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CD reviews
George Frideric HANDEL (1685 - 1759): "Handel's Tea Time"
Dorothee Mields, soprano
Die Freitagsakademie
rec: Feb 10 - 14, 2020, Zurich, Radio SRF (Radiostudio Brunnenhof - Studio I)
deutsche harmonia mundi - 19439792732 (© 2020) (76'20")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - translations: E/D
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
Spotify
Bacchus' Speech in Praise of Wine (HWV 228.4);
Concerto a quattro in d minor (attr);
Flammende Rose, Zierde der Erden (HWV 210);
Meine Seele hört im Sehen (HWV 207);
Mi palpita il cor (HWV 132b);
Sonata in G (HWV 384) (attr);
Suite in E (HWV 430) (air and variations 'The Harmonious Blacksmith');
Süßer Blumen Ambraflocken (HWV 204);
The Rapture (HWV 228.20);
Venus and Adonis (HWV 85);
Henry PURCELL (1659-1695):
The Fairy Queen (Z 629) (The Plaint)
Katharina Suske, oboe;
Ilia Korol, violin;
Balász Máté, cello;
Jonathan Rubin, lute;
Sebastian Wienand, harpsichord
George Frideric Handel is one of the most frequently-recorded composers of the baroque era. A number of his operas and oratorios are often performed and are available in many recordings, and his smaller-scale works, such as sonatas and concertos, are also very popular among performers and audiences. However, even in his oeuvre one can find pieces that are little-known, and the disc to be reviewed here includes some of them.
The title of the disc is not immediately clear. What does "Handel's Tea Time" actually mean? The title of the liner-notes gives us a clue: "Orpheus in his private chamber". The name of Orpheus - the mythological singer, who is the subject of so many operas, cantatas and other works - is given to Handel, not by the author of the liner-notes or the performers; he is depicted as such by a marble statue of the composer which is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was created in 1738, which was quite unusual at the time. It reflects the status of the composer. He is also depicted in his private chamber, and that explains the rest of the title.
The music is all scored for small forces: it is music to be performed in domestic surroundings - not necessarily the private chambers of the composer, but probably rather those of the people for whom he composed such music. All the pieces included here were written after his settlement in London. The programme opens with Venus and Adonis, which is the earliest piece included here. It dates from around 1711. The text was written by the poet John Hughes (1677-1720); Handel took only two arias from his cantata with this title - that is to say, if this piece is indeed from his pen. There is no autograph, and the authenticity is not established. This should have been mentioned in the liner-notes.
The second piece is also of uncertain authenticity. The Concerto a quattro in d minor is not included in the catalogue of Handel's works, as it is also attributed to Telemann. It has been suggested that it is the result of a cooperation between the two composers, who were close friends and were regularly in contact. It is scored for oboe, violin, cello and basso continuo. That makes it a quartet - a genre for which Telemann was famous.
Under the number HWV 228 24 songs on English texts are listed. Again, the authenticity of some songs is questionable. They are scored for a high voice and basso continuo; in the two songs included here, the violin plays ritornellos, which apparently is a decision of the performers. The Rapture dates from around 1725, Bacchus' Speech in Praise of Wine from around 1730. The former is a minuet to which words are added, probably not by Handel. In this case even the minuet is of doubtful authenticity; in The Lady's Banquet II (1733) it is attributed to Francesco Geminiani. The latter song is another case of words added to a minuet, written for harpsichord (HWV 530).
The next piece is the Trio sonata in G (HWV 384), and again its authenticity is doubtful. This is a feature of a large part of Handel's chamber music. This is due to his popularity: unscrupulous publishers, such as Walsh, were only too keen to publish music under Handel's name, without caring too much about their authenticity.
Mi palpita il cor has been preserved in four versions. The first goes back to the Italian cantata Dimmi, o mio cor (HWV 106); Handel changed the opening, and the scoring is for soprano and basso continuo. The three other versions are for soprano and oboe (HWV 132b), alto and transverse flute (HWV 132c) and alto, transverse flute and oboe (HWV 132d). The soprano version dates from after 1718. It has the conventional form laid down by Alessandro Scarlatti: two pairs of recitative and aria.
This disc offers a mixture of very well-known and little-known pieces. Among the former are the variations, known as 'The Harmonious Blacksmith'. They are probably Handel's best-known keyboard works, whereas the largest part of his output in this genre is seldom performed. That is a shame, and I would have preferred some lesser-known pieces.
The programme nearly ends with other rather well-known items: three of the 9 Deutsche Arien. They were not composed, as one may expect, before he travelled to Italy, but in the 1720's, when he was an already established composer in England. The texts were written by Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680- 1747), a then famous poet in Germany. He is known first and foremost as the author of the oratorio libretto Der für die Sünden der Welt gemarterte und sterbende Jesus, generally known as the Brockes-Passion. It was set to music by a number of German composers, such as Telemann, Mattheson, Stölzel, Keiser, Fasch and Handel. In 1721 Brockes published a collection of poems under the title Irdisches Vergnügen in Gott, in which the texts were divided into recitatives, arias and duets, which show that he wanted them to be set to music. An extended edition was printed in 1724, and this is the one Handel must have used, as one of his arias, Künft'ger Zeiten eitler Kummer, was not in the first edition. The content reflects the spirit of the time, as it praises God's presence in nature. Meine Seele hört im Sehen says: "My soul hears, through seeing, how all things rejoice and laugh to magnify the Creator". The way this line is set - with an eloquent depiction of the word "lacht" (laughs) - is indicative of Handel's treatment of these texts.
These arias are all in dacapo form, and are scored for soprano, an obbligato treble instrument and basso continuo. Handel does not indicate which instrument should play the obbligato part. In this recording the violin participates in two of the arias; in Meine Seele hört im Sehen violin and oboe play colla parte.
One would expect the German arias to close this disc. However, they are followed by one of the most famous solos by Henry Purcell: 'The Plaint', opening with the text "O let me weep", from his semi-opera The Fairy Queen. It is probably the first aria with an obbligato part for oboe in history. It is a bit of a mystery why it was included in the programme. The liner-notes don't even mention it.
It brings to a close one of the finest Handel discs I have heard recently, and that is largely due to Dorothee Mields, who is in particularly fine form here. I like the rhythmic freedom she takes in the recitatives, which is anything but obvious; too often performers take the rhythm too strictly. Her ornamentation is always tasteful and never exaggerated, and she treats the text with care. However, I am less impressed by some of her gimmicks in the English songs, such as singing out of tune.
Not that the instrumental ensemble is second-rate. I very much like the way the instrumental parts are played. That goes especially for the theatrical treatment of the concerto and the sonata, in which the contrasts between the movements are emphasized, and for the way the transitions from one movement to the other are realized.
As I wrote, this is a mixture of the well-known and the little-known, and that creates quite some variety. The greatest value is the performance of the pieces on English texts, which represent the least-known part of Handel's oeuvre. From that angle this disc is a fine addition to the Handel discography.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Dorothee Mields