Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

After the joy of the Armonico Consort's recording of the splendid 'Dixit Dominus' in 2023 it is sad to say that this latest instalment of works by Francesco Scarlatti, with his only surviving oratorio 'Il Daniele nel Lago de'Leoni' or 'Daniel in the Lions' Den' (obviously!) is not as enthralling. Christopher Monks, the consort's director, and the musicologist Geoffrey Webber have done a fine job in reconstructing the score and Webber's booklet notes are very helpful and no doubt there are scholars who are beside themselves with joy at having this work available. Scarlatti's 'Daniele' conforms in all general aspects to the typical Sicilian oratorio of the late-17th century, which was itself closely modelled on Roman practice: four or five singers inhabit character roles, without a separate narrator, together with a chorus often consisting of the soloists singing in ensemble which is where this listener lost the plot - literally. While I am familiar with the Protestant Old Testament story of Daniel and am aware that the Catholic version includes some extra material, I still struggled to follow what was going on, even with the translation of the text open before me. The five vocalists are all very good but, to my ears at least, the sopranos Billie Robson as an Angel and Hannah Fraser-Mackenzie as Daniele sounded too similar. The alto William Towers sang the part of King Darius and seemed at times to be out of his range. Tenor Graham Neal did a fine job as the prophet Habakkuk ('Abacucco') although the Bible reading part of me was somewhat surprised to meet him in Daniel's story. Saving the best to last, bass Alex Jones is a splendid demon-dragon but he is soon made to swallow an explosive cake and destroyed. I might pay good money to see this live on stage but as a musical retelling of a Bible story it fails to convince. As an aside, this got me thinking about the best-known contemporary take on an Old Testament story in Lloyd Webber and Rice's ever popular 'Joseph'. If one went to see the musical already knowing the Bible story or, vice versa, read the Bible story for the first time after seeing the musical, I think either way one would get the plot. As I said, I know the book of Daniel well and I was lost. This is sad as there is some first-class musicianship here with a string octet sounding suitably baroque and George Herbert's organ continuo keeping things moving along nicely. While those wanting to take a deep dive into the works of the Scarlatti family and the backwaters of Italian Baroque will get something from this release I confess that it left me underwhelmed and confused.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.