Johann Adolf HASSE (1699-1783)
Complete Solo Cantatas - Volume One
Credi, o caro, alla speranza [10:14]
Parto, mia Filli, č vero [13:38]
Ah, per pietade almeno [09:53]
Oh Dio! partir conviene [12:09]
Lascia i fior, l'erbette, e'l rio [12:06]
Tanto dunque č si reo [10:22]
Hof-Musici: Jana Dvořáková (soprano), Veronika Mráčková Fučiková (mezzo-soprano), Rozálie Kousalíková (cello), Ondřej Macek (harpsichord)
rec. 10-12 March 2015, Salla Terrena of the Villa Bertramka, Prague, Czech Republic DDD
Texts and translations included
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0228 [68:22]
Johann Adolf Hasse was one of the most celebrated composers
in Europe in the decades around 1750. That especially concerns his activities
in the field of opera. His operas were performed across Europe, in particular
in Germany, Austria and Italy. He was in an almost ideal position in that
his own wife, the famous mezzo Faustina Bordoni, often participated in the
performances of his operas. He surely must have written many roles with her
specific vocal and acting qualities in mind.
Opera takes the largest part of his oeuvre. The list of operas from his pen
in New Grove is astonishing. Add to that a large number of serenatas and oratorios
and one understands that he had a special gift for drama. No wonder that he
also contributed to the genre of the chamber cantata, which was one of the
most popular forms of secular vocal music. Such cantatas were especially popular
in the arcadian academies which were founded across Italy since the late 17th
century. Such cantatas were mostly scored for a solo voice - usually soprano
or alto - with basso continuo. Sometimes a composer added one or two melody
instruments: transverse flute and violin were the most common options; sometimes
composers turned to the recorder or the oboe. Hasse composed cantatas of both
types and in addition also wrote cantatas with a larger instrumental ensemble.
The present disc is the first in a project, which focuses on the solo cantatas.
There is no indication whether the latter category - cantatas with 'orchestra'
- will also be included. Without any doubt this is a highly interesting and
important project, especially as not that many of Hasse's cantatas
are available on disc.
In Hasse's time there was a close connection between opera and cantata.
Both consist of a sequence of recitatives and arias and both make use of coloratura
and the various tools composers had at their disposal, to express the feelings
of the protagonist. One could call a cantata a pocket-size opera. However,
there are also meaningful differences. The fact that cantatas were usually
scored for one voice indicates that only one character is speaking. The subject
is mostly love - often unhappy or unrequited love or the parting of two lovers
- but it is almost always one person who expresses his or her feelings. The
drama is not the confrontation of two characters, but a sole person who gives
vent to his or her feelings and sometimes also is in dialogue with the absent
lover. Cantatas were not staged and the singers didn't wear costumes.
From that point it is probably even harder to perform such a cantata than
to take part in an opera.
The cantatas recorded here reflect the features of Hasse's larger-scale
dramatic works. He was especially known for his melodic gifts, and this disc
includes some superb examples, for instance the opening aria from Lascia i
fior, l'erbette, e'l rio. It is telling that this aria has the
indication affettuoso. It is an example of superior lyricism, but at the same
time Hasse manages to make his music express the emotions of the protagonist.
The text includes images which are common in cantatas and operas of the time:
the turtledove, flowers, meadows, streams. Elsewhere we find a "wounded
deer", a "cruel arrow", the "loveliest rose", the
"stormy sea" and a "desperate sailor". These were frequently
used to express the trials and tribulations of love, and also reflect the
arcadian nature of the cantata texts. As one would expect, pastoral characters
like Tirsi and Filli also turn up.
The dramatic character of Hasse's cantatas comes especially to the
fore in those arias in which the protagonist complains about the cruelty or
the inconstancy of his lover or the fact that they have to part. In the last
aria from Credi, o caro, alla speranza (Un altra pastorella), Hasse
makes use of modulations and chromaticism to depict the text. The same is
the case in the aria 'Mŕ le giuste mie vendette' from Lascia
i fior and 'Oh Dio! dirti vorrei' from O Dio! partir
conviene. The recitatives are especially dramatic, and here the theatrical
capabilities of the interpreters are explored. It is also in the recitatives
that the protagonist addresses his lover.
I noted some difference in the way the two singers deal with the recitatives.
Both sing them with the rhythmic freedom they require. However, Jana Dvořáková
is more detailed in her interpretation and performs them in a truly speechlike
manner, with the right dynamic accents. Her delivery is very good, better
than her colleague's, who takes a more global approach. The latter's
interpretation is certainly not without drama, but Veronika Mráčková
Fučiková makes less of the text, also because of a more legato style
of singing. Her performance is also marred by a narrow but incessant vibrato,
which is not nice to listen to. I found it very easy to enjoy Dvořáková's
performances, also because I very much like her voice. Mráčková Fučiková
has a kind of voice that I don't find very pleasant to listen to, but
obviously this is a matter of taste.
All in all I have really enjoyed this disc, because it sheds light on a lesser-known
part of Hasse’s oeuvre, which deserves our attention. These cantatas
are fine works and are certainly not inferior to the better-known cantatas
by the likes of Handel and Vivaldi. There is every reason to look forward
to the next volumes in this project.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Previous review:
Stuart Sillitoe
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