Renowned for their Handel interpretations, Harry Christophers\nand his award winning choir, The Sixteen, add to their glittering\ncatalogue of Handel discs with this new recording of Saul.

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In his biblical oratorio, Saul, Handel wrote an epic work of\ngreat and noble drama and of thrilling musical inventiveness. Saul\nrepresents Handel’s first proper foray into oratorio and it is a\nmasterpiece full of great and magical moments. It is bursting with\nexceptional music, extraordinary orchestration (replete with\ntrombones, deepsounding drum and perky carillon), extended choruses\nboth profound and ebullient, symphonies, concerto movements for\norgan, recitatives which explore the varying moods of the\ncharacters, and the most stunning arias.

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In Saul Handel gifted soloists with roles of vivid\ncharacterisation and the artists on this disc are some of the\nfinest Handelian interpreters of today including Christopher Purves\n- a baritone whose talent for dramatic realisation is matched by\nsuperb musical craftsmanship - and Sarah Connolly - whose intensely\nradiant performance of David on this CD confirms her status as one\nof our most sought-after Handel performers.

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Both Christopher and Sarah sang with The Sixteen at the start of\ntheir careers, and Sarah released her first solo album Heroes and\nHeroines on CORO, and so it is with great pride that we welcome\nthem back for this recording. Robert Murray, Elizabeth Atherton and\nJoélle Harvey along with Sixteen regulars, Mark Dobell, Jeremy Budd\nand Stuart Young, complete the stellar line-up of soloists on this\nnew recording.

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