Freedom - Oratorio Arias

La Sfera Armoniosa | Oscar Verhaar | Mike Fentross

Label: Challenge Classics
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917297324

Catalog number: CC 72973
Releasedate: 05-04-24

- Debut album by young countertenor Oscar Verhaar
- Oscar selected eight arias drawn from Haendel's English oratorios.
- Diversified moods and atmospheres and the support of La Sfera Armoniosa baroque orchestra make this disc a constant pleasure to listen to.

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.

All danger disdaining