| GREEN MAN PRESS - EARLY MUSIC EDITIONS | ||
| George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) |
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| Han 1 Han 2 |
Cuopre
tal volto il Cielo
Spande ancor a mio dispetto Italian cantatas for bass, 2 violins and continuo These cantatas are among only four solo cantatas that Handel wrote for a bass, although he made notable use of basses in his dramatic cantatas like Apollo e Dafne or Aci, Galatea, e Polifemo. Cuopre tal volto il cielo portrays with dramatic force the effect of the loved one’s displeasure, by likening it to a storm at sea. This gives Handel a full opportunity to show his genius for dramatic writing, and provides exciting and challenging music for both the singer and the instrumentalists. It is not known who provided the text. Spande ancor a mio dispetto depicts the lover’s heart as a river tumbling from rock to rock, whipped into a torrent by the storm of the beloved’s displeasure. At times it destroys the very flowers and trees it nourishes. It is full of telling word painting, descending figures tracing the precipitous course of the river, and excruciating chromaticism the heart’s pains. Handel travelled to Italy sometime in 1706, and by the beginning of 1707 was in Rome. There the Cardinals Carlo Colonna and Benedetto Pamphili were among the influential patrons for whom Handel provided compositions. While his first commissions were sacred works, he was soon composing secular cantatas. One of the first was Il delirio amoroso, a substantial setting for soprano, recorder, 3 violins, viola, cello and continuo of a text by Cardinal Pamphili. From May 1707, Handel was receiving the patronage of the Marchese Francesco Ruspoli, for whom he was to provide secular cantatas for his weekly musical gatherings. His association with Ruspoli continued on and off until the end of 1708, and during this time Handel composed over 50 cantatas for this patron, as well as some church works. Among those in the service of Ruspoli was the soprano Margherita Durastanti, and many of the cantatas Handel wrote at this time must have been performed by her. She remained one of Handel’s favourite singers, for whom he was to write many operatic roles. The last season in which she sang for him was that of 1733-34. Cantatas were much in demand from those patrons who promoted musical performances for their own musical circles (and between whom there was some rivalry). One factor creating the demand was the Papal ban on the performance of opera in Rome at this period. |
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| Han3 | Nell'Africane selve Dalla guerra amorosa Italian cantatas for solo bass and continuo The first of these cantatas, Nell’Africane selve, dates from his visit to Naples. It has been suggested that its composition was associated with the marriage of the Duke of Alvito to Beatrice Tocco in July 1708. The cantata is notable for its wide vocal range, and its extravagant word-painting. (Singers should not be daunted by the bottom C#, because alternatives are easily found, and the high notes may be sung - and indeed are probably intended to be sung - falsetto, to enhance the word painting.) The second of the cantatas, Dalla guerra amorosa, is thought to be among those written for Ruspoli, possibly after Handel’s return from Naples, as the manuscript source is a copy made for Ruspoli in August 1709. This work is more delicate and even poignant – the aria to the fading of beauty, La bellezza è come un fiore, is reminiscent of Come rosa in su la spina in Apollo e Dafne . The cantata has a refrain (Fuggite, sì fuggite) which is also reflected in the music, and ends with a delightful arioso following the last refrain. |
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| Han 4 | Four Cantatas from Rome, 1707
for solo soprano and continuo Of the four cantatas of this present edition Menzognere speranze was copied for Ruspoli in September 1707, the others in May 1707. The four cantatas follow what had become the standard pattern for Handel by this time - each consists of two recitative-aria pairs. The arias are all set Da Capo. Handel's autograph of these cantatas is in the British Library's Royal Music Collection, R.M.20.d.11, and a copy is to be found in the MS , Egerton 2942. Ellen T Harris' book Handel as Orpheus is invaluable for the help it gives in setting these chamber cantatas in their social and historical context. |
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| Han 5 | Languia di bocca lusinghiera Recit & Aria from HWV 123 for soprano, oboe, violin and continuo In 1710 Handel travelled first to Innsbruck, then to Hanover where he was appointed maestro di capella to the Elector (the future George I of England), and in the autumn travelled on to London. According to Ellen T Harris (op.cit. above) it is probable that Languia di bocca lusinghiera was composed in 1710 in Hanover, since the style of paper used by Handel suggests this. Harris also suggests that Languia di bocca lusinghiera may not be the fragment of a cantata, as is suggested in the Handelgesellschaft edition, but may have been intended for an opera. This is supported by the fact that, as Mayo points out, Handel reused the aria Dolce boccafor the aria Finte labbra in Il Pastor Fido (1712.) |
