Freedom - Oratorio Arias by La Sfera Armoniosa | Oscar Verhaar

George Frideric Händel

La Sfera Armoniosa | Oscar Verhaar | Mike Fentross

Freedom - Oratorio Arias

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917297324
Catnr: CC 72973
Release date: 05 April 2024
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917297324

Catalogue number
CC 72973

Release date
05 April 2024

"Verhaar offers Handel vocalism of the highest order. The countertenor's facility in florid music, even with the most rapid tempos, is stunning in its virtuoso accuracy and ability to sustain long phrases on a single breath. But there is nothing robotic about Verhaar's approach to the bravura Handel. The countertenor's energy and passion are never in doubt. Superb Handel performances, as gratifying as they are thrilling."

Fanfare Magazine, 01-1-2025

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Freedom is a dominant theme in the English oratorios of Georg Friedrich Handel. These grand works are mostly based on biblical stories that deal with resistance, suppression, captivity and, finally, freedom. In his oeuvre we find impressive slave choruses and many arias about (the lack of) freedom, eight of which are presented on this album. As a versatile early music singer, countertenor Oscar Veraar has been performing major works by composers such as Bach and Handel next to lesser-known music from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. His interest in performance practice also leads him to do much of the required musicological research for these works. In this recording he can benefit from the invaluable support of an experienced orchestra like La Sfera Armoniosa, conducted by Mike Fentross.

Vrijheid, het thema van dit album van La Sfera Armoniosa en countertenor Oscar Verhaar ontstond in een tijd van beperkingen, toen er donkere wolken boven het concertleven hingen. Passende muziek daarbij vonden de musici in Händels Engelse oratoria over vrijheid. Onder leiding van Mike Fentross laten het ensemble en Oscar Verhaar live horen hoe geweldig deze muziek is.

Freedom’ is het debuutalbum van Oscar Verhaar, die uit Händels Engelse oratoria acht aria’s koos. Het album biedt een vernieuwende kijk op het repertoire van een beroemd componist en bewijst eens te meer dat oude muziek aansluit bij onze tijd. Omdat de aria’s Engelse teksten hebben, indertijd op verzoek van Händels Londense publiek, zijn ze makkelijk te begrijpen en te doorvoelen voor jong en oud.

Vrijheid is een overheersend thema in de Engelse oratoria van Georg Friedrich Händel. Deze fantastische werken zijn meestal gebaseerd op Bijbelse verhalen over verzet, onderdrukking, gevangenschap en uiteindelijk vrijheid. Händels oeuvre bevat indrukwekkende slavenkoren en veel aria’s over vrijheid en het gebrek daaraan. De aria’s op dit album worden gezongen door personages die voor vrijheid ten strijde trekken of juist bidden om goddelijke interventie. Vrijheid gaat ook over de vrijheid van ieder mens om zich te kunnen ontwikkelen, zich vrij te maken van inwendige tirannen en een rijker mens te worden. Op de opname staan aria’s vol vuur, maar ook sentimentele stukken, die het verlangen naar Freedom op vele manieren kleur geven. De gevarieerde stemmingen en sferen en de ondersteuning van barokorkest La Sfera Armoniosa maken deze opname tot een bijzondere luisterervaring.

Het Nederlandse La Sfera Armoniosa is een barokensemble zonder vaste bezetting. Oprichters Mike Fentross en Paulina van Laarhoven vormen de vaste kern. Het ensemble is gespecialiseerd in het uitvoeren van zeventiende- en achttiende-eeuwse muziek en stelt op maat gemaakte programma’s samen aan de hand van de gewenste bezettingen, in samenwerking met topmusici van over de hele wereld.

Veelzijdig zanger van oude muziek, countertenor Oscar Verhaar, zingt naast minder bekende muziek van de middeleeuwen tot de 18e eeuw, grote werken van componisten als Bach en Händel. Zijn interesse in de uitvoeringspraktijk bracht hem er toe veel van het musicologisch onderzoek uit te voeren dat hiervoor nodig was. Voor deze opname kon hij rekenen op de onvoorwaardelijke steun van een ervaren orkest als La Sfera Armoniosa.

Freiheit ist ein beherrschendes Thema in den englischen Oratorien von Georg Friedrich Händel. Diese großartigen Werke basieren meist auf biblischen Geschichten, die von Widerstand, Unterdrückung, Gefangenschaft und schließlich Freiheit handeln. In seinem Oeuvre finden sich beeindruckende Sklavenchöre und viele Arien über (Un-)Freiheit, von denen acht auf diesem Album vorgestellt werden. Als vielseitiger Sänger alter Musik hat der Countertenor Oscar Veraar große Werke von Komponisten wie Bach und Händel neben weniger bekannter Musik vom Mittelalter bis zum 18. Jahrhundert aufgeführt. Sein Interesse an der Aufführungspraxis veranlasst ihn auch dazu, einen Großteil der für diese Werke erforderlichen musikwissenschaftlichen Recherchen durchzuführen. Bei dieser Aufnahme kann er auf die unschätzbare Unterstützung eines erfahrenen Orchesters wie La Sfera Armoniosa unter der Leitung von Mike Fentross zurückgreifen.

