Star rating ***
Neither opera nor oratorio, Alexander's Feast is an ode, one of Handel's most extrovert, composed in celebration of St Cecilia's Day and of The Power of Music (as the work is subtitled). The Scottish Chamber Orchestra's two performances last week came a few days late, but in Glasgow's City Hall the mood of rejoicing was stirringly drawn from the performers by Richard Egarr, seated at the harpsichord but leaping to his feet whenever the music inspired him to do so.

It is a lovely work, a vivid incident in the life of Alexander the Great, and Egarr, a baroque specialist, savoured it without overdoing its baroquerie. The lute, placed beside the enthusiastic cellos, was more visible than audible. Nimble hornists and trumpeters, standing at the right of the platform, were separated from the rest of the orchestra. The recorder parts were played by flautists, also standing up for their eloquent contribution towards the end. The revenge aria was vigorously voiced but lacked the venomous hiss Fischer-Dieskau used to bring to it.

This was the SCO in pragmatic mode, but playing with Handelian passion and vitality. The SCO chorus rose to the occasion. Lucy Crowe brought charm, warmth and the odd gusty moment to the soprano part.

Timothy Robinson, in a role for which Handel did not originally request one of his operatic castrati, was the clear, forthright tenor, and Christopher Purves the resonant bass-baritone.

Alexander's Feast, to words by Dryden, is a milestone in Handel's output. Yet it is heard surprisingly rarely in Scotland, and this performance was both enjoyable and welcome.