In 2001, a protracted misplaced work by Handel was miraculously found.
The manuscript for Handel’s Gloria in excelsis Deo had been hiding in plain sight within the library of London’s Royal Academy of Music. Certain in a set of Handel arias that had been owned by singer William Savage (1720-1789), the manuscript was not within the composer’s hand. It was authenticated by Hamburg College professor Hans Joachim Marx. The Academy’s principal, Curtis Worth, commented, “The music is recent, exuberant, and just a little wild in locations, however unmistakably Handel.”
The six-movement liturgical setting, a bit of the Roman Catholic mass, is an early work. It was probably composed in 1707 shortly after Handel departed Germany for Rome. It’s scored for coloratura soprano and strings. The vocal traces are brilliantly virtuosic. Marx noticed, “Maybe not too many sopranos will be capable of carry out this piece.”
This efficiency, recorded on Might 19, 2024, is from the LanAntiqua music competition in Lana, South Tyrol, Italy. The soprano is Giulia Bolcato.
