GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759)

Parnasso in Festa

 

CD 1 [72'25]

1 PART ONE Overture [6'21] 2 Aria CLIO Verginete [2'55] 3 Chorus Corriamo pronti ad ubbidir [0'50]

4 Recit APOLLO & CO Germane, figlio amato [1'00] 5 Aria & Chorus APOLLO Deh! Cantata un bell’amor [2'58]

6 Recit APOLLO Ma prima che s’avanzi [0'20] 7 Aria ORFEO Spira al sen’ [4'52] 8 Aria APOLLO Gran Tonante [4'34]

9 Chorus Già vien da lui [1'42] 10 Recit CLIO Spettacolo gradito [0'50] 11 Aria CLIO Con un vezzo lusinghiero [1'54]

12 Recit APOLLO Rimembranza gradita [0'17] 13 Duet APOLLO, CLIO Sin le grazie [3'05] 14 Recit CLIO Ma di sì belle fiamme [0'43]

15 Aria CLIO Quanto breve [5'39] 16 Recit APOLLO Vada in oblio [0'38] 17 Chorus Cantiam a Bacco [1'25] 18 Aria MARTE Del nume [3'24]

19 Aria APOLLO Sciolga dunque [3'12] 20 Chorus & Solos S’accenda pur [3'12] 21 Chorus Replicati al ballo [0'54]

22 PART TWO Solos & Chorus Nel Petto [5'57] 23 Recit APOLLO Qual tetra nube [0'10] 24 Aria APOLLO Torni pure [4'34]

25 Recit CLIO Ogn’un mi siegua [1'12] 26 Aria CLIO Nel spiegar [10'25]

 

CD 2 [59'26]

1 Recit CLORI E non s’udiran mai [0'22] 2 Chorus O quanto bella gloria [3'16] 3 Aria CLORI Tra sentier [4'24]

4 Chorus O quanto bella gloria [1'12] 5 Recit CALLIOPE Che mai facesti [0'22] 6 Aria CALLIOPE Già le furie [1'47]

7 Accomp recit ORFEO Dopo d’aver perduto [0'55] 8 Aria ORFEO Ho perso il caro ben’ [5'09] 9 Chorus S’unisce al tuo martir [2'01]

10 Recit APOLLO Figlio, diletto Orfeo [0'27] 11 Duet APOLLO, CLIO Cangia in gioia [6'55]

12 Recit APOLLO Di Nettuno seguaci [0'28] 13 Chorus Coralli e perle [1'38]

14 PART THREE Sinfonia [0'35] 15 Recit MARTE Io che degli avi eccelsi [0'28] 16 Chorus & Solo MARTE Si parli ancor [2'56]

17 Recit ORFEO O stirpe [0'13] 18 Aria ORFEO Da sorgente [3'08] 19 Recit CALLIOPE Dall’opre [0'14] 20 Aria CALLIOPE Sempre aspira [2'13]

21 Recit APOLLO Delle dotte germane [0'33] 22 Aria APOLLO Non tardate [3'53] 23 Chorus Accorriam senza dimora [2'13]

24 Recit CLIO Sia degli eccelsi sposi [0'13] 25 Aria CLIO Circondin lor’ vite [4'50] 26 Recit EUTERPE Con un’ spirito [0'17]

27 Aria EUTERPE Han’ mente eroica [4'00] 28 Recit APOLLO Di virtù [0'21] 29 Aria & Chorus APOLLO Lunga serie [3'55]

 

Total Duration: 131'51

 

Carolyn Sampson Clio - soprano

Lucy Crowe Orfeo - soprano

Rebecca Outram Calliope - soprano

Diana Moore Apollo, Euterpe - mezzo

Ruth Clegg Clori - alto

Peter Harvey Marte - bass

The King’s Consort / Matthew Halls

 

Hyperion’s Record of the Month sees the long overdue return to the studio of The King’s Consort, under the baton of the group’s newly appointed Artistic Director Matthew Halls. Here the ensemble presents the premiere recording of Handel’s Parnasso in Festa: a unique example in Handel’s enormous creative career of a fully-fledged celebratory serenata (or Festa teatrale). This form was rare in England but had developed in parallel with opera in Italy, where it was popular for commemorating special occasions of international significance, such as royal weddings. Parnasso in Festa was written for Princess Anne’s marriage to Prince William of Orange.

 

In Handel’s serenata three of the Muses, their leader Apollo, his son Orpheus, and Mars (god of War) gather at the feast celebrating the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis. The mythological musicians Apollo and Orfeo must have been particularly appealing for Handel here. Unlike many composers, he never composed an opera about the legend of Orpheus and Euridice. His only depiction of the mythical musician in his entire output forms the core of the serenata’s middle part. For a composer who later excelled at representing the musical legends Timotheus and St Cecilia, and who was described by contemporaries as ‘the Orpheus of our age’, the depiction of Orfeo is notably fascinating. Created two years before Alexander’s Feast, and five years before A Song for St Cecilia’s Day, the emotional centre of Parnasso in Festa is devoted to a study of the power of music.

 

This magnificent masterpiece has been starved of the wider attention that can only come from frequent performances and disseminated recordings. It is presented here in a dazzling performance by an exceptional group of musicians, and graced by a stellar line-up of soloists led by Carolyn Sampson.

 

Hyperion 2cds CDA67701-2