Your problem is this: Handel originally conceived it as a duet (followed
by the chorus "Break forth into joy". He then rescored it as a soprano
aria. The Alto version was the last "alternate" version he wrote - which
is why it appears in the appendix of the Watkins Shaw edition, rather than
in the main score. (Unfortunately, I don't have the score in front of me,
so I can't give you details about the wheres and whens of the various
versions, and which version it was in which Handel transposed the aria for
alto; I do know it's for soprano in the 1754 Foundling Hospital version,
which is the version favoured by most "original instrument" and "early
music" practitioners).
This isn't to say it isn't done or shouldn't be done by altos. But be
warned that it IS considered a *soprano* aria. People have by and large
forgotten that it was originally a duet (despite a handful of recordings
of the original arrangement), and have also forgotten - if they ever even
knew - about the later alto transposition, which he did
pragmatically, as he did all his later transpositions of arias, to
highlight the strengths and downplay the weaknesses of the singers at
any given performance of the work with which he was involved; no
doubt at some performance, the soprano was hopeless while the alto
(male or female - I don't know which) was much more capable, and thus
he transposed the aria for the alto for that performance. The fact is,
however, that the aria is seldom if ever performed by any voice but
soprano - mainly because of tradition, and also no doubt because the alto
already has two such great arias in Part II - "He was despised" and "Thou
art gone up on high" (the alto transposition having been done later by
Handel for a castrato, but for some reason it "took" as the more popular
rendition, though the original bass version is often heard fairly often.
All the other Part II arias are given to the tenor or the bass - so
unless "How beautiful" is done by the soprano, the poor little darling
won't have ANY solos in Part II - *such* a pity, the poor whiny little
brat would have to wait until Part III to show off with the exquisite "I
know that my Redeemer liveth", and we all know just how impatient sopranos
are. Thus, "How beautiful are the feet" is a soprano aria. Period.
The Naxos recording with the Baroque Scholars has the lovely,
seldom-performed duet arrangement, not the solo aria. DItto the Nicolas
McGegan recording, which has the divine Drew Minter (male alto) and
soprano Patricia Spence sing the duet. One of the Neville Marriner
recordings has the duet sung by Elly Ameling and Anna Reynolds.
All other recordings I can find are staunchly traditional about keeping
this aria for the soprano. The Christopher Hogwood recording gives it to
one of the sopranos (I can't remember which - don't think it's Kirkby,
since she sings "Thou art gone up on high" in the higher key).
The Solti recording has the soprano version (Kiri Te Kanawa sings it). The
Mackerras recording has the soprano version (Felicity Lott). There's a
historical recording on Koch that has male soprano Perceval Allen sing
it (!). The lugubrious Beecham (Sir Tommy certainly did love to
M - I - L - K music for all it was worth!) has soprano Jennifer Vyvyan
singing it. Colin Davis has soprano Heather Harper singing it. Andrew
Davis has Kathleen Battle (and gives "Thou art gone" to Sam Ramey - I
*hate* hearing a bass or baritone do that aria, but at least Ramey has a
clue - unlike Giorgio Tozzi in the Beecham). Robert Shaw has Sylvia
McNair. Martin Pearlman (Boston Baroque) has Karen Clift. William Christie
uses Barbara Schlick on his very special (and complete) recording with
Les Arts Florissants. Harry Christophers uses Lynne Dawson. Trevor Pinnock
uses Arleen Auger. Paul McCreesh uses soprano Susan Gritton. On the
Richard Hickox (another wonderful, extremely complete recording with his
Collegium Musicum, BTW) it's sung by soprano Joan Rogers. With Karl
Richter, it's done by Helen Donath. Andrew Parrott uses Emma Kirkby in the
Taverner Choir/Players recording. Scimione uses Patricia Schuman.
Beecham's earlier Luton performance (recorded live) uses Elsie Suddaby.
The famous Ormandy recording doesn't include the aria at all (nor "Thou
Art Gone up on High"), not even in an "addendum" (at least the Beecham
gives us that). Neither does the Leonard Bernstein.
I don't know about the John Eliot Gardiner - you might want investigate
that one only because Gardiner is known for being radical - so he just
might have used a different arrangement of the piece than others do. I
don't know about Harnoncourt, either, but I wouldn't expect him to be
at all non-traditional - also it's a pretty poor recording, given the
total lack of English diction skills among the non-Anglophone singers (my
objection to Tozzi on the Beecham is only partly for this reason - it's
mainly due to his approaching Handel as if Handel were Puccini).
I don't expect Neville Marriner to have strayed from tradition
either on his other recording - particularly not when he had the
glorious Lucia Popp at his disposal (though Brigitte Fassbaender, the
mezzo, is hardly chopped liver). There are other recordings I can't tell
you much about - the Malgoire/Worcester Cathedral recording, the Bach
Collegium Japan recording with wonderful Japanese countertenor Yoshikazu
Mera, the Martin Neary, the Owain Hughes, the Mark Stevenson, the Richard
Westenberg, the Peter Marschik, the Malcolm Sargent
(Huddersfield/Liverpool), or the Adrian Boult (with Sutherland and
Bumbry).
BTW - the Mozart arrangement of Handel's MESSIAH - recorded by the Handel
& Haydn Society under the baton of Andrew Parrot - also gives the aria to
the soprano - in this recording's case, to Karina Gauvin. There's also a
recording of this arrangement by Malgoire, with Lynne Dawson, by Helmut
Rilling with Donna Brown, and a very Germanic recording conducted by
Mackerras with Edith Mathis.
So I guess my question is this: Are you actually going to be performing
this aria within the MESSIAH? Or are you wanting to learn it as an
extracted solo? If the former, I'd be really interested to hear more about
the music director who has enough imagination and gumption to flout
tradition and let the alto sing the aria.
Karen Mercedes
===
On Neil Shicoff - http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
On yours truly - http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
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| For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that |
| appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. |
| - James 4:14 |
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|
