Cedille Records CDR 90000 057
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Cedille Records CDR 90000 057
DDD Absolutely Digital™ CDR 90000 057
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1759)
1 Non saria poco from “Atalanta” (6:28) Sonata in C for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord (13:08)
transcribed for flute and strings bm Adagio (4:28)
bn Allegro (2:30)
Cantata: Un’ alma innamorata (17:00) bo Adagio (3:10)
2 Recitative: Un’ alma innamorata (0:25) bp Allegro (2:50)
3 Aria: Quel povero core (8:08)
4 Recitative: E pur benche egli veda (0:23) Cantata: La Lucrezia (18:48)
5 Aria: Io godo, rido e spero (5:37) bq Recitative: O Numi eterni! (0:55)
6 Recitative: In quanto a me ritrovo (0:19) br Aria: Già superbo del mio affanno (5:16)
7 Aria: Ben impari come se ama (2:05) bs Recitative: Ma voi forse nel Cielo (0:51)
bt Aria: Il suol che preme (3:46)
8 Sventurato godi, o core abbandonato (7:14) ck Recitative: Ah! che ancor nel abisso (1:30)
from “Floriodante” cl Arioso: Alla salma infedel (4:02)
transcribed for harpsichord solo cm Recitative: A voi, padre, consorte (0:52)
cn Arioso: Già nel seno (0:41)
Cantata: Chi rapì la pace al core? (8:39)
co Recitative: Sento ch’ il cor si scuote (0:52)
9 Aria: Chi rapì la pace al core? (3:32)
bk Recitative: Figlio d’un fabbro, e amore (0:35) cp Spera si mio Caro from “Admetus” (7:08)
bl Aria: Pupilla lucente (4:32) transcribed for flute and strings
PATRICE MICHAELS, soprano
CHICAGO BAROQUE ENSEMBLE John Mark Rozendaal, director
Cedille Records is a tr ademar k of T he Chicago Classical Recording Foundation, a not-
for-profit foundation devoted to promoting the finest musicians and ensembles in the
Chica go ar ea. T he Chica go Classical Recor ding Foundation’s acti vities ar e suppor ted in
par t by contributions and gr ants from individuals, foundations, cor por ations, and gov-
er nment agencies including the WPWR-TV Channel 50 Foundation, the Chicago Depar tment
o f C u l t u r a l A f f a i r s ( C i t y A r t s I I I G r a n t ) , a n d t h e I l l i n o i s A r t s C o u n c i l , a s t a t e a g e n c y.THE VIRTUOSO HANDEL
notes by John Mark Rozendaal
Both in his own time and after his death, Handel’s Marc’ Antonio Cesti satirized the craze in a mock
high reputation as a composer has rested mainly cantata titled “Aspetate, addesso canto!” (“Wait!
on the grandly stirring gestures of his most public I’m Singing Now!”):
works: the operas and oratorios he composed for
the theaters of Georgian London. Yet Handel’s Everyone is looking for texts, all women want
œuvre includes a substantial body of chamber them . . . Ladies, nuns, old maids, wives, widows,
music, including some of the most satisfying and female relations, public women, private ones,
beautiful secular music of the period. The works princesses, damsels; I don’t say which ones;
selected for this disc come from a variety of sourc- enough only that so, so many want fantastic stuff
es; they include works created as vocal chamber and don’t know how to sing fa la la la la. . . . Some
music as well as operatic excerpts adapted for ask for canzonets and some want recitatives,
small-scale instrumental presentation. some sacred, some lascivious, and some full of
tales; you assure each one that these are verses
The earliest works on our program are the three and not gold pieces; if they wanted so many coins
cantatas, all dating from Handel’s Italian sojourn even all Peru could not satisfy!
of 1706 –1709. During his stay in Italy, Handel
produced at least for ty solo cantatas, most of Singing in Italy must have had a social function
them scored for soprano and continuo — a body similar to the role that athletics plays in our
of work that represents the zenith of an impor tant society today: a popular, stimulating pursuit for
genre in Italian music. Between 1650 and the end amateurs, a medium for self-improvement, a high-
of the Baroque era, Italian composers wrote doz- stakes career track that could take a lucky few
ens of such works to fill an apparently insatiable out of the ghettos into the most glittering social
demand. Alessandro Scarlatti composed over 600. circles, and a source of wonder and admirationfor the audiences who relished the awe-inspiring abstracted. Personal and situational references
achievements of the pros. The young Handel had are stripped away; the lover and beloved are not
the good for tune to enter this intensely vocal named or described. What remains is a narrative in
culture at the very top of the heap. His entrée which the characters are hear ts, souls, eyes, with
into Italian society was through the Medici family; all of their Petrarchian significance — subject to
hence his first stop in the peninsula was Florence. the alchemical powers of Love personified as the
It was in Rome, however, that Handel found the blind archer god. One can only guess what sor ts of
most fer tile grounds on which to cultivate his sublimations were involved in the production and
musical genius. Handel was housed and patron- presentation of such poetry in a circle of persons
ized there by Marchese Francesco Ruspoli, who that included a large number of clergy as well as
introduced him to the Academy of the Arcadians, unmarried men and women.
an influential circle of noblemen and clerics with
interests in literary reform and music. At the Livy’s History of Early Rome was one of the most
Academy, Handel’s cantatas were performed by widely read books of the seventeenth century. Its
some of the finest musicians in Europe (includ- themes of personal heroism in opposing despotism
ing Arcangelo Corelli and the soprano Margherita made it a favorite in circles with republican ideals.
