Antonio CALDARA (c.1671 - 1736)
Caldara in Vienna - Forgotten castrato arias
L'Olimpiade (1733):
Lo seguitai felice [4:17]
Demofoonte (1733):
Misero pargoletto [8:16]
La clemenza di Tito (1734):
Numi assistenza - Opprimete i contumaci, rec and aria [5:21]
L'Olimpiade (1733):
Mentre dormi amor fomenti [5:27]
Temistocle (1736):
Non tremar, vassallo indegno [3:26]
La clemenza di Tito (1734):
Se mai senti spirarti sul volto [8:55]
Scipione nelle Spagne (1722):
O mi rendi il bel ch'io spero [2:32]
Ifigenia in Aulide (1718):
Tutto fa nocchiero esperto [7:28]
Adriano in Siria (1732):
Tutti nemici e rei [4:50]
Lucio Papirio dittarore (1719):
Son io Fabio? - Troppo e insoffribile fiero martir, rec and aria [6:39]
Temistocle (1736):
Contrasto assai più degno [2:51]
Enone (1730):
Vado, o sposa [5:40]
Achille in Sciro (1736):
Se un core annodi, aria and chorus* [1:56]
Philippe Jaroussky (alto)
Vocanima Köln (*), Concerto Köln/Emmanuelle Haïm
rec. 12-19 July 2010, Paterskirche, Kempen, Germany. DDD
VIRGIN CLASSICS 6488102 [68:08]
There is much talk about social networks being a feature of modern society.
But there is hardly anything new about that. It is a phenomenon which was
also of high importance in the 17th and 18th centuries, when musicians were
constantly looking for jobs. The Italian composer Antonio Caldara's biography
bears witness to that as we shall see.
Not much is known about his early years, but he seems to have been born in
Venice and probably received his first music lessons from his father. He learned
to play the viola da spallo - today mostly replaced by the cello -
and entered the orchestra of the San Marco, but made a career as a composer
of vocal music, in particular operas. His first compositions in this genre
as well as some oratorios were performed in Venice.
He then went to Mantua, where he was appointed maestro di cappella da chiesa
e del teatro. The Duke of Mantua was an ardent lover of opera and was
willing to spend a lot of money on opera productions. When he was financially
ruined after the War of the Spanish Succession Caldara moved to Rome where
he acted as maestro di cappella of Prince Ruspoli from 1709 to 1716.
But he had set his eyes on a position at the Imperial Court in Vienna.
In the liner-notes of this disc Frédéric Delaméa describes
at length the splendour and the rich musical culture at the Court. It is no
wonder many composers hoped to work there one day. Caldara persistently tried
to find a way to be appointed to some position at the Court. The first contacts
with the later Emperor Charles VI date from the time he spent in Barcelona,
where Charles - then still Archduke Charles III - married Elisabeth Christine
of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Later Caldara went to Milan in an attempt
to meet Charles again, who was on his way to Frankfurt to be crowned Emperor
as successor to his brother Joseph I. Whether this led to anything isn't clear.
Then Caldara travelled to Vienna, but when he arrived the positions he had
set his eyes on were already assigned. In the next years he repeatedly applied
for jobs at Court, but was mostly too late - not surprising in a time of slow
communication.
In the meantime he dedicated several compositions to the Emperor and his wife,
and there is no doubt that Charles had a strong liking for Caldara's music.
In the end Caldara's persistence paid off. In 1716 he left Rome for Vienna,
where he would take up the position of vice Kapellmeister under Johann
Joseph Fux and first Court composer. In this capacity he was responsible for
the composition of operas and other vocal works, not only for regular performances
at the Hoftheater, but also at special occasions like birthdays and
namedays of the Emperor and Empress. Charles VI was an ardent lover of music,
as his predecessors had been, and that had resulted in a musical infrastructure
which was second to none in Europe.
Caldara could rely on one of Europe's main librettists, Apostolo Zeno, who
would later be succeeded by the famous Pietro Metastasio. He also had some
of the best singers in Europe at his disposal. A number of major roles in
his early compositions in Vienna were taken by the castratoGaetano
Orsini whose voice was described by Charles Burney as powerful and affecting.
Later on Caldara wrote important parts in his operas for another castrato,
Felice Salimbeni, who was a pupil of Niccolo Porpora and was to become one
of the most celebrated singers of his time. Occasionally other singers whose
names figure prominently in music history books were also participating in
performances in Vienna. These included the castrato Farinelli and the soprano
Faustina Bordoni who in 1730 married another famous opera composer, Johann
Adolf Hasse.
This disc offers arias from operas which were written at several stages of
Caldara's career in Vienna. Ifigenia in Aulide dates from 1718 and
was Caldara's second opera in Vienna. The aria 'Tutto fa nocchiero esperto'
has a solo part for the violin and contains some very long melismas which,
according to historical accounts, castratos were able to sing in the same
breath. The part of Teucros for whom this aria was written, was very likely
realised by Gaetano Orsini. Temistocle dates from Caldara's last year.
It was first performed in October and revived in December, only a couple of
weeks before his death on 27 December. The two brilliant arias recorded here
were assigned to Xerxes, a role sung by Felice Salimbeni. The programme shows
great variety: there are some intimate arias, for instance the beautiful sleep
aria 'Mentre dormi amor fomenti' from L'Olimpiade, in which the strings
are joined by two recorders. From Adriano in Siria comes the rage aria
'Tutti nemici e rei'. All these arias are highly expressive in their own way,
but some really stand out, like 'Vado, o sposa' from Enone, and 'Se
mai senti spirarti sul volto' from Le clemenza di Tito. These more
lyrical arias suit Philippe Jaroussky best. The rage arias are just a little
less convincing, because Jaroussky's voice lacks sharp edges, in particular
in low notes. On the other hand, in 'Tutti nemici e rei' he shows his dramatic
instinct by keeping his rage in check in the A part and subtly turning it
up a notch in the dacapo.
The combination of Philippe Jaroussky and Concerto Köln under the direction
of Emmanuelle Haïm is a happy one. The singing is a pure delight, and
Concerto Köln fully explores the instrumental scores which are remarkable
for their depth and density. Charles VI had a strong liking for counterpoint,
and in his operas Caldara successfully mixed Italian and German elements.
There is just one point of criticism which relates to the performance of the
aria 'Mentre dormi amor fomenti'. Here the recorders mostly play colla
parte with the strings. In the dacapo Ms Haïm makes the strings play
pizzicato, which turns the recorders into solo instruments. That seems contrary
to Caldara's intentions.
In his personal note in the booklet Philippe Jaroussky writes that "I hope
that the modest selection of arias assembled here will provide you with a
glimpse into the art of this great master". That mission has certainly been
accomplished.
Johan van Veen
A bouquet of fine arias from a great yet underestimated composer.