These two pieces are not always presented together, as they are here on this 2017 release from Alpha featuring Vox Luminis, however they are popular vocal works that have a lot of competition in the recorded canon. I had the occasion to hear Vox Luminis at the last Boston Early Music Festival and was impressed with their vocal style. To many who enjoy so-called early music, you may well be familiar with this ensemble. I recently came upon their Requiems album, featuring the works of Kerll and Fux (released on the Ricercar label). It was good, despite my unfamiliarity with the works. I shall go back to it soon.

I recently spent an evening auditioning over a dozen Handel Dixit Dominus renditions with a colleague who showcased for me the great variety of ways this early and important work of G. F. Handel was performed. Some suffered, I think, from the Four Seasons effect, with conductors taking on rather bold and creative approaches toward performance, likely in an effort to differentiate their recording from the rest. This isn’t an altogether awful practice, but some of the results were rough or misguided, likely.

I “grew up” with John Elliot Gardiner’s rendition of the Bach Magnificat on Philips. Unlike Handel, this piece was written by Bach in his more mature years, his first in Leipzig, was updated in 1733 in the key of D. It’s that version that is recorded here.

In both cases across these pieces, we’re treated to an intimate character, which is no surprise given the choir’s recorded history. It’s one where the instruments are just as loud as the choir in terms of balance, even as the ensemble recorded these works in different churches. The sound has a hugely wide soundstage. Despite the large space of each church, there is adequate transparency and a sense of our closeness to the musicians in both performances.

Bach

The ensemble does well with the solo pieces; the Aria Quia Fecit Mihi Magna presents the text quite clearly; I like the use of a large organ to back up the piece. The Aria Quia Respexit, among the most beautiful movements in the work, is also well-rendered by the soloist, the attention to the harmonic structure to the piece is affectively phrased.

The choral numbers are each presented at a kind of relaxed pace. The opening track, festive as it is with trumpets and timpani, is given a little boost from the use of a full organ. Surprisingly Vox Luminis (the singers) come out full force, with pretty good volume. The pace, while not hurried, still works as it unfolds.

Where I became surprised was the performance of the chorus, Omnes Generationes which most often is performed far more quickly. I am wondering if it’s because of the way this group performs, its director an active singer in the ensemble? It’s a rather chaotic affair when the tempo is pushed, as it is in the rendition I mentioned by Gardiner. While I do like it swift and with more articulation, this version is certainly a treat for the ears. It’s as if it’s been drawn out for us to better appreciate the harmonies used by Bach that otherwise fly by rather quickly.

In the aria Esurientes Implevit Bonis the color presented between the two flutes and the organ is an aural delight. And as with the other solo arias, the presentation here by the male alto is sensitively sung with great clarity.

The closing Gloria patri is performed in such as way to showcase the ensemble’s vocal gamut with great clarity, once again. When this piece is performed with smaller forces it’s likely to fall apart as the voices traverse their range; however Vox Luminis shows no signs of weakness. The ending, recapping the opening of the work, is gloriously enhanced again with Bart Jacobs on the organ.

I wouldn’t want this to be my only performance of the Bach Magnificat, but it is one rendered extremely well.

Handel

The entrance by the men in the first movement suffers from an intonation issue. It’s a slight blemish. This opening movement, if I may be so bold, showcases both Handel’s genius but also his naïveté as a young composer. Those solo entrances are difficult to execute well! With the tempo chosen by V.L., the solution they arrive at I think works well. Sometimes I’m left to wince with the results from those solo parts racing by. This solution, I think, is smart. The proof is in the execution, which is well done.

A few of the movements might have benefitted from a few clicks faster with the metronome; the first is the aria Virgam virtutis tuae. The second is the closing chorus, Gloria patri et filio. The tempo of the last track seems well-chosen for the benefit of the vocal parts, actually, but I’d like more attack and articulation from the instrumentalists.

The instrumental forces, otherwise, that augment the chorus in this album are on top form across the board. The opening of the violins are a testament to this in the chorus, Dominus a dextris tuis. I like how they are split across from one another for a stereo effect. The basso continuo pushing the singers after the introduction is omnipresent and again, the use of a church organ is a benefit to the overall effect.

The penultimate track, De torrente in via bibet, is a special treat. What I haven’t mentioned yet is the vocal style of these singers. It’s not that their voices use no vibrato at all, but they are not operatic singers. We might say instead they are liturgical singers and that style is a breath of fresh air for me.

Conclusion

I might conclude by saying this album was a real find for me. To be clear, it’s been out for awhile. It’s not devoid of excitement, but there’s enough of a relaxed style that puts the needs of the singers first—which helps benefit us as listeners, as the words are easier to understand. This album embraces what I’ll call the Vox Luminis signature style, and while all may not like it for these two vocal works from the first half of the eighteen century, by the pillars of Bach and Handel, I think these performances showcase a different approach to how we can approach these “warhorses.” That’s unfair, the works are probably not as well-recorded as, say, Bach’s Mass in B minor or Handel’s Messiah, but nevertheless, the approach to my ears was refreshing.

There are of course recordings that stick the instrumentalists in the back, but in this one, they’re not in front, they’re on equal footing. And that might be a bad thing if they weren’t up to the task; but I except for the want of a little more space and articulation in the final movement of the Handel, I think they helped make this release shine.

Props finally go to the engineers who made two excellent recordings across these discs with a very similar sound signature.