Dunedin Consort - Handel: Samson - BBC Music Magazine

John Butt has created the best Samson ever. He’s chosen the original 1743 version, star soloists with early-music chops and his band of top period instrumentalists. Above all, he’s beefed up the choir. The 1743 choir consisted of soloists alone, but these singers’ three separate dramatic roles – as the Israelites, the Philistines and a Christian congregation reflecting on the action – richly justify Butt’s adding to his soloists not just the Dunedin chorus, but boy trebles as well. These choral forces make for a vibrancy unique among Samson recordings. The choir’s performance is this production’s crowning glory.