Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt - Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (2007)

Teldec's 1983 recording of Dido and Aeneas features Nikolaus Harnoncourt leading the Arnold Schoenberg Choir and Concentus Musicus Wein, two exceptionally accomplished ensembles. The choir, especially, performs with distinction, vividly characterizing the various groups it portrays, the minions of the Sorceress, sailors, and members of the court of Carthage. Ann Murray is a regal, intense, and passionate Dido, singing with fluidity, warmth, and fullness. Rachel Yakar is a sweet-voiced and empathetic Belinda. Best of all, though, is Trudeliese Schmidt, a deliciously wicked Sorceress. The slight accent she brings to the role gives her just the right degree of separation from the moral world of the other characters. She bends her pitches with a wonderfully gleeful deviousness that's ideal for a character who creates mischief just for the fun of it. Paul Esswood's nearly whispered Spirit is genuinely spooky and it's no wonder Aeneas takes his dire admonitions to heart. Harnoncourt's musical differentiation between the world of the Sorceress and of the nobility of the court of Carthage is one of the greatest strengths of this version. His reading is straightforward and makes little use of ornamentation, which some listeners may find refreshingly clean and others may perceive as too austerely limiting of the expressive possibilities of performance practice of the period. The playing of Concentus Musicus Wein is immaculately crisp and well nuanced, making the most of Purcell's carefully graded dynamics. The harpsichord may sound a little too prominent and clattery for some tastes, especially for those attuned to the variety of continuo textures of more recent performances of middle Baroque opera. Overall, this version, if not the most distinguished on disc, is a solid and fully engaging version of the opera. The sound is clear, if occasionally a little distant.