, was 's personal favorite among his own oratorios, and he ranked the concluding chorus of Part II, "He saw the lovely youth," above that of the Hallelujah chorus from . That would be a good place to start sampling this 2024 release by the early music group and its conductor, , which landed on classical best-seller charts early that year. bombed at its premiere, and for many decades, its grim tale of the Christian martyr Theodora and her Roman convert consort, Didymus, suffered by comparison with the triumphal . However, the work is musically unimpeachable, and it has grown more popular as new performances have found the typical Handelian oratorio flavor in it. In "He saw the lovely youth," 's chorus, wisely not slimmed down (there are 28 singers), is warm, clear, and fully intelligible. So it is with the five soloists, with countertenor perhaps a standout, but with the whole group bringing a lively sense of the text. None, however, strays into operatic territory, and this is important (even if the work has been staged from time to time, notably by director ); 's vocal writing in his oratorios was different in kind from that of his opera, more oriented toward direct communication than to ornament. A complete text is included in the booklet, but it is hardly needed; all the singers, solo and ensemble, put the text across, and this is the way to do Handelian oratorio. Everything comes together in this recording based on a live performance at the Barbican in London but recorded well at St. Augustine's Church, Kilbourn, London. A real winner from and . ~ James Manheim