Sixteen:Christophers - Handel: Jeptha

Renowned for their Handel interpretations, Harry Christophers and his award-winning choir, The Sixteen, add to their glittering catalogue of Handel discs with this new recording of Jephtha. The Sixteen are joined by a stellar cast of soloists: James Gilchrist, Susan Bickley, Sophie Bevan, Robin Blaze, Matthew Brook and Grace Davidson.'It has been reckoned that Handel put more notes on paper than any other composer before or since. When he undertook Jephtha, the last new oratorio he was to write, he had composed over 40 operas, over 30 odes, oratorios and serenatas, over 100 cantatas, over 40 pieces of church music, and over 100 instrumental works. Jephtha is the harvest of his decades of penetration and expression of individual character, the human condition, the natural world and the nature of God, and for many listeners it is the masterpiece among his oratorios.' (Ruth Smith: from her CD booklet article)