Following the initial private performance at Cannons in 1718, Handel repeatedly mangled the score for various public performances in the 1730s and early 1740s, the temporary exigencies of each production taking precedence over what we would now regard as the work's artistic integrity.

William Christie's recording is based chiefly on the superior Cannons version (and so employs relatively small forces), though he does incorporate a few of Handel's later revisions, notably the inclusion of the chorus "Happy we", the use of a soprano in the role of Damon and the addition of the character of Coridon (who, contrary to the information in the booklet, sings "Would you gain the fair creature", not "Consider, fond shepherd").

From the light, deftly-flowing rhythms of the opening Sinfonia, it's clear that Christie has fashioned an elegant, polished performance that truly delights the ear. He's helped enormously by having outstanding soloists in the three major roles. Paul Agnew is a convincingly tender, yet headstrong Acis; Alan Ewing conveys Polyphemus' half- comic, half-monstrous bluster with terrific aplomb. Best of all is Sophie Daneman's refined yet vulnerable Galatea; her voice takes on a sensuous lustre in the early pastoral arias then darkens affectingly for the lament "Must I my Acis" and the elegiac "Heart, the seat of soft delight".

In short, Christie and his team have supplanted all previous Acis recordings and given us one of the most attractive and beautifully-performed Handel sets of recent years.
GRAHAM LOCK

GEORG FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL
William Christie
Les Arts Florissants
Sophie Daneman, Patricia Petibon
Erato 3984-25505-2
1998 - 91:13 min.