Georg Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
La Francesina – Handel’s Nightingale
Nine arias and three orchestral works from operas and cantatas
Sophie Junker (soprano), Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu/Franck-Emmanuel Comte (direction, harpsichord)
rec. June 2019 Temple Lanterne, Lyon, France
Full sung texts with English translations
APARTÉ AP233 [67:44]
The Aparté label is certainly releasing some fascinating and imaginative albums. Baroque music features frequently in its programmes and I have found those albums to be a constant source of delight; now the label has come up with another captivating release. This is Belgian soprano Sophie Junker’s first solo disc, and she has chosen a Georg Friedrich Handel collection entitled La Francesina in tribute to French soprano Élisabeth Duparc, known as Handel’s Nightingale.
There are twelve tracks here taken from ten of Handel’s operas and oratorios. Five arias are from the operas Faramondo,
Serse, Deidamia (two) and Imeneo. Four are from the oratorios Semele, Hercules, Saul and Joseph and his Brethren. In addition, there are three instrumental pieces from Belshazzar, Semele and The Occasional Oratorio.
Handel knew that leading women singers were crucial to the success of a stage work. With this in mind, he wrote major roles in his operas and oratorios for the stars of the day, who included Élisabeth Duparc, Kitty Clive, Susannah Cibber, Anna Maria Strada, Giulia Frasi and, by far the best-known, Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni who were the bitterest of rivals. That rivalry between the warring divas has caught the imagination of numerous writers of books, articles, concert programmes and radio plays.
Far less familiar is Élisabeth Duparc; even her birth date is unknown. What is known was that she initially trained as a dancer, studied in Italy and performed in Florence (1731, 1734-35) then moved to London in 1736 and was in demand by Handel and other composers. Handel’s high regard for Duparc resulted in him writing twelve leading stage roles for her. Charles Burney and Mary Delany noted the ‘warbling’ character of her voice and Handel wrote several ‘nightingale’ arias, tailor-made for her characteristic sound. She became known as La Francesina (The little Frenchwoman) and of the twelve roles that she created, ten are represented on this album. In their complete form, both the oratorio Semele and opera Serse stand out as masterworks.
Soprano soloist Sophie Junker trained in Namur, Belgium at the IMEP (Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie) and for four years at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. A major stimulus for her was winning the 2010 London Handel Competition followed by first prize at the 2012 Cesti Competition at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival. A glance through Junker’s schedule shows her performances are weighted towards baroque music.
In choosing this collection of arias that La Francesina sang in her career, Junker has considered the emotional range of the arias, from playful to hot-blooded. It is worth mentioning that La Francesina would have been singing these roles in Italian and English, and certainly not in her native French. In her booklet essay, Junker identifies and outlines several examples of parallels between her own early career and that of La Francesina.
Junker is certainly an assured singer with admirable clarity and vocal strength. She has a special gift for expression at extremes of the scale, notably conveying a rousing passion so imposingly in Deidamia’s aria ‘Và, perfido!’ from Act Two of the eponymous opera, and by contrast Iole’s aria ‘My father! Ah!’ from Act One of Hercules, which is so convincingly affecting in the face of agonising sorrow. One senses that Junker’s approach to vocal baroque artistry has been firmly established, and her focus, production and diction are notably first-class.
Another striking aria from Handel’s often overlooked and final opera Deidamia is “Nasconde l’usignol” from Act One with Junker in the title role as a daughter of King Licomede. This is another of the ‘nightingale arias’ written specifically to for La Francesina. Deidamia, the lover of Achilles, sings of a nightingale securely hiding in her nest on high branches so protective of her beloved. Junker gives an insightful interpretation of great charm. From Act Two of the infrequently performed oratorio Joseph and his Brethren, is Asenath’s audience pleasing aria from “Prophetic raptures swell my breast”, in which Junker takes on fiendishly challenging coloratura. This is the only aria on the collection that I have difficulties with, owing to Junker’s tensely produced ornamentation that sounds raspy and often awkward. Very much more to my taste, however, is how magnificently Junker renders the final repeat of the concluding line, “And leave more heavenly bright the day”.
