THE TIMES

****

“This recording, the first to present Handel’s original version, is performed by the British group La Nuova Musica…as lively a collection of instrumentalists and singers as the world offers. In matters of vocal decoration sometimes the singers’ enthusiasm runs away with them; rather untrammelled gusto, though, than a performance cold and correct, trapped in a pinstripe suit. […] A tonic, a definite tonic.”

THE FINANCIAL TIMES

****

"Buoyed by the success in 1711 of Rinaldo, his first opera for London, Handel returned the following year with Il pastor fido, a more modest, intimate drama reflecting the Haymarket opera company's reduced circumstances. In 1734 Handel revived it with much new music. Some of it is showier, but it was high time we had an up-to-date recording of the 1712 version, which this studio performance offers. Lucy Crowe (Amarilli) and Anna Dennis (in the soprano castrato part of Mirtillo) are excellent as the lovers whose path is strewn with obstacles. The supporting cast, led Katherine Manley and Madeleine Shaw, are equally pure-voiced, while La Nuova Musica radiates the Arcadian balm of Handel's instrumental music."

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 

****

“The performance is exemplary, crisply conducted by David Bates and illuminated by stylish contributions from the soprano Lucy Crowe, the mezzo Madeleine Shaw and the

countertenor Clint van der Linde.”

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

****

“[Bates’s] love of Handel’s instrumental textures is apparent. Every facet of the six-movement Ouverture…is held up to the light and admired. In the moist acoustic of London’s Temple Church the effect is spa-like serenity.” 

TROUW.NL

****

What rich music-making and what a sound David Bates draws from his musicians. The largo in overture, with intertwining oboes and bassoons, is a revelation. And the singing hasn’t even started. When it does, the level is exceptionally high - and the names are entirely new! Anna Dennis for example - brilliant!