George Frideric HANDEL (1685 - 1759)
Suite in B flat (HWV 352) [03:33]
Suite in G (HWV 353) [03:46]
Apollo e Dafne (HWV 122) [39:35]
Concerto grosso in a minor, op. 6,4 (HWV 322) [10:46]
Myrsini Margariti (soprano), Nikolay Borchev (baritone)
Händelfestspielorchester/Bernhard Forck
rec. September 2009, Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche, Leipzig, Germany. DDD
AVI-MUSIC 8553200 [57:43]
During his stay in Italy Handel contributed to some of the most popular musical
genres of his time. Among them was the cantata. Thousands of such works were
written in the decades around 1700. The main composer in this genre was Alessandro
Scarlatti. His contributions, usually consisting of two pairs of recitatives
and arias, became the standard. Handel also composed a large number of such
cantatas.
Because of their subject matter and their theatrical character the chamber
cantatas - mostly scored for solo voice and basso continuo - were close to
opera. Quite apart from these there were more elaborate compositions in which
several voices were supported by an orchestra. Even more than the chamber
cantatas such works can be considered pocket-size operas. Handel's cantata
Apollo e Dafne belongs to this category.
Handel probably started composing the cantata in Venice in 1709, but completed
it in Hanover in 1710, when he took up his job as Kapellmeister to
the Elector. The first performance seems to have taken place in February 1711
in London, on the occasion of the birthday of Queen Anne. She was enthusiastic
about Handel's cantata, and so was the court chronicler who described it as
"a fine consort, being a Dialogue in Italian, in Her Majesty's Praise, set
to excellent Musick by the famous Mr. Hendel".
The cantata is for two soloists, representing Dafne (soprano) and Apollo (bass)
respectively, with an orchestra of transverse flute, two oboes, bassoon, strings
and basso continuo. The work consists of the usual sequence of recitatives
and arias, and a couple of duets. In his operas Handel proves to be a master
of the musical depiction of characters. This cantata is an early example of
his skills in this department. Right from the start Apollo shows his true
colours by boasting about his power which even Cupid can't surpass. That is
a mistake as he falls in love with Dafne the moment he sees her. She resists
his advances, but when he starts to stalk her she escapes by turning herself
into a laurel tree. In the closing aria Apollo resigns himself to his fate:
"Dear laurel, with my tears I shall water your green leaves".
With Nikolay Borchev the role of Apollo is excellently cast. He gives a perfect
portrayal of the arrogance of Apollo, and his performance is technically assured
and stylistically convincing. His diction and his performance of the coloraturas
are impressive, for instance in the aria 'Sprezza l'arco'. Myrsini Margariti
does equally well in her interpretation of the role of Dafne. She has a nice
voice which is perfectly suited to this role. It is just a pity she sometimes
uses a bit too much vibrato, which is especially noticeable in the aria 'Felicissima
quest'alma'.
The recitatives are taken with the right amount of rhythmic freedom. In the
dialogues the interaction between the two characters is very good. That is
also the case in the duet 'Deh! lascia addolcire' in which the musical material
for the two protagonists is radically different, reflecting the antagonism
between them. The sudden shift from aria to recitativo accompagnato in 'Mie
piante correte', when Apollo discovers that Dafne has turned into a tree,
is realised in a truly theatrical manner, taking the listener by surprise.
There is just one defect in this performance: some dacapos are a bit short
on ornamentation.
Handel had already touched on the subject of this cantata when he worked at
the Hamburg opera. But his opera 'Die verwandelte Daphne' has been lost, and
it is assumed the two orchestral suites HWV 352 and 353 contain instrumental
music from this opera. The Suite in B flat is performed here as a kind of
overture, as the cantata lacks one. That works pretty well, but the inclusion
of the other suite in the cantata itself, immediately before the first entry
of Dafne, is a less convincing decision. In my view it interrupts the dramatic
flow of the cantata.
These instrumental suites are beautifully played, though, and so is the concerto
grosso which concludes the disc. The orchestra produces a nice sound of great
transparency. The slow movements of the concerto grosso are played with expression,
and the rhythmic pulse of the fast movements is perfectly explored. In the
cantata the orchestra underlines the drama, and the basso continuo section
deserves praise for pushing the performance forward. I don't quite understand,
though, why Apollo and Dafne each have their own keyboard, the organ and the
harpsichord respectively. The use of an organ in this kind of repertoire is
questionable anyway.
It is a shame that the booklet is not of the same standard as the performance.
According to the tracklist the duration of this disc is 56:02, the reverse
says it's 58:03 - both wrong. In fact, most timings in the tracklist are completely
wrong as well. The first recitative is given as lasting 3:34, but it is 00:48.
According to the tracklist the last aria takes 2:28, but it lasts 5:37. And
if that is not enough, the booklet does not include the lyrics. This disc
is produced in cooperation with the Händel-Haus in Halle. I don't understand
why this institution accepts this kind of sloppiness.
Johan van Veen