The Handel and Haydn Society is America's oldest performing arts organization still in existence, having been founded in 1815—a mere six years after the death of Haydn himself. With this recording of his arias and cantatas for solo soprano the society has done the musical world a great service: this is lovely music lovingly performed. It is almost a commonplace to say that Haydn has been consistently overshadowed by Mozart in the field of opera, but this has also meant the neglect of these quintessentially operatic miniatures. With the exception of the arias Son pietosa, son bonina and Solo e pensoso, all the pieces on this recording are brilliantly dramatic in conception, and it is here that Arleen Auger really shines; she is perhaps a little too coy in the charming but comparatively slight Son pietosa and occasionally lacking in warmth in the Petrarch setting, though this is a marvellous piece, strongly reminiscent of the most lyrical arias of The Creation.
On the other hand, she is superbly dramatic in the cantatas, gauging the emotional temperature perfectly and translating that into her voice through a subtle use of tone-colour and a commendably flexible approach to vibrato: drama without vocal histrionics. The effect is quite thrilling in Berenice, che fai (originally written for the celebrated dramatic Brigida Banti in 1795) with its enormously wide range, and quite sublime in Miseri noi. The orchestra of the Handel and Haydn Society under the direction of their Artistic Director, Christopher Hogwood, is consistently supportive, well shaped in phrasing and brilliantly paced to enhance the drama without taking the spotlight off the soloist.
My only quibbles are that the soloist and the harpsichord are both slightly too closely miked to make for a realistic sense of balance (although it has to be admitted that this is not always a high priority with record buyers), and that sometimes the strings are not always blended as they might be. Nevertheless, I found this a most enjoyable recording, one I won't tire of hearing in a long time.'