Although librettist Thomas Morrell changed the death sentence of the Old Testament into a permanent state of virginity, the plot of Jephtha - Handel's last oratorio - is still unsettling. Handel was on the verge of loosing his eye-sight, so the resignation of Jephtha's daughter Iphis (to her eternal virginity) might symbolise Handel's submission to blindness. The final chorus, a happy ending with rejoicing, is a moving testament to Handel's faith in fate.
Arguably conductor Paul McCreesh's speed in the dotted, grave opening of the overture was somewhat fast and lacked majesty. However, it was alive right from the first note and the following allegro section felt like an organic progression. Tempi in the other orchestral interludes later in the oratorio were also on the fast side. However, ensemble and polyphonic layers in the score were focused by the orchestra sitting in compact grouping on three levels.
The first chorus, 'No more to Ammon's God and king', felt a bit rushed, although such texts can clearly be interpreted in a number of ways. The choral prayer 'O God, behold our sore distress' was sung slowly as indicated, but the mood of gravitas tended to disappear among uniformly beautiful sounds. I loved the pair of natural horns – integral but not overpowering – in the final chorus ('When his loud voice in thunder spoke') of Part One. Afterwards, all the choruses were fully convincing – dramatic, with clarity in polyphony and with layered shades of dynamics – in Parts Two and Three of the oratorio. Evidently it took two choral numbers for the combined Gabrieli Consort and Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir to settle.
The first vocal entry, Zebul's recitative and aria ('Pour forth no more unheeded pray'rs'), inspired confidence in what was going to come (and, in the event, expectations were duly fulfilled). Bass-baritone Andrew Foster Williams was full of life and delivered his text with exemplary diction in all his recitatives and solos.
Mark Padmore knows the part of Jephtha inside out and he delivered it with superb characterisation, a huge scale of dynamics, beauty and great virtuosity. During most of Christianne Stotijn's arias (in the role of Storge) I was longing for the harder edge of anger in the voices of the young Della Jones and Jean Rigby, but Stotijn's soft-centred voice was well suited to 'Sweet as sight to the blind' and she is an intelligent singer with musical integrity and dignity.
Counter-tenor Daniel Taylor (Hamor) is an excellent, well-informed musician. It is a shame that, when singing from music, he held his score unusually low and sang more to the floor than to the audience. When he sang from memory, Taylor sounded fine.
Mhairi Lawson (Iphis) is a great communicator, charmingly seductive but also disciplined and tasteful. She told the story with suitable pure voice, lovely tone-colour changes, facial expressions and with an eminently suitable concert dress (which - on this occasion - consisted of a black dress partially covered with a transparent, gold colour shawl).
Ensemble and interaction between the solo singers was exemplary. The quartet 'O spare your daughter' provided superb drama. Presumably this had to do with good preparation, because at the performance the conductor stood (and tried to indicate all entries) behind the singers.
Treble William Docherty (Angel) was my star for the evening. He delivered his recitative ('Rise, Jephtha') and aria ('Happy, Iphis, shalt thou live') from memory, with impressive musicality and the utmost discipline. I don't know how old Docherty is – perhaps about 15? – but the future is clearly in good hands.
By Agnes Kory
Photo: Paul McCreesh
Related articles:
Opera Review: Handel's Athalia at the Lufthansa Festival
Concert Review: Handel's Acis and Galatea at the Wigmore Hall
DVD Review: Paul McCreesh conducts Domingo in Handel's Tamerlano
CD Review: Paul McCreesh conducts Rolando Villazon's Handel disc
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