“Editor's Choice”, Gramophone; Penguin Guide 3 stars
"Emma Kirkby's singing [is] absolutely breathtaking, every note perfectly tuned and in place."Gramophone; "Kirkby has no problems bringing off the vocal fireworks with both precision and panache." American Record Guide; "Indispensable" Ritmo; "Die musikalisch untadelige und pointierte Einspielung entwickelt alle nötige Überzeugungskraft" Fono Forum
Discovered only in 2001 in the library of London's Royal Academy of Music, Handel's Gloria is a work of true substance written for a coloratura soprano of the utmost brilliance and alternating highly virtuosic passages with slower, heartfelt sections as befits the changes of mood of the liturgical text. Emma Kirkby rises magnificently to the challenge with her combination of vocal virtuosity and musical intelligence, to which she adds her inimitable communicative skills. She is vigorously supported by the Royal Academy's own baroque orchestra conducted by Laurence Cummings. This world première recording of Handel's Gloria is coupled with a famed performance of the same composer's Dixit Dominus with no less a star than Anne Sofie von Otter singing the alto part and with the redoutable Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble.