From the oratorio Hercules is moving Act One aria “My father! Ah!”, whereby Princess Iole has witnessed the death of her father the King of Oechalia and her implores him to rest in peace. Junker displays complete involvement in the role of Iole, creating a beguiling atmosphere in this moving and lovely lament. Juncker clearly relishes the beautiful Act One aria “Nè men con l’ombre d’infedeltà” from Serse, singing it with warmth, an abundance of charm and a confident feeling for import of the text. She demonstrates considerable proficiency in her high register. For me, the highlight of this album is the Act Three aria “Myself I shall adore” from Semele, where the eponymous heroine is mesmerised as she looks into the magic mirror and falls in love with her own image. Entirely convincing as Semele, Junker sings quite gloriously while her ornamentation is much improved here, making me sit up and take particular notice.
Lyon-based Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu is directed from the harpsichord by Franck-Emmanuel Comte. Sixteen strong here, the chamber orchestra are early music specialists who adopt a historically informed performance using period instruments. Comte keeps a firm control on the rhythm and tempi and the players respond with a performance of freshness and spirit, if not always ideal precision. The Little Tribeca sound engineers have successfully recorded this album, providing satisfying clarity and first-class balance between the vocal soloist and the orchestra. The accompanying booklet is extremely helpful, containing an interesting essay from each of Sophie Junker, Franck-Emmanuel Comte and artistic advisor Pedro-Octavio Diaz. The label has ensured that the sung texts in English or Italian are included in the booklet with translations in both English and French.
My admiration for Handel’s music, especially his stage works, peaked in 2015 when I reported from an exciting performance of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto staged by Lydia Steier at the Komische Oper Berlin, but it was some twenty years previously that my serious interest in Handel commenced. However, I know little of the Handel singing by distinguished women performers from past generations, such as Maureen Forrester, Kathleen Ferrier, Ewa Podleś, Janet Baker, Elly Ameling, Joan Sutherland, Teresa Berganza, Marilyn Horne, Anne Sofie Otter and Emma Kirkby; it was the performances from a younger generation of women singers that piqued my interest. At that time, the Handel discography swelled by a substantial number of complete operas and oratorios and there were also numerous collections (full or partial) of arias for the female voice, typically accompanied by period-instrument ensembles. I append beneath this review a list of my recommendations for collections of the finest Handel arias by celebrated women singers. They set a high bar but I consider Junker’s impressive collection to be of a quality sufficient to join their ranks.
There is real merit to this debut album of Handel soprano arias which is full of genuine delights and feels like a labour of love.
Michael Cookson
Contents
01. “Prophetic raptures swell my breast”, Joseph and his Brethren, HWV 59
02. “What passion cannot music raise and quell!”, Ode to St. Cecilia’s Day, HWV 76
03. “Và, perfido! quel cor mi tradirà”, Deidamia, HWV 42
04. “Sinfonia: Allegro Postillons”, Belshazzar, HWV 61
05. “Myself I shall adore”, Semele, HWV 58
06. Overture, Semele, HWV 58
07. “My father! Ah!”, Hercules, HWV 60
08. Musette from “Sinfonia”, The Occasional Oratorio, HWV 62
09. “Mi parto lieta sulla tua fede!”, Faramondo, HWV 39
10. “In sweetest harmony they lived”, Saul, HWV 53
11. “Nasconde l’usignol in alti rami il nido”, Deidamia, HWV 42
12. “Nè men con l’ombre d’infedeltà”, Serse, HWV 40
Recommended Handel arias collections, in order of recording date:
Véronique Gens (1996/97) on Virgin Veritas; María
Bayo (1999) Naïve; Renée
Fleming (2003) on Decca;
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (2003/04) on Avie; Sandrine
Piau (2004) on Naïve; Sarah Connolly (2004) Coro; Magdalena
Kožená (2006) on Archiv Production; Angelika
Kirchschlager (2006) on Sony; Joyce
DiDonato (2010) on Erato;
Patricia Petibon (2008) & (2010) on Deutsche Grammophon; Ann
Hallenberg (2010) on Naïve; Natalie
Dessay (2010) on Virgin Classics; Hasnaa
Bennani (2015) on Ramée; Sonya
Yoncheva (2016) on Sony; Ruby
Hughes (2017) on Chandos.
