Handel, Gritton, Blaze, King, King's Consort - Choice of Hercules

Throughout his life Handel was an inveterate recycler both of other people's music and his own; The Choice of Hercules (1751) consists for the most part of music he wrote the year before for Tobias Smollett's Alceste, a play intended for Covent Garden's 1750 season but never performed. Unwilling to see his efforts go to waste, Handel contrived an hour-long "interlude" based on a poem by Joseph Spence and probably adapted by his regular librettist Thomas Morell. The story is a slight slice of classical mythology: Hercules must choose between the temptations of Pleasure or the righteousness of Virtue. The outcome is hardly a surprise, and only in 18th-century theater could Hercules plausibly be portrayed as a castrato, but the story is merely a flimsy excuse for a succession of splendid solo arias and choruses.

With the exception of a small tenor part (here sung by Charles Daniels), the soloists are all in the high register (soprano, mezzo, and countertenor), yet their music is of such variety of color that there's no sense of sameness. The very compactness of the score ensures that there are no dull moments, but especially outstanding are Virtue's stately "Go, assert thy heav'nly race," a dotted-rhythm Purcellian chorus, "So shalt thou gain immortal praise," and Hercules's limpid "Yet can I hear that dulcet lay."

Maurice Greene's 1728 anthem Hearken unto Me, Ye Holy Children is a welcome makeweight, though inevitably perhaps it seems rather foursquare when placed next to Handel's exuberant invention. Robert King and his King's Consort are Handelians par excellence, of course. Susan Gritton, Alice Coote, and Robin Blaze are a secure trio of soloists in the Handel, and bass Peter Harvey joins for the Greene. The result is an important addition to Hyperion's marvelous Handel series. --Mark Walker Amazon.com

a voice teacher and early music fan

IMMORTALITY (VIRTUE) OR IMMORALITY (PLEASURE)? THAT'S MY CHOICE!!???


"The Choice of Hercules"is in effect a one-act dramatiC cantata in English, and as such it is unique in Handel's output. It is the story of a young man on the threshold of manhood (Hercules-Robin Blaze-countertenor) contemplating his future. Two women appear to him. One, eager and seductive, shows him a path that offers indolent pleasure (Pleasure-Susan Gritton-soprano). The second woman, tall and beautiful, is identified as Virtue(Alice Coote-mezzo soprano); she warns Hercules that what is really good can only be obtained through hard work. There is also an attendant on Pleasure who is a cheerleader for her. Charles Daniels sings this role.

I especially liked Mezzo Alice Coote's interpretation of Virtue. She was very strong dramatically and vocally. However, all of the singers sang well in their respective roles. I always find it difficult to accept Blaze's characterizations. In this cantata he is choosing his future path. Will it be Pleasure or Virtue? He sings it as if he were choosing the flavor of an ice cream cone instead of temporary life or immortality.

His voice his "pretty" and I do find it pleasing, but I think he sings sacred music much better as he demonstrates on this disc. It includes Maurice Greene's "Hearken Unto Me, Ye Children". It features the 3 male singers and it is EXCELLENT! January 22, 2006

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