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Alessandro SCARLATTI (1660 - 1725): "Inferno - Cantate drammatiche"
Elisabeth Scholl, soprano
Modo Antiquo
Dir: Federico Maria Sardelli
rec: 16 - 19 November, 2004, Stuttgart, Villa Berg
CPO - 777 141-2 (© 2006) (65'02")
Già lusingato appieno;
Il Nerone (HanS 343);
L'Orfeo (HanS 173);
Serenata (Notte, ch'incarro d'ombre) (HanS 480)
Enrico Casazza,
Lorenzo Biagini,
Valerio Losito,
Francesca Micconi,
Laura Scipioni,
Steve Slade, violin;
Bettina Hoffmann, cello;
Joachim Klier, double bass;
André Henrich, archlute, guitar;
Giulia Nuti,
Rien Voskuilen, harpsichord, organ
Alessandro Scarlatti is generally considered one of the most important
Italian composers of the late 17th and early 18th century. But his
music, although it has received more attention in recent years, is still
largely unknown. This is partly due to the large quantity of his
output: in the genre of the chamber cantata alone at least 600
compositions are with certainty attributable to him.
Scarlatti's reputation started to wane in the early 18th century. His
style was considered increasingly out of fashion. Since 1696 Scarlatti
was in contact with the court of the De Medici's in Florence, but his
attempts to obtain a permanent post at the court failed, as Prince
Ferdinando found his style too 'studied'. Scarlatti's style of composing
was more connected to the past, with its use of counterpoint and the
strong connection between text and music, than the growing preference
for more lighthearted music after the turn of the century.
Alessandro's rise to fame began with the performance of his pastoral opera Gli equivoci nel sembiante
in Rome in 1679. The work had a great success and spread across Europe
in no time. It was followed by a large number of equally successful
operas. As there was a strong connection between opera and chamber
cantata it is no surprise that Alessandro turned into a master of this
genre as well.
The present disc underlines impressively how close opera and chamber
cantata were. The title of this disc characterises the works recorded
here as 'dramatic cantatas', and that is spot on. All four are about
single characters who are speaking, sometimes introduced by a kind of
narrator, who explains what situation the protagonist is in.
In Già lusingato appieno we meet "l'anglico eroe", the English
hero, who very likely is King James II. He figures in many compositions
of that time, which can be explained by his Catholic conviction, which
made him a hero from the perspective of the Counter Reformation. The
cantata is about James preparing for reconquering his throne, leaving
wife and son behind. He suppresses successfully his tears: "And before
he had gained victory over his enemies, his soul already could claim a
trophy, because she had not cried." The first recitative contains, as so
often in Scarlatti's cantatas, arioso passages. The second recitative
is full of contrast, both in the soprano and basso continuo parts. The
blowing of the winds through the sails in the aria 'Sento l'aura che
fedele' is illustrated by the strings. Strong ascending figures
illustrate the hero saying "Al trono, al trono!" (to the throne!).
The Serenata is about love-sick Amaryllis who can't find any
sleep in the night. When sleep doesn't come she prefers to die: "Yes,
being deprived of happiness, I will happily embrace death. If I cannot
enjoy the reason for my grief while living, death is welcome to end all
my misery". Elisabeth Scholl, in her programme notes, calls this cantata
"almost romantic: its long melodic lines and its dense sensuous
atmosphere are almost tangible." The first aria, 'Vieni, o notte' (Come,
O night) is a good illustration of this. The aria 'Veloce e labile',
where the protagonist complains that "hours stand still to hurt me"
contains some strong dissonances.
Il Nerone is rather unusual: here it is the Roman emperor Nero
who is speaking, demonstrating his extreme cruelty and his enjoyment of
the slaughter he causes. It begins with Nero proclaiming his absolute
power: "I am Nero, the commander of the world and the master of all
souls down here." Even for Jupiter he has no fear: "I want that Jove
trembles before the splendour of my countenance", nor for the
underworld: "And also with the underworld and with Pluto I want to
compete". The aria 'Veder chi pena' is set as a tarantella, a southern
Italian folk dance. This could be interpreted as the ultimate
demonstration of Nero's cruel character, as he sings: "To watch those
that suffer and sigh is my heart's desire, villainous since birth".
In L'Orfeo we meet Orpheus who just has lost his Euridice for a
second time. He laments his fate and wants to die in the aria 'Chi
m'invola la cara Euridice', containing strong dissonances. Later on he
complains that his singing has lost its power and doesn't effect other
people anymore.
This disc is a very impressive demonstration of the art of Alessandro
Scarlatti. In these splendid cantatas Scarlatti demonstrates his ability
to characterise the protagonists with musical means and to depict the
text according to the rules of rhetorics and with masterful use of the affetti.
Elisabeth Scholl, who also edited these cantatas, wrote the programme
notes and translated the lyrics into English, has done an excellent job
in every department. Her singing is impressive, and she expresses the
feelings of all protagonists with great care. I especially liked her
performance of the recitatives, a weak point in many recordings of
baroque vocal music. From what I have heard from her in the past I
didn't get the impression she was a very dramatic singer, but here she
proves me wrong. And the combination of Ms Scholl and the orchestra Modo
Antiquo turns out to be a very happy one: in earlier recordings
Federico Maria Sardelli has already demonstrated his feeling for
theatre, and he does so here again.
To sum up: this disc is one of the best I have heard this year. It goes
straight into my list of recordings of the year. It is a model of a
useful combination of musicology and splendid music making. Strongly
recommended.
Johan van Veen (© 2006)
Relevant links:
The Scarlatti Project
Elisabeth Scholl
Modo Antiquo