The name of
Giovanni Bononcini
is hardly known today, but in 1720s London, he was a rival to
Handel
, as is attested by a comic poem of the day included in the booklet ("Some say, compar'd to
Bononcini
/ That Mynheer
's but a Ninny / Others aver, that he to
/ Is scarcely fit to hold a candle / Strange all this Difference should be / 'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee").
, like
, made his services available for sacred music as needed, but today, this repertory is even less well-known than his operatic works. Thus, this release by conductor
Owen Rees
and the
Choir of the Queen's College, Cambridge
, is most welcome. One can hear what the anonymous poet was talking about;
was capable of sounding a good deal like
, whose music he certainly knew well. Sample the "In te domine speravi" finale of the
Te Deum
for a big, contrapuntal movement that develops convincingly out of simple but distinctive material in a very Handelian way.
's works here are a bit more solo-heavy than many of
's, and there are attractive pieces that could be added to any singer's repertory. Sample the duet between mezzo-soprano
Esther Lay
and alto
Helen Charlston
in the "Te gloriosus apostolorum" movement of the
. Indeed, those following rising British singers will find much to enjoy here; the blooming voice of
Rowan Pierce
is one that will be heard frequently in the coming years. The album's title comes from one of the movements from the cantata
When Saul Was King
(and ultimately from the Old Testament); this piece has a charming melodic idiom suggesting that
was perhaps better attuned to the new lighter styles coming out of Italy than
.
Rees
handles his sizable choir well, and it is a pleasure to hear a group render this music with the appropriate pomp and heft. The sound from a church at Oxford is clear. With something for the connoisseurs but thoroughly enjoyable for general listeners, this
Signum Classics
release, which made classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2024, is a real pleasure. ~ James Manheim