Tempesta di Mare

This seriously addictive disc should make New Yorkers envy Philadelphia for its sparkling early-music orchestra, Tempesta di Mare. Here, the group’s five expert core players—who handle archlute, cello, flute, harpsichord, recorder, theorbo and violin—pay handsome tribute to Handel. Soprano Julianne Baird joins them for the Nine German Arias, largely lyrical reworkings of biblical passages by the poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes. The disc’s title comes from the alluring praise song “Flammende Rose,” one of three allegro arias.

Many who love Handel associate his vocal music exclusively with Italian opera and English oratorio, and do not know his beguiling skill in setting his native language. Baird, for decades one of Americas’s most justifiably hailed early-music singers, exercises more caution than before in placing high attacks and cornering tricky passages with her crystal-clear soprano. But her delicate, stylish performance suits the domestic nature of the works’ lyrics and musical textures. Among competitive editions of the songs, Arleen Auger’s features a slightly larger ensemble and less impressive engineering; Dorothea Röschmann commands a darker basic timbre.

Separating three groupings of arias are lovely traversals of two Trio Sonatas (Op. 2, Nos. 1 and 4), which offer similar contrapuntal conversations among the participants. One central adagio movement recycles the tune of Rodelinda’s “Ho perduto.” Highly recommended for lazy Sunday mornings.