Vivaldi: Gloria - Handel: Dixit Dominus

OK, but not Gardiner's best.

     

I'm normally a great admirer of John Eliot Gardiner's conducting, but the sound clips of this recording lead me to believe that this is not one of his best albums. The singing in the Gloria RV 589 seems unnecessarily marcato and forced, especially in mvts. 1 and 8; the soloist's English voice peeks through her Latin pronunciation in mvt. 5. For comparison, try the 1978 masterpiece recording by the Academy of Ancient Music with the stellar Emma Kirkby. Likewise, this recording of the Dixit Dominus HWV 232 sounds heavy-handed. His 1978 recording of the same piece is glorious; I prefer it over this more recent one. Much of Gardiner's work is brilliant; his recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is second to none. However, this recording doesn't seem to fit his normal standards.