Alessandro Scarlatti
is generally considered one of the most
important Italian composers of the late
17th and early 18th centuries. But his
music, although it has received more
attention in recent years, is still
largely unknown. This is partly due
to the large quantity of his output:
in the genre of the chamber cantata
alone at least six hundred compositions
are with certainty attributable to him.
Scarlatti's reputation
started to wane in the early 18th century.
His style was considered increasingly
out of fashion. Since 1696 Scarlatti
had been in contact with the court of
the De Medicis in Florence, but his
attempts to obtain a permanent post
there failed, as Prince Ferdinando found
his music too 'studied'. Scarlatti's
style of composing was more connected
to the past, with its use of counterpoint
and the strong connection between text
and music, than the growing preference
for more light-hearted music after the
turn of the century.
Alessandro's rise to
fame began with the performance of his
pastoral opera 'Gli equivoci nel sembiante'
in Rome in 1679. The work had a great
success and spread across Europe in
no time. It was followed by a large
number of equally successful operas.
As there was a strong connection between
opera and chamber cantata it is no surprise
that Alessandro turned into a master
of this genre as well.
The present disc underlines
impressively how close opera and chamber
cantata were. The title characterises
the works recorded here as 'dramatic
cantatas', and that is spot-on. All
four are about single characters who
are speaking, sometimes introduced by
a kind of narrator, who explains what
situation the protagonist is in.
In the first cantata
we meet "l'anglico eroe", the English
hero, who very likely is King James
II. He figures in many compositions
of that time, which can be explained
by his Catholic conviction, which made
him a hero from the perspective of the
Counter-Reformation. The cantata is
about James preparing for reconquering
his throne, leaving wife and son behind.
He successfully suppresses his tears:
"And before he had gained victory over
his enemies, his soul already could
claim a trophy, because she had not
cried." The first recitative contains,
as so often in Scarlatti's cantatas,
arioso passages. The second recitative
is full of contrast, both in the soprano
and basso continuo parts. The blowing
of the winds through the sails in the
aria 'Sento l'aura che fedele' is illustrated
by the strings. Strong ascending figures
illustrate the hero saying "Al trono,
al trono!" (to the throne!).
The second cantata
is called 'serenata' and is about love-sick
Amaryllis unable to find sleep in the
night. When sleep fails her she prefers
to die: "Yes, being deprived of happiness,
I will happily embrace death. If I cannot
enjoy the reason for my grief while
living, death is welcome to end all
my misery". Elisabeth Scholl, in her
programme notes, calls this cantata
"almost romantic: its long melodic lines
and its dense sensuous atmosphere are
almost tangible." The first aria, 'Vieni,
o notte' (Come, O night) is a good illustration
of this. The aria 'Veloce e labile',
where the protagonist complains that
"hours stand still to hurt me" contains
some strong dissonances.
The third cantata is
rather unusual: here it is the Roman
emperor Nero who is speaking, demonstrating
his extreme cruelty and his enjoyment
of the slaughter he causes. It begins
with Nero proclaiming his absolute power:
"I am Nero, the commander of the world
and the master of all souls down here."
Even for Jupiter he has no fear: "I
want that Jove trembles before the splendour
of my countenance", nor for the underworld:
"And also with the underworld and with
Pluto I want to compete". The aria 'Veder
chi pena' is set as a tarantella, a
southern Italian folk dance. This could
be interpreted as the ultimate demonstration
of Nero's cruel character, as he sings:
"To watch those that suffer and sigh
is my heart's desire, villainous since
birth".
In the last cantata
we meet Orpheus who has just lost his
Euridice for a second time. He laments
his fate and wants to die in the aria
'Chi m'invola la cara Euridice', containing
strong dissonances. Later on he complains
that his singing has lost its power
to move.
This disc is a very
impressive demonstration of the art
of Alessandro Scarlatti. In these splendid
cantatas the composer demonstrates his
ability to characterise the protagonists
with musical means and to depict the
text according to the rules of rhetoric
and with masterful use of the 'affetti'.
Elisabeth Scholl, who also edited these
cantatas, wrote the programme notes
and translated the lyrics into English,
has done an excellent job in every department.
Her singing is impressive, and she expresses
the feelings of all protagonists with
great care. I especially liked her performance
of the recitatives, a weak point in
many recordings of baroque vocal music.
On past showing she has never struck
me as a very dramatic singer, but here
she proves me wrong. And the combination
of Ms Scholl and Modo Antiquo turns
out to be a very happy one. In earlier
recordings Federico Maria Sardelli has
demonstrated his feeling for theatre,
and he does so here again.
To sum up: this disc
is one of the best I have heard this
year. It goes straight into my list
of recordings of the year. It is a model
of the useful marriage of musicology
and splendid music-making.
Johan van Veen
Elisabeth Scholl (soprano) 
for
details
