"[H]ere comes another treasure, this one unearthed from the archives of Emmanuel Music in Boston. … [T]he material is choice: spacious arias from two Bach cantatas and extended excerpts from Handel's oratorio Hercules. … [T]hat glorious voice, when it appears, meets every expectation. … [In the Handel, her] voice alone amply conveys [Dejanira]'s intensity here. Her artistry is also apparent in fine details: the way she manages to depict the whining in "Venus and her whining boy" whiloe producing only beautiful tone. … Dare we hope for more?"
— James Oesterreich,The New York Times, August 10, 2008

"It goes without saying, but — lock the doors, draw the blinds, anaesthetize pets and family members. You will not want to be interrupted when you listen to this. … The two Bach arias which bookend the disc are meditative treasures. … In between are extensive highlights from a live performance of Handel's Hercules in which she makes one wonder, among other things, why on earth the piece isn't titled Dejanira. Surely no musclebound demigod could be more deserving of star billing than Lorraine's complex, passionate Dejanira."
— Sarah Noble, Prima la musica, poi le parole, July 18, 2008

"The premature death of superb American mezzo Lorraine Hunt Lieberson has been followed by that of her friend and mentor at Boston's Emmanuel Church, Craig Smith. As Hunt's celebrity grew, she kept returning to work at Emmanuel, where she started out as a violist, then joined the choir. In this selection of passages from Bach cantatas and Handel's Hercules, recorded at the church, admirers can trace her growth from low lyric soprano to lush mezzo of perfect technique, intonation and clarity."
— Anthony Holden, The Observer, June 15, 2008

Recording of the Month
… [S]uperb Handel singing. Frequently I was reminded of Dame Janet Baker’s assumption of Handelian roles and I can pay no higher compliment than that. … [T]his is a superb disc that all admirers of this much-missed singer will want to have. And if you’ve not heard Lorraine Hunt Lieberson before, buy this disc and discover for yourself what all the fuss is about.
— John Quinn, Musicweb International, July 15, 2008

"Her singing is beautiful, whether in the way that she spins the long melodic lines of the Bach over accompaniments that may not be historically correct baroque playing, but complement her expressiveness, or in the quasi-operatic numbers from the Handel oratorio. For a singer of her peerless quality Hunt Lieberson made relatively few commercial recordings, so every performance rescued from the archives is doubly treasurable."
— Guardian, July 4, 2008

"[Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's] voice was – is, I should say – of that richly emotional and luminous kind that seems to connect directly with the heart and she was clearly on great form during these concerts. As Dejanira – the wife of hercules, who becomes tormented by jealousy and poisons her husband – she's simply breathtaking. … [T]his is a must-have disc for anyone capable of being touched by the human voice."
— Warwick, Thompson, Metro (London)

Avie AVI-2130
Classical: Vocal | Baroque | TPT 60:58
1 CD | Booklet includes full texts
Price Code I

Street Date: July 29, 2008