Scarlatti, Hasse: Salve Regina - Cantatas and Motets
Domenico SCARLATTI (1685-1757) Salve Regina** [13:01]
Alessandro SCARLATTI (1660-1725) Su le sponde del Tebro*/***
[15:31]
Johann Adolf HASSE (1699-1783) Salve Regina** [16:49]
Alessandro SCARLATTI Infirmata vulnerata** [12:28]; O di
Betlemme altera* [18:38]
Deborah York (soprano) (*), James Bowman (alto) (**), Crispian Steele-Perkins
(natural trumpet) (***)
The King's Consort/Robert King
rec. 7 - 9 February 1996, St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London.
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55354 [77:04] 
This disc brings together two of the main genres of vocal music in baroque
Italy: the cantata and the motet. All the pieces are scored for solo voice,
and although the content is different - secular and sacred respectively -,
stylistically it is hard to tell them apart. In both genres the singer is
given plenty of opportunities to shine.
The programme contains two settings of the Salve Regina, a text which
has inspired many composers from Italy to some of their best music. It is
interesting here to compare the settings of Domenico Scarlatti and Johann
Adolf Hasse. Domenico is mainly known for his keyboard sonatas, but these
were written when he had left Italy and settled in Spain. While still in Rome
he composed a number of sacred pieces. As the ecclesiastical authorities preferred
the stile antico in sacred music there wasn't much room for experiment,
let alone for incorporating elements from opera. And so we have here a setting
which concentrates on text expression, like the short pauses within "suspiramus"
(sigh) and the dissonants on "lacrimarum valle" (vale of tears).
Hasse, on the other hand, was every inch an opera composer and that shows
in his setting. It is one of 13 from his pen. This particular version is in
A and dates from 1744. It is a sequence of four arias with a strongly operatic
character. He was famous for the elegance of his writing, and that comes to
the fore in particular in the last aria. The first and second arias end with
a cadenza. Whereas other composers often used sighing figures - called suspiratio
in rhetorics - Hasse sets a word like "flentes" to operatic coloraturas.
He does the same on "salve" in the last aria which I find hard to
swallow. But from a vocal point of view it is a fine piece, and James Bowman
sings it beautifully. Here he shows his virtuosity, whereas in Domenico Scarlatti
he gives a demonstration of his ability to express a text.
The three cantatas are all by Domenico's father Alessandro, who was the main
composer in this genre around 1700. The three items on this disc are special
in that they are all scored for voice and instruments, and not with basso
continuo alone, as with most cantatas by Scarlatti. The most remarkable piece
is Su le sponde del Tebro, because of the obbligato part for trumpet.
The subject matter is traditional, about Aminta and Chloris, the mythological
characters which turn up in so many cantatas of the baroque era. The text
gives no clue as to why Scarlatti has given the trumpet such an important
role, unless the reference to "warriors" (sorrow and anxiety) in
the first aria could be considered as such. In his liner-notes Robert King
suggests that at the time it was composed a specially gifted trumpet player
was at hand. Maybe that was reason enough. The cantata begins with a sinfonia
for trumpet, strings and bc, which is followed by three pairs of recitatives
and arias. The trumpet is involved in the first and last aria. Crispian Steele-Perkins
plays his part excellently, but Deborah York is too bland in her interpretation
of the cantata. The recitatives are rhythmically too strict, and she doesn't
do enough with the text. The expression in the arias is also too restrained.
The last cantata of the programme is written for Christmas Eve, and is one
of Alessandro Scarlatti's most famous cantatas. The soprano is accompanied
by strings and bc, and several sections have a strongly pastoral character.
Here Deborah York feels more at home, but I still feel something is missing.
I was more touched by Nancy Argenta’s performance with the Chandos Baroque
Players (reviewed
here). In all the cantatas the basso continuo part is played with an organ.
In this cantata that could be justified, but in Su le sponde del Tebro
there seems no justification for it at all. The same is the case with the
remaining cantata, Infirmata vulnerata, which Scarlatti scored for
alto, two violins and bc. It is an odd piece in that it has a Latin text which
suggests a sacred subject. But although it is in some ways a bit ambiguous
- one could discern some reminiscences of the Song of Songs here - it is hard
to see this as anything but a cantata about love, as the last recitative expresses:
"Love, the victory is yours, my heart yields to you". So why the
text is set in Latin is a bit of a mystery which Robert King doesn't mention
in his liner-notes. It is a very fine piece with some exquisite text expression.
The second aria 'Vulnerata percute' is particularly emotional, and one can
leave it to James Bowman to explore its character to the full. His ability
to colour his voice and his fine dynamic gradation are particularly helpful
here.
This reissue is most welcome as it brings together five specimens of music
for solo voice and instruments of fine quality. As far as the performances
are concerned, James Bowman's are the main attraction of this disc.
Johan van Veen
James Bowman's performances are the main attraction of this disc.