Cast:
- Rosemary Joshua [Michal]
- Emma Bell [Merab]
- Lawrence Zazzo [David]
- Jeremy Ovenden [Jonathan]
- Michael Slattery [High Priest, Witch of Endor]
- Finnur Bjarnason [Amalekite, Abner]
- Henry Waddington [Doeg, Samuel]
- Gidon Saks [Saul]

“Jacobs is dramatic in every number, and among his soloists Rosemary Joshua as Michal and counter-tenor Laurence Zazzo are outstanding.” - Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 16 September 2005

"The sustained excellence of Concerto Köln in a score which is strikingly opulent by the standards of the day is further reason to place this dramatically satisfying performance at the head of the league table. Add to these many virtues one of the finest recorded sounds that I can recall having heard for some while and the result is an outstanding issue.” - Nicholas Anderson, Disc of the Month, BBC Music Magazine, October 2005
Benchmark, *****performance/*****sound

“It is Jacobs’s thrilling, theatrical conducting, his excellent RIAS Chamber Choir and Concerto Köln which make this set a must for all Handelians…this is surely the Saul to have on your shelves if you don’t own one already.” - Hugh Canning, International Record Review, October 2005

“this is certainly the most excitingly theatrical Saul on disc…Chorus and orchestra are superbly responsive throughout, and the soloists, led by Gidon Saks's baleful, black-voiced Saul, are at least as fine as those on the rival sets. Lawrence Zazzo as David matches Andreas Scholl in lyrical allure and surpasses him in dramatic flair.” - Richard Wigmore, The Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2005

“Jacobs’s understanding of the dramatic workings of Baroque opera and oratorio is second to none and, as usual, his performance is outstandingly successful in linking Handel’s sequences of numbers into a coherent whole...If it is dramatic involvement you want from Saul, then Jacobs’s is the one to have.” - Lindsay Kemp, Editor’s Choice, Gramophone, November 2005

Sunday Times Classical CD of the Week
Gramophone Editor’s Choice
BBC Music Magazine Disc of the Month+Benchmark
Amazon.com Best of 2005