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| Han 6 | O Ruddier than the Cherry! Recit & Aria from Acis & Galatea for bass, recorder, two violins and continuo After Handel had spent some time in London, enjoying the patronage of Lord Burlington, in 1717 he was engaged by the Earl of Carnarvon ( later Lord Chandos) as the resident composer at Cannons. Acis and Galatea was one of two English masques Handel wrote, possibly for performance at Cannons, and dates from 1718. The modest scale of the work suggests that the musical establishment at Cannons was not large at this time. However the work contains a full range of dramatic characterisation. This recitative and aria for Polypheme, the cyclopean monster who has become infatuated with the tragic heroine Galatea, is a masterpiece of grotesque humour. This edition is based on Handel's autograph in the Royal Music Collection, and I am grateful to the British Library for making available a copy for study. |
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Han 7
Han 8 |
Four Duets - I for soprano, bass and continuo
Four Duets - II
Handel travelled to
Italy sometime in 1706, and by the beginning of 1707 was in Rome. Later
that year he travelled to Florence, and was in Venice at the beginning
of 1708 before returning to Rome and paying a visit to Naples. By the
end of 1709 he was preparing to return to Germany from Florence via Venice,
and on 9 November Agrippina was staged in Venice as the first Carnival
opera. |
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| Han 9 | Two Arias from Eccheggiate, festeggiate for voice, oboe, violin and continuo The serenata Echeggiate, festeggiate Numi eterni (HWV 119) survives only in an incomplete autograph in the Royal Music Collection in the British Library (R.M. 20.e 4.), which can now be shown to have been bound in the wrong order. This has had the consequence that the Chrysander edition shows the work as an incomplete cantata Io languisco frà le gioje. Research has also revealed that the paper used by Handel is associated with his first periods in London from the autumn of 1710 onwards. The references in the work to ‘Carlo l’Augusto’ and ‘il rege d’Iberia è Carlo solo’ imply a celebration of the intended accession of the Habsburg Archduke Charles as King Carlos III of Spain, and opposition to the French intention of establishing Louis’ grandson Philippe D’Anjou as king. However, as Charles succeeded as Emperor in April 1711, it became preferable to Britain and the other members of the Alliance, that Spain should remain under Philip, rather than become part of the Habsburg empire. An end to the warring over the Spanish succession was therefore sought, and the peace process resulted in the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. There was therefore only a short ‘window’ in which the sentiments expressed in Echeggiate, festeggiate were politically relevant, and during which it could have been performed. It is possible that it never was performed for this reason, and this may explain why the work was not as well preserved as many of Handel’s autographs. The assistance of the British Library in making available a microfilm of the autograph is gratefully acknowledged, as is the kind advice and assistance of Anthony Hicks and Ruth Harris. The two arias are sung by the mythical characters of Juno (Giunone) and Minerva. Juno was wife of Jupiter and protectress of the State and is heralding a new era of peace, while Minerva, the warrior-goddess, is extolling the heroic qualities of Charles, and offers the approbation of the gods, and even a place among them. |
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| Han 10 | Ah! spietato! Recit. and Aria from Amadigi for soprano, oboe, 2 violins, viola and bassi The opera Amadigi di Gaula,
was composed while Handel was living at Lord Burlington’s residence,
Burlington House Piccadilly, and received its first performance in May
1715 at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket. It was Handel’s fourth
opera composed for the Haymarket opera series, following Rinaldo,
Il Pastor Fido, and Teseo. |
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| Han 11 | Three Arias from Solomon When he was resident at Cannons, Handel composed two English masques, Acis and Galatea, and Esther. Some years later, with the declining popularity of Italian opera in London, he revised and expanded Esther for public performance at the Kings Theatre in 1732 . This was a success with the public, and thereafter oratorio became an established part of the London musical season. His numerous works in this new genre included Messiah, composed in 1741. Solomon received its first performance as part of the 1749 season in Covent Garden. It is generally supposed that this work, with its depiction of Solomon’s piety, his wisdom, and the prosperity of his reign, was Handel’s tribute to King George II, in the relatively calm period after the end of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. In When the sun o’er yonder hills, Solomon vows life-long praise of God for the gift of wisdom. The second aria, Can I see my infant gor’d? records the famous instance of Solomon’s wisdom in judging which of the two prostitutes was the true mother of the surviving baby, and is full of drama and pathos. The third aria has Zadok the priest extolling the magnificence of the finished Temple. |
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