notably in ''Thus to ground'' in the last act). I have to say that Ian Partridge's casting as Pleasure seems a shade bizarre; unfailingly musical, and always accurate, he is nevertheless not quite the singer to inspire or suggest the wilder realms of joy with his diligently, almost painstaking manner. And there are places where his tone seems rather plummy in the middle register. Lastly, there is Stephen Varcoe as Time—much finely shaded singing, with a delicacy rare among Handel basses, if perhaps not quite the weight of authority one might reckon desirable in this role. The choral singing, by a mixed group, is accurate and well focused. The recording, clear and well balanced, serves well. There is an admirable sleeve-note by Watkins Shaw, and the libretto is usefully annotated with information about the musical origins of the various numbers.'