Eternal Light Baroque arias and songs by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Dowland, etc.
Elin Manahan Thomas; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Christophers
Heliodor 476 5970

Release date July 2007

Welsh soprano Elin Manahan Thomas is the first artist to appear on Universal Classics’ newly-resurrected Heliodor label. Thomas has featured on many of The Sixteen’s recordings, and indeed it is Harry Christophers who conducts this disc – although you have to look closely to find the single mention of his name in the CD booklet. Universal is giving Thomas the star treatment usually reserved for the Netrebkos and Flemings of the soprano world, so we are treated to numerous photos of Thomas draped over various cathedral fixtures. Do not be put off, however – her singing is sublime. Her programme starts with plainsong by Hildegard of Bingen, and thereafter is firmly rooted in the early 17th and 18th centuries. The five works by Handel comprise a beguiling solo with serene floating trumpet obbligato, Eternal Source of Light Divine, composed for Queen Anne’s birthday in 1713, and an uplifting Let the bright seraphim, as well as the ubiquitous Ombra mai fu, Where’er you walk and Lascia ch’io pianga. Vivaldi’s Nullo in mundo pax sincera receives a delightful rendition, with tasteful ornamentation. Bach is represented by Bist du bei mir (you can hear the smile in Thomas’s voice) and Aus liebe will mein Heiland sterben from the St Matthew Passion. Here Thomas has ample opportunity to display her effortless control in the long legato phrases – although the oboes da caccia do their best to drown her with their obtrusive staccato. A little more finesse generally from the orchestra would have been welcome – I found the harpsichord- and theorbo-dominated textures in Ombra mai fu especially bottom-heavy. However, for the three penultimate tracks the accompaniment is pared back to solo lute or continuo for two Dowland songs and Purcell’s When I am laid in earth. The lute songs are very fine; Thomas has Emma Kirkby’s knack of communicating directly in even the simplest of songs. The Purcell is lovely, but I missed the depth of character that singers like Janet Baker bring to the part. The disc ends with a sensuous Monteverdi duet with counter-tenor Robin Blaze, Pur ti miro from L’incoronazione di Poppea. I like Thomas’s voice very much; the combination of purity at the top of her range and warm tonal beauty in the lower reaches is very persuasive. It will be interesting to see how Universal uses her undoubted talents in future recordings.

Reviewed by Anne McAlister