Durastante) and heard by a small audience of The book includes the dramatic story of Lucretia,
highly discerning connoisseurs. These intimate a faithful wife whose rape by Prince Tarquin
occasions seem to have inspired some of Handel’s drove her to suicide and inspired the Romans to
most exquisitely refined work. Handel’s cantatas depose their monarchy and establish a republic.
resemble their Italian models in that most of the The tale was a favorite theme of ar tists, poets,
texts are about love, often with pastoral conceits. and musicians throughout Europe for centuries,
A relatively small number of exceptional pieces with treatments by St. Augustine, Shakespeare,
deal with mythological or historical topics (e.g., Rembrandt, Tintoretto, Keiser (Handel’s mentor at
La Lucrezia). the Hamburg Opera), Botticelli, and Giambologna,
to name only a few. The tale admits innumerable
In the love cantatas, the texts are often bizarrely angles for treatment — moral, political, erotic,psychological. Handel’s cantata is a masterpiece sive publisher, and produced dozens of prints
of characterization that involves the audience in of the composer’s operas, oratorios, concer tos,
a harrowing emotional spiral of grief and rage. and chamber music. Some of these publications
The heroine’s initial expression of her sorrow and seem to have had scant super vision by Handel.
sense of injustice elicits sympathy that only grows These offerings were principally designed not
as we follow her progression of appeals to hell for for use by professional musicians, but rather for
vengeance and fits of self-condemnation, culmi- domestic use. As such, they bear testimony to the
nating in a hateful suicidal frenzy. The sur vival of public’s craving for this music, and the satisfaction
an unusual number of manuscript copies suggests listeners had in savoring Handel’s fine airs in the
that this cantata was one of Handel’s more famous intimacy of a musical household.
chamber works during his lifetime.
The impulse to enjoy the most memorable moments
One of the manuscript sources of Sonata in C of operas in homemade renditions was not con-
Major bears conflicting attributions to Handel and fined to amateurs and “wanna-bes,” however.
to the Nüremburg organist Johann Michael Leffloth Handel himself could not resist. The harpsichord
(1705 –1731). Both attributions are considered transcription of “Sventurato godi, o core abban-
unreliable on stylistic grounds. Regardless of donato” from Floriodante comes from an auto-
authorship, this charming piece is valued in par t graph manuscript and represents Handel’s own
for its unusual treatment of the harpsichord in a recasting of the gestures of this moving opera air
vir tuoso role, something rarely found in chamber in his own favored performance medium.
music of this period.
The arias “Non saria poco” from Atalanta and
“Spera si mio Caro” from Admetus are presented
here in transcriptions originally published by
the prolific London music printer, John Walsh.
Star ting in 1739, Walsh became Handel’s exclu-Un’ alma innamorata
2 Recita tive
Un’ alma innamor ata, A soul in love
prigonier a d’amore, is a prisoner of love,
vive troppo infelice. and lives so unhappily,
Divien sempre maggiore never realizing
il mal, che non intende, that the miser y only wor sens
allor nell’ amar schiava si rende. and makes you a slave.
3 Ar ia
Quel povero core, That poor hear t,
ferito d’amore, wounded by love
sospir a se adir a, se vive fedel. sighs whether it is angered, or whether it lives faithfully.
Sia il solo dolore Only sor row, jealous fear,
geloso timore, suffering, constr aints
le pene e catene mar tire cr udel. and cr uelty await him.
4 Recita tive
E pur benche egli veda And although he sees
mor ta del suo ser vir, that in his loyalty
la speme istessa Hope her self has perished,
vuole col suo languir he per sists in wanting her
viver con essa. to join him in his suffering.
5 Ar ia
Io godo, rido e spero, I enjoy myself, I laugh and I hope,
ed amo pìu d’un core, and love more than one sweethear t,
e so ridir perchè. and I’ ll tell you why.
Se segue il mio pensiero If a wandering love
un vagabondo amore follows my thoughts,
cercate voi dov’ è. catch him if you can.
