From the 1730s onwards the popularity of Handel's operas began to decline. So he turned his attention instead to oratorio, a shrewd change of compositional direction which allowed his success to continue and eventually culminated in his most famous work, The Messiah. Donald Macleod discusses this vital strand of Handel's musical output.
Shepherd, What Art Thou Pursuing? (Acis and Galatea)
Martyn Hill (tenor), English Baroque
Soloists, conductor John Eliot Gardiner Tune Your Harps (Esther)
Mark Padmore (tenor), the Sixteen, conductor Harry Christophers Ode forSt Cecilia's Day
Felicity Lott (soprano), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor), English Concert and Choir, director Trevor Pinnock
Father of Heaven (Judas Maccabeus) Janet Baker (mezzo),
English Concert Orchestra, conductor Charles Mackerras