Artist(s)

Oscar Verhaar (countertenor)

La Sfera Armoniosa

La Sfera Armoniosa, founded in 1992, is a Dutch Baroque ensemble and orchestra specialized in the performance of music from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Artistic director and conductor is Mike Fentross. In addition to the music of famous composers such as Monteverdi, Haendel and Vivaldi, the ensemble undertakes research into the manuscripts and printed works of the European libraries in order to provide a rich spectrum of music from lesser known composers. The English music magazine Gramophone wrote about their first cd: “How soon will we hear the enchanting La Sfera Armoniosa again, and what fresh buried treasure will they unearth?” La Sfera Armoniosa is known and praised for it’s lively and colourful sound and for its groundbreaking programmes. They created in 2004 a Schoenberg/ Monteverdi programme that they performed with great success in the Utrecht Early Music Festival and they performed modern world premiers from three almost forgotten opera’s: La Rosinda, l’Ipermestra and Granida. In 2012 the Concertgebouw asked La Sfera to design and perform a special program, the Amsterdam musical life before the concerthall was build, for their 125th anniversary.
La Sfera Armoniosa performed in main festivals and concert halls such as: Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Music Center Vredenburg, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Monteverdi festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Bruges, and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.
About their performance of the opera La Rosinda by Francesco Cavalli in Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci the press wrote: "This evening, the orchestra has proven that it is amongst the leading baroque orchestras. I will not soon forget the nuances that came from the orchestra pit. That was great art. Nothing more and nothing less."

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Mike Fentross (conductor)

Conductor/lutenist Mike Fentross has largely earned his credits as an early music specialist. He is working all over Europe as a conductor, soloist and basso continuo player and he is professor of lute and basso continuo at the Royal Conservatory The Hague. In 2006 he founded the baroque orchestra La Sfera Armoniosa. Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In...

Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times

he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In 1988 Mike Fentross graduated at the Royal Conservatory The Hague where he studied with lute pionier Toyohiko Satoh. In 1994 he won the Van Wassenaer Competition in Amsterdam with violinist Helene Schmitt. He played chamber music with musicians as Yo Yo Ma, Ton Koopman, Janine Jansen, Marion Verbruggen, Sonia Prina, Maria Bajo, Wilbert Hazelzet, Bruce Dickey, Lucy van Dael, Andrew Lawrence King, Philippe Jarousski, Eduardo Lopez Banzo, Skip Sempe and Gerard Lesne. Mike has recorded more than 75 cd’s.

He studied conducting with Stefan Pas. As conductor he debuted in 1999 with La Dafne from Marco da Gagliano in a production of the New Opera Academie in Amsterdam. In 2006 he conducted in the presence of Queen Beatrix the modern world premiere from the opera l’Ipermestra from Cavalli in a prestigeous jubilee production from the Utrecht Early Music Festival and in 2008 he conducted a second unearthed Cavalli opera La Rosinda in a production from the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci Potsdam. In 2009 he conducted for the first time in the big hall from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and in the same year he was musical director in the production Granida performed in the presence of Queen Beatrix. About his debut as conductor from the Dutch Chamber Choir in 2010 in the Concertgebouw the press wrote: Conductor Mike Fentross rivalled Caravaggio with the score of the Maria Vespers. His first time conducting the Nederlands Kamerkoor was a resounding success.

Mike doesn’t only conduct Early Music, in 2004 he conducted Pierrot Lunaire from Arnold Schoenberg. The press wrote: There was great enthusiasm for Mike Fentross as conductor of a double bill consisting of Monteverdi’s Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire. Mike Fentross gave a performance of Pierrot lunaire that ‘appeared to come from another planet’.

In 2012 Mike made his Austrian debut in the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt with great success in a program with coloratura soprano Simone Kermes and in the same year he conducted the pre jubilee concert for the Concertgebouw in a program with solo violinist Lucy van Dael and singers Henk Neven and Andreas Scholl. In 2013 he conducted the Fairy Queen with his orchestra and the Netherlands Chamberchoir.

Since 2013 he is regularly conducting the baroque orchestra and choir of the Royal Conservatory. In 2014 he was invited by Paradiso Orchestra to conduct Beethovens Eroica. In 2016 he conducted the Netherlands Chamber Choir in a Bach, Faure program live broadcast on national radio.