6 Recita tive
In quanto a me ritrovo As for me,
del riso ogni diletto, I find delight in laughing,
se sprezzo dell’ amore if I disdain the har sh and rigorous
le sue severe leggi, ed il rigore. laws of Love.7 Ar ia
Ben impari come se ama Lear n well the ar t of loving
in amor chi vuol goder. if you want to enjoy life:
Non ha pari alla mia br ama The rigour s of the ar med Cupid
il rigor del nume arcier. are no rival to my desire.
Chi rapì la pace al core?
9 Ar ia
Chi r apì la pace al core? Who robbed my hear t of its peace?
Chi dal sen l’alma r ubò? Who ripped my soul from its breast?
Ah! lo so, con un guardo fatto dardo, Ah, I know that with a single piercing glance
nume cieco mi piagò. It was the blindfolded god who wounded me.
bk Recita tive
Figlio d’un fabbro, e amore The son of a blacksmith and of Love,
col ner d’una pupilla with the aid of her black eyes
segnò la mor te al core, he aimed and mor tally wounded my hear t,
e perchè suoi trionfi and to make his triumph
soffer a più superbi e cr udeli, more br azen and more cr uel,
quell’ occhio che fu str ale Cupid took those eyes that were his ar rows
cangiò Cupido in face funer ale. and changed them into a funer al pyre.
bl Aria
Pupilla lucente, Those shining eyes,
in stella funesta were changed by Cupid
amore cangiò. into my unlucky star s
Così quel splendore, who, in their splendor,
con empio rigore, with cr uelest har shness
la mor te additò. sentenced me to death.
La Lucrezia
bq Recita tive
O Numi eter ni! O stelle! Oh eter nal Gods! Oh star s
che fulminate empii tir anni, who strike down impious tyr ants,
impugnate a miei voti answer my pr ayer s;
or ridi str ali voi con fochi tonanti fearful lightning with thundering flame,
incenerite il reo Tar quinio e Roma; inciner ate the guilty Tar quin and Rome.dalla superba chioma, From the proud head
omai tr abocchi il vacillante alloro, let the waving laurel now be wrest.
s’apr a il suolo in vor agini, si celi, Let a chasm open in the ear th
con memor ando esempio, as a memor able example,
nelle viscere sue l’indegno – e l’empio. to swallow the unwor thy villain.
br Ar ia
Già superbo del mio affanno, Now proud of my sor row,
tr aditor dell’onor mio the betr ayer of my honor
par te l’empio, lo sleal. leaves, hear tless, disloyal.
Tu punisci il fiero inganno, Punish the proud liar
del fellon, del mostro rio, the guilty monster, for his felony,
giusto Ciel, parca fatal. just Heaven, deadly Fate.
bs Recita tive
Ma voi for se nel Cielo But perhaps in Heaven,
per castigar maggior del mio delitto, to punish my crimes more,
state oziosi, o provocati Numi: the Gods stand idle;
se son sorde le stelle, if the star s are deaf,
se non mi odon le sfere, if the spheres hear me not,
a voi tremende Deità del abisso mi volgo, I tur n to you, great God of the abyss,
a voi s’aspetta del tr adito onor mio my betr ayed honor awaits
far la vendetta. upon your vengeance.
bt Aria
Il suol che preme, May the ear th he treads,
l’aur a che spir a the air he breaths,
l’empio Romano, the villainous Roman,
s’apr a, s’infetti. open, poison him.
Se il passo move, Where he walks,
se il guardo gir a, where he looks,
incontri lar ve, may demons meet him,
r uine aspetti. r uin await him.
ck Recita tive
Ah! che ancor nel abisso Ah! Still in the abyss
dor mon le furie, i sdegni e le vendette; the furies, r age, and revenge sleep;
Giove dunque per me non ha saette, Has Jove no thunderbolts for me?
è pietoso l’infer no? Is hell merciful?
Ah! ch’io già sono in odio al Cielo, ah! dite: Ah! I am already despised in Heaven, ah! say:e se la pena non piomba sul mio capo, if punishment does not r ain down upon my head
a’ miei rimor si è rimor so il poter for my remor ses, remor se itself
di castigar mi. will have the power to punish me.
Questi la disper ata anima mia puniscan, sì, sì Punish my hopeless soul, yes, yes.
Ma il fer ro che già intrepido stringo But the steel which I fear lessly gr asp
cl Arioso
Alla salma infedel porga la pena. Brings to the faithless body its punishment.
cm Recita tive
A voi, padre, consor te, a Roma, al mondo To you, Father, husband, to Rome, to the wor ld,
presento il mio morir ; I offer my death;
mi si perdoni il delitto esecr ando May I be forgiven for my hor rible crime
ond’io macchiai involontaria il nostro onor, with which I unwillingly stained our honor ;
un’ altr a più detestabil colpa for another more detestable sin,
di non m’aver uccisa that of not killing myself
pria del misfatta, mi si perdoni. before the misdeed, may I be forgiven.
cn Arioso
Già nel seno comincia Already in my breast
a compir questo fer ro the steel begins to fulfill
i duri uffizii; its hard offices;
co Recita tive
Sento ch’il cor si scuote I feel my hear t shudder
più dal dolor di questa caduta invendicata, more with sadness at this unavenged defeat
che dal furor della vicina mor te. than with hor ror of approaching death.
