Handel's Dixit Dominus HWV 232 (1707) is certainly one of the most impressive compositions of his stay in Italy of several years. With this extremely effective piece, the only 22-year-old clearly wanted to demonstrate all his compositional skills. On their recording, Il Gardellino and Bart Van Reyn place it alongside the breathtaking cantata Il Pianto di Maria, long attributed to Handel until recent research revealed that it was penned by the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Ferrandini (1710-1791).