I have been listening to some new recordings I've bought and I am
really happy with them.  Most of them are with the King's Consort:
Handel's Acis and Galatea, Monteverdi Selva Morale et Spirituale, and
Handel An Ode for St. Cecilia's Day.  I love these recordings and am
most impressed with the smooth and lovely sound of the strings and winds
the King's Consort get despite being period instruments and the singers
who are all excellent especially Carolyn Sampson, James Gilchrist, Claron
McFadden, and John Mark Ainsley.  There is a recent disc of Handel arias
with Ian Bostridge and he sings some of the arias from Acis and Galatea
but Ainsley seems much better to me - much more fluid and less strained.
The Monteverdi was a suprise in a sense since I never heard King do much
from that period but it is wonderful and very authentic sounding -
alternating between small forces and a large choir. It's one of the best
Monteverdi discs I own.  Finally, I also enjoy the new disc of Bach
Dialogue Cantatas with Quasthoff and Dorothea Roschmann.  It's very
beautifully sung and played.  Roschmann in particular seems to shine
brightly and her voice seems to be improving with age.  So I am a happy
man at least in terms of musical recordings.  I reccomend any of these
discs without reservation.

Peter Herwitz

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