Cecilia Bartoli continues her archaeological activities, digging
out forgotten music by forgotten composers. Once again she enters
centre-stage with a well-filled basket where sparkling jewels
lie side by side with opaque but immensely beautiful pearls.
Agostino Steffani was ‘a man of many missions’: singer, musician,
composer, diplomat, politician and also a learned man with a
large library and an art collection. Though by some scholars
regarded as the foremost Italian composer between Monteverdi
and Vivaldi, his music has been largely neglected. Some of his
works have been recorded and of late his opera Niobe, regina
di Tebe has been performed in several places. Cecilia Bartoli’s
albums tend to be best-sellers so it seems that there is a Steffani
renaissance on the way. No fewer than 21 of the numbers here
are world premiere recordings on CD so this disc is a goldmine
not least for those collectors who already have ‘everything’.
The album launches with a flying start, orchestrally and vocally.
The aria from Alarico il Baltha is a virtuoso piece
with blaring trumpets, punchy percussion and coloratura fireworks.
On the whole Steffani’s handling of orchestral colours is masterly.
In the first aria from Tassilone (tr. 4) he employs
castanets. The call-to-arms in Il trionfi del fato
(tr. 7) with trumpets, percussion and chorus is riveting and
in another war song, this time from La lotta d’Hercole con
Acheloo (tr. 17) he even incorporates firearms.
The dramatic and virtuoso numbers are only one side of Steffani’s
art. Many arias are intimate and restrained. The beautiful love
song Amami, e vedrai from Niobe, regina di Tebe
(tr. 5) is accompanied by a sole lute and time and again one
marvels at the melodies and the inventiveness of the composer.
Possibly the most beautiful aria of all is the one from Henrico
Leone (tr. 24) but the next minute I feel that Dell’alma
stanca a raddoleir le tempre from Niobe is just
as good.
Those unfamiliar with Steffani will probably fall in love from
the very first track and then there is not one weak number.
The playing of I Barocchisti is absolutely stupendous, the chorus
is first class and by now most reviewers have run out of superlatives
concerning Cecilia Bartoli’s singing. As a bonus she has invited
that marvellous counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky for four duets
and the two voices blend admirably. As usual the production
values are superb: A hardback 174-page book with copious background
material in four languages, complete texts, lots of photos and
other illustrations and a playing time of 80+ minutes. The recorded
sound is ideal – in short: everything is as perfect as anything
can be!
Göran Forsling
Agostino STEFFANI (1654
– 1728)
Mission
Alarico il Baltha, cioè L’audace re de Gothi
1. Schiere invitte, non tardate [2:15]
Servio Tullio
2. Ogni core può sperar* [4:23]
Niobe, regina di Tebe
3. Ove son? Chi m’aita? In mezzo all’ombre ... Dal mio petto*
[5:18]
Tassilone
4. Più non v’ascondo [2:19]
Niobe, regina di Tebe
5. Amami, e vedrai* [6:41]
6. T’abbraccio mia Diva ... Ti stringo, mio Nume* [2:42]
I trionfi del fato
7. Mie fide schiere, all’armi*
Arminio
Suoni, tuoni, il suolo scuota* [3:26]
Tassilone
8. Sposa, mancar mi sento ... Deh non far colle tue lagrime*
[5:42]
La superbia d’Alessandro
9. Non prendo consiglio* [1:17]
Alarico il Baltha
10. Sì, sì, riposa, o caro ... Palpitanti sfere belle*
[3:12]
La libertà contenta
11. Notte amica al cieco Dio* [3:48]
I trionfi del fato
12. Combatton quest’alma* [2:08]
Tassilone
13. A facile vittoria [2:58]
La superbia d’Alessandro
14. Tra le guerre e le vittorie* [1:27]
La libertà contenta
15. Foschi crepuscoli* [2:05]
Niobe, regina di Tebe
16. Dell’alma stanca a raddoleir le tempe ... Sfere amiche,
or date al labbro* [6:16]
La lotta d’Hercole con Acheloo
17. La cerasta più terribile [2:38]
Niobe, regina di Tebe
18. Serena, o mio bel sole ... Mia fiamma ... Mio ardore*
[2:21]
Tassilone
19. Dal tuo labbro amor m’invita* [2:39]
La libertà contenta
20. Deh stancati, o sorte* [3:04]
21. Svenati, struggiti, combatti, suda* [3:11]
Tassilone
22. Padre, s’è colpa in lui* [5:08]
Le rivali concordi
23. Timori, ruine* [1:35]
Henrico Leone
24. Morirò fra strazi e scempi [2:40]
Marco Aurelio
25. Non si parli che di fede* [1:19]
Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo), Philippe Jaroussky (counter-tenor) (6,
12, 18, 23), Rosario Conte (lute) (5)