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Composer(s)

George Frideric Händel

Press

Verhaar offers Handel vocalism of the highest order. The countertenor's facility in florid music, even with the most rapid tempos, is stunning in its virtuoso accuracy and ability to sustain long phrases on a single breath. But there is nothing robotic about Verhaar's approach to the bravura Handel. The countertenor's energy and passion are never in doubt. Superb Handel performances, as gratifying as they are thrilling.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-1-2025

Mike Fentross and his Sfera Armoniosa are conscientious accompanists taking care of colors...
Diapason, 01-11-2024

This is a world-class voice that Verhaar can color and shade at will, turn cartwheels with, and use to go speeding down the Handel highway at 90 mph. It is a joy to hear, except when he is trying to make us sad, as he does in the aria from Samson, which he sings with memorable poignancy. La Sfera Armoniosa and Mike Fentross complement Verhaar's beautiful, exciting singing with nuanced and polished musicianship. All in all, their contribution to "Freedom" is just as important and impressive as Verhaar's.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-11-2024

Arias by Handel // Disc CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC 72973 / Handel / FREEDOM - HANDEL: ORATORIO ARIAS / Oscar Verhaar countertenor, La Sfera Armoniosa, Mike Fentross director
Rai Radio 3, 07-10-2024

...Verhaar has an arresting voice that serves Handel well. It is clear and strong with little of the annoying hooty, man-singing-in-falsetto sound most of us have been exposed to over the years. Verhaar also has a lot of color in his sound and has no difficulty with the coloratura with which Handel sprinkles his music, sometimes liberally. La Sfera Armoniosa offers vivid accompaniment under Mark Fentross’s fleet baton. The sound is excellent.
American Record Guide, 01-9-2024

The playlist of Verhaar's Freedom in the ear, the music becomes productively transparent to the dark side of beauty. It's about raising awareness and asking a lot of new and uncomfortable questions. But when the shadows are cast, the conditions also become more vivid; you can hear how much this moving, refined Handel music was wrested from a not at all beautiful world. The beautiful alongside the terrible, we must learn to see it together.
VAN-Magazin, 19-6-2024

The singer is accompanied in an inspiring and committed manner by the ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa under the direction of Mike Fentross, which can also show its musical qualities in two orchestral contributions (Ouverture to Susanna and the Symphony from Joseph and his Brethren)... Verhaar is well-known as a concert singer, yet this release is his debut CD. His voice sounds light and soft, his singing is cultivated
Operalounge, 04-6-2024

...Verhaar's stage presence operates best in smaller, profound moments, meaning that many of these arias are a happy match. (...) Supporting the whole project is some really beautiful instrumental playing: listen especially for the thrilling continuo team. Warmly recommended.
Gramophone, 01-6-2024

Under the title "Freedom", the countertenor Oscar Verhaar brings together arias from Handel oratorios on his debut album, in whose Old Testament material the striving for freedom is always opposed to slavery as an antipode. As can be seen from the liner notes Verhaar also sees this area of tension as relevant to the emergence of the Works and thus ties in with current discourses with the aim of stimulating a critical awareness of Georg Friedrich Handel as a beneficiary of British overseas business. Verhaar's slim voice... the recordings consistently demonstrate his vocal agility and a finely differentiated interpretation that is exemplary by the specialist ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa under Mike Fentross.
FAZ, 13-5-2024

Vermaar comes out on top. He has a beautiful, agile voice and expressive, sings naturally, has the gift of nuance and makes use of his theatrical experience. He is also very well accompanied by La Sfera harmoniosa, Mike Fentross' orchestra (...) All in all, an interesting album of a voice whose trajectory will have to be followed in the future.
Scherzo, 01-5-2024

The Dutch countertenor Oscar Verhaar brings quite a depth of expression to Handel's biblical freedom arias. Every friction is savored.
Radio Klassik Stephansdom, 18-4-2024

nothing but praise ...for his slender, melodious, luminous and virtuosic voice, which is also lyrically well directed and outstanding in terms of drama and affetto (...) The orchestra La Sfera Armoniosa, conducted by Mike Fentross, also deserves much praise.
Pizzicato, 11-4-2024

Ten years after his debut album, Dutch countertenor Oscar Verhaar releases his second CD. Accompanied by the baroque ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa, he showcases his agile, clear voice in arias from Georg Friedrich Handel's biblical oratorios. Conductor Mike Fentross monitors the balance between soloist and ensemble and folds the accompaniment around Verhaar's voice with subtle dynamics.
De Volkskrant, 04-4-2024

Oscar Verhaar's voice appears lightweight, well-led with an effortless approach, bright and clear, quite agile, clear and enjoys coloratura".[...] This orchestra called "La Sfera Armoniosa" under Mike Fentross accompanies confidently, stylishly, lively and finding the right tone for all singing temperaments.
Klassik Heute, 02-4-2024

Eight arias from very different oratorios, namely Deborah, Samson, Alexander Balus, Belshazzar, Joseph and his Brethren, Saul and Jephta, show us a brilliant singer whose voice always sounds soft and yet assertive, regardless of whether it is an energetic recitative, a demanding aria or an elegiac lament works. Together with the ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa under the direction of the well-known lutenist Mike Fentross, a large and yet increasingly differentiated, transparent overall sound is created.
klemens-berthold.de, 18-3-2024