Ma se qui non m’è dato But if I am not gr anted
castigar il tir anno, opprimer l’empio to punish the tyr ant here and now
con più barbaro esempio, or defeat him with the barbarous cr uelty he deser ves,
per ch’ei sen cada estinto I will see to it that he falls dead,
stringerò a danni suoi mor tal saetta, I will gr asp the deadly ar row,
e furibonda e cr uda and furious and cr uel
nell infer no farò la mia vendetta. I will avenge myself in Hell.
Translations by John Mar k Rozendaal and Alessandra ViscontiPATRICE MICHAELS soprano Patrice Michaels has concer tized extensively, appearing with noted ensembles including the St. Louis, Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Shanghai Symphonies; the Minnesota Orchestra; Chicago’s Grant Park Orchestra and Music of the Baroque; the Maryland Handel Festival; the Dallas Bach Society; the Chicago Baroque Ensemble; and Boston Baroque. Conductors with whom she has collaborated include Rober t Shaw, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Nicolas McGegan, Joseph Silverstein, Andrew Parrott, and Zdenek Macal. Ms. Michaels has sung with opera companies throughout Nor th America including Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Cleveland Opera, Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera, the Tacoma Opera, Colorado’s Central City Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and at the Banff Centre in Canada. A highlight of her 1999–2000 season was a series of concer ts in Havana, Cuba where she performed in the International Contemporary Music Festival with Trio Chicago and Friends. This is Patrice Michaels’ ninth recording for Cedille Records. Her recordings for other labels include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony for London Records, Mozar t’s Requiem on the Amadis Label, and Mozar t’s C Minor Mass with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque.
CHICAGO BAROQUE
ENSEMBLE
John Mark Rozendaal, director
The Chicago Baroque Ensemble was for med in
1993 to perfor m music of the seventeenth and
ear ly eighteenth centuries on period instr u-
ments. To date the Ensemble has produced
eight seasons of critically acclaimed, sold-
out concer ts as well as eight live broadcast
concer ts on WFMT radio, five commercially
released compact discs, educational programs
for both musicians and general audiences, and
been presented on numerous concer t series, including the Boston Ear ly Music Festival and the
Howard Mayer Brown Ear ly Music Series at the Univer sity of Chicago. Special projects have included
collaborations with His Majestie’s Cler kes, The Newber r y Consor t, recorder vir tuoso Aldo Abreu,
violinist Rachel Bar ton, and viola da gambist Mar y Springfels. CBE’s programs transpor t listener s
to the cultural center s of ear ly moder n Europe and help the audience to share the spirit of the
music making. The Chicago Tribune has called the Chicago Baroque Ensemble’s concer ts “stylish
and caring perfor mances by what has already tur ned out to be a most accomplished group of
period-instr ument vir tuosi.”
Par ticipating on this recording are Chicago Baroque Ensemble member s Anita Miller-Rieder, trans-
ver se flute; Jeri-Lou Zike, violin; Susan Rozendaal, viola; John Mar k Rozendaal, viola da gamba and
cello; and David Schrader, har psichord.ALSO BY THE CHICAGO BAR OQUE ENSEMBLE & PATRICE MICHAELS
ON CEDILLE RECORDS
CDR 90000 025 CDR 90000 043
A VIVALDI CONCERT THE WORLD OF LULLY
Chicago Baroque Ensemble Chicago Baroque Ensemble
with Patrice Michaels, soprano with Patrice Michaels, soprano
“The Chicago Baroque Ensemble . . . “This recording of Lully works and tribute
performs on period instruments at a stel- pieces from his students is a treasure . .
lar level of artistry and scholarship . . . . Individually and collectively, the Chicago
Soprano Patrice Michaels Bedi . . . lifts the Baroque Ensemble’s passionate playing
performance to a higher realm. Nothing fills these stately pieces with invigorating
short of spectacular, she sings virtuoso spirit. These performances showcase Lully’s
motets and cantatas with the purity of a well-constructed, elegant, and melodi-
child, flies through florid passage-work ous compositions . . . the operatic pieces
like a musical acrobat, matches her voice [are] enhanced by Patrice Michaels Bedi’s
to the pure tone of baroque obbligato sensuous warm-toned, luxuriant voice. Bedi
instruments and enlivens Italian recitative caresses the French lyrics, adding abundant
with the personality of a Mozartean sou- sparkle to several tracks. All this virtuos-
brette.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) ity invites repeated listening.” (Early Music
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