Appena chiudo gli occhi - Cantatas for solo voice
with violin
Alessandro SCARLATTI
(1660-1725)
Dove fuggo? A che
penso? [17:38]
Antonio CALDARA (1670-1736)
Vicino
a un rivoletto [23:14]
Giuseppe VALENTINI (1681-1753)
Allettamento da camera in d minor, op. 8,1 [12:24]
Antonio
CALDARA
Innocente cor mio [10:00]
Alessandro
SCARLATTI
Appena chiudo gli occhi (Il sogno) [13:27]
Giuseppina Bridelli (mezzo-soprano)
Quartetto Vanvitelli
rec.
2020, Chiesa di San Paolo, Mezzano Scotti (Piacenza), Italy
Texts and
translations included
Reviewed as a stereo 16/44 download with pdf
booklet from Outhere
ARCANA A487 [76:57]
The genre of the chamber cantata is one of the most important of the Italian
Baroque. It was this kind of composition which was used to entertain
aristocrats in their private chambers or during their social gatherings.
Rome was an especially fruitful environment for the composition of such
cantatas, as there were many aristocrats who organised weekly 'academies' in
their palaces. Some even had their own chapel to perform music on a regular
basis. Most of Alessandro Scarlatti's cantatas have been written for
performances in the palaces of the likes of the Cardinals Ottoboni and
Pamphili and Prince Ruspoli.
Scarlatti composed a large amount of
such cantatas; the estimated number varies from around 600 to over 800. Most
were scored for solo voice and basso continuo. The vocal part was mostly for
soprano, some for alto; the singers were usually castratos. Scarlatti's
cantatas were considered a model and it was he who established the form of
the chamber cantata as a sequence of two recitatives, each followed by an
aria. But Scarlatti also composed a number of cantatas with additional
instruments, usually two violins. The present disc is especially interesting
in that it includes two cantatas with an obbligato part for one violin. This
results in a different balance, compared with the usual two violins. The
latter's role is restricted to that of an accompaniment, and often they play
just the ritornellos in arias. In the two cantatas included here, the violin
is much more an equal partner to the voice, and arias are often close to
duets for voice and violin. The latter actively takes part in the
illustration of the text and the communication of the affetti of an
aria.
In Dove fuggo? A che penso? it even plays a part in
some recitatives. In the fourth aria, which follows attacca the
preceding accompanied recitative, the violin acts as the echo and the answer
the text speaks about: "[The] merciful echo will answer" (A), "[A] doleful
voice will reply" (B). The last aria ends with the phrase "la sua vita
finirà" - her life will end, and here the voice breaks off abruptly; there
is no ritornello. This piece is an example of a cantata, in which Scarlatti
derives from the standard form, in that he extends the number of
recitative-aria pairs from two to four. The second cantata, Appena
chiudo gli occhi (also called Il sogno), which gave this disc
its title and which closes it, is also different. It comprises two pairs of
recitative and aria, but it opens with a sinfonia in two sections for violin
and basso continuo. This sinfonia could easily be part of a violin sonata.
The first aria is pathetic, the second agitated, and in both the violin
plays a substantial role. The whole cantata is harmonically rather
unsettling, especially in the first of the two arias.
Whereas
Scarlatti's cantatas are frequently performed and recorded, and some are
pretty well-known, Caldara's cantatas are seldom performed, and that goes
for his entire oeuvre, by the way. He is certainly a composer whose
importance is not fully recognized yet. He worked for some time in Rome,
where most of his cantatas were written, in Barcelona, and lastly at the
imperial court in Vienna. It makes much sense to bring Caldara and Scarlatti
together in one programme, not only because they were contemporaries, but
also because they must have met in Rome, when they were active there at
about the same time. When in 1708 a cycle of oratorios was performed in the
palaces of Cardinal Ottoboni and Marquis Ruspoli, among them Handel's La
Resurrezione, both contributed several works to this series of events.
The two cantatas included here are both taken from collections of twelve
cantatas each, written during Caldara's time in Vienna. Here the composer
strictly follows the standard set by Scarlatti: two arias, each of them
preceded by a recitative. He also confines the role of the violin to
partnering the voice in the arias; the recitatives are unaccompanied.
Vicino a un rivoletto is among Caldara's best-known works; the violin
has an obbligato role in the first aria, but in the second Caldara turns to
the cello, the instrument that he had learned to play in his youth. In his
later years he was to compose some sonatas for the cello, and several of his
vocal works include arias with an obbligato cello part. In Innocente cor
mio the violin is the only obbligato instrument. The collection from
which it is taken, was dedicated to Prince Frederick August of Saxony, a
token of the many contacts of Caldara across Europe and a testimony of his
reputation.
In between we get an instrumental work, the
Alettamento da camera in d minor for violin and basso continuo from the
Op. 8 by Giuseppe Valentini, a composer born in Florence, who had settled in
Rome at least as early as 1692. There he was a pupil of Giovanni Bononcini.
He played a leading role as a violinist and maestro di cappella in
Rome after the death of Corelli. The sonata performed here, in five
movements, is from the last printed edition of Valentini's works.
Interestingly, Enrico Careri, in New Grove, states that one reason
why he did not publish any more music after his Op. 8, is that he at that
time had established himself. It shows that the publication of music was
often meant as a recommendation for a musical position.
Giuseppina
Bridelli has made a name for herself in the performance and recording of
music from the baroque era. Her biography in the booklet does not mention
whether she also participates in performances of later repertoire. Her voice
is undoubtedly perfectly suited for the dramatic repertoire by Italian
composers. I heard her on a disc with opera arias by Handel and Porpora (review),
which I appreciated, although there were some issues, for instance that her
low register is not very strong. That is also an issue here: Caldara's
cantata Vicino a un rivoletto is scored for an alto voice; it has
been recorded before by two of her male colleagues, René Jacobs and Gérard
Lesne. It is the least convincing part of this disc, as the cantata's range
is clearly too low for her voice. The other cantatas come off much better. I
greatly appreciate the way she sings the recitatives, which are really
dramatic; here she also takes the necessary rhythmic freedom I so often miss
in this kind of recordings. She sometimes uses a bit too much vibrato, but
overall I am quite happy with her performances, also because I really like
her voice. However, in the dacapos she takes too much freedom in the
ornamentation department.
The playing of the ensemble leaves nothing
to be desired. I have heard this ensemble several times on disc, and each
time I was impressed by their engaging style of playing. That is the case
here as well. The obbligato parts in the cantatas are excellently executed,
and violinist Gian Andrea Guerra substantially contributes to the expression
in these cantatas. The basso continuo is a driving force. Valentini's sonata
is a nice piece that makes curious about other parts of his oeuvre. What
about a disc with his sonatas, by this ensemble?
Johan
van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
