30 Days of Music Tidbits, Day 10, Handel Singing to Remember

“Front page Ariodante.”  via Wikimedia Commons.

For today: British mezzo Sarah Connolly singing “Scherza Infida” from Handel’s “Ariodante.” This was one of those recordings that seeks you out. Connolly had sung for “The Sixteen,” Harry Christopher’s elite chorus, and then started a solo career, which has become pretty starry. This early solo recording of hers–about 12 years old now–garnered great favor in Gramophone. I heard this cut from it excerpted on the demo CD they used to send. And I found myself playing it over and over…something I haven’t done for years, then got the full CD, which I have played over and over since then.

Something about her ardor and restraint is so very British, and so very moving…