Love in Arcadia: Duets and Trios by George Frideric Handel, features performances by Laura Heimes and Julianne Baird, sopranos, Tony Boutté, tenor and Sumner Thompson, bass; accompanied by Douglas McNames, cello, and Karen Flint, Harpsichord. Rarely performed or recorded. The duets and trios on this CD were largely composed in Handel’s early career when he was in Italy (c. 1708-1711) and, while quit different from his operatic compositions, offer the musical delights expected from this great composer. While he is mostly known for his oratorios, Messiah and Israel in Egypt among others, and his Italian operas, written after he had settled in London, Handel spent several years inn Italy where he was associated with the Arcadian Academy, writing seven of the ten works on this recording. The other three were written later in his career and reflect the music of his operas – indeed, some of these composition were reworked and will be recognized as some of his most loved choruses from Messiah. Karen Flint, harpsichordist and artistic director of Brandywine Baroque since its founding, teaches harpsichord at the University of Delaware. She has degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The University of Michigan. Her recent recordings include: Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Cello Sonatas Op. 26 & Op. 50 “Elegant and Delightful,” (Gramophone, June 2008); Oh! The Sweet Delights of Love (Music by Purcell); The Lass with the Delicate Air and C. P. E. Bach Trio Sonatas for Plectra Music. With Julianne Baird she recorded The Jane Austen Songbook on the Albany label. Soprano Laura Heimes, praised for her “sparkle and humor, radiance and magnetism” and "a voice equally velvety up and down the registers", is regarded as an artist of great versatility. She has worked with Andrew Lawrence King, The King’s Noyse, Paul O’Dette, reconstruction, Apollo’s Fire and The New York Collegium. Ms. Heimes has performed at the Boston, Connecticut, and Indianapolis Early Music Festivals, and at the Oregon and Philadelphia Bach Festivals with Helmuth Rilling and the Carmel Bach Festival with Bruno Weil. Ms. Heimes’ most recent recordings include Oh! The Sweet Delights of Love (Music by Purcell), and The Lass with the Delicate Air: English Songs from the London Pleasure Gardens with Brandywine Baroque; The Jane Austen Songbook with Julianne Baird; and Caldara’s Il Giuoco del Quadriglio. A native of Rochester NY, Ms. Heimes holds Master of Music degrees from Temple University. Julianne Baird, soprano, has been hailed a “national artistic treasure” (New York Times) and a “peerless performer in the repertory of the baroque.” She maintains a busy concert and recording schedule. With more than 125 recordings to her credit on Decca, Deutsche Gramophone, Dorian and Newport Classics, Julianne Baird is widely acknowledged as one of leaders in music of the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to her major roles in a series of acclaimed recordings of Handel and Gluck operas, recent projects include a Carnegie performance and recording of La Giuditta by Alessandro Scarlatti. Recordings of Handel Arias from Alcina and Rinaldo and a newly commissioned opera are planned for 2008-09. Dr. Baird holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University. Praised for his “elegant style” (Boston Globe), Sumner Thompson is one of today’s most sought-after young baritones. His appearances on the operatic stage include roles in the Boston Early Music Festival’s productions of Conradi’s Ariadne (2005) and Lully’s Psyché (2007) and several European tours with Contemporary Opera Denmark as Orfeo in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. He has performed with Concerto Palatino, Tafelmusik, Apollo’s Fire, Les Boreades de Montréal, Les Voix Baroques, and many other ensembles and orchestras. Also a noted recitalist, Mr. Thompson has sung in Stuttgart, Amsterdam, Regensburg and at London’s famed Wigmore Hall. Tony Boutté, tenor, has appeared in a wide range of roles, including Orfeo in the groundbreaking Monteverdi Cycle with Skylight Opera, Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Acis in Handel’s Acis & Galatea, and Gandhi in the Philip Glass opera Satyagraha. Tony has performed with Les Arts Florissants, Tafelmusik, Les Talens Lyriques, Opera Lafayette, New York Collegium, Violons du Roy, Boston Baroque and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 singing Handel’s Messiah with Masterwork Chorus. Mr. Boutté has premiered Michael Gordon’s Chaos, Betsy Jolas’ Motet III, Bang on a Can’s Carbon Copy Building, In the Penal Colony by Philip Glass and Douglas Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma. Tony has recorded Bach’s St. John Passion (Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra), Lully’s Armide, Sacchini’s Oedipe à Colone and the world premiers of Carbon Copy Building and Arjuna’s Dilemma. His festival appearances include Salzburg, Aspen, Aldeburgh Festival, Versailles Autumn Festival and Tage Alte Muzik Regensburg. Douglas McNames, Principal cellist with the Delaware Symphony, OperaDelaware and the Reading Symphony, has been a member of Brandywine Baroque for nearly twenty years. With the award winning Delos Quartet he performed extensively in the United States and Europe. He was Principal Cellist with the Carmel Bach Festival for 15 years and is a regular substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra. His recently released recording of Joseph Bodin de Boismortier Cello Sonatas Op. 26 & Op. 50 was hailed as “an aristocratic pleasure” (Gramophone, June 2008). Mr. McNames has also recorded for Spectrum, Etcetera, Epiphany, and Dorian labels. His cello was made by Barak Norman in London, 1708.