Handel / Colombo / Fantazyas Italian Cantatas CD

In 1706, 21-year-old Handel arrived in Italy as a prodigious celebrity, already having caught the eye and won the patronage of the Medici family in Florence. Further honors and rewards were heaped on him when he moved to Rome the following year and came under the sponsorship of the most cultured and influential of the city's noble families. It was for them that he wrote a string of secular cantatas, on time-honored and popular themes of arcadian and amorous bliss. These Roman cantatas have received more attention from scholars and performers in recent years, but the four presented here are still relatively unfamiliar, beginning with the brief, hunting-themed Diana cacciatrice HWV79. This cantata's striking feature is an aria with echo soprano and trumpet solo, while Alpestre monte is an anguished tale of betrayal and suicide, including a pair of ravishing arias (again for soprano). Faithfulness is once more the vexed question posed by the album's best-known cantata, Tu fedel? Tu costante? The searing purity of Carlotta Colombo's soprano makes her a worthy successor to distinguished early-music specialists who have taken on the work, including Emma Kirkby. Conceived on a grander scale, Olinto pastore arcade alle glorie del Tebro is scored for three solo singers, to present an allegorical discussion between the shepherd Olinto, the river Tiber and the embodiment of Glory, concerning how the humble shepherd (a veiled allusion to Handel's patron at the time) will restore Rome to her ancient greatness. The singer and conductor Roberto Balconi founded Fantazyas in 2000 as a flexible ensemble of instruments and voices specialising in Italian music of the 17th and 18th centuries. They have toured across Europe and Japan, and here they make their debut on Brilliant Classics.

1. * Alla Caccia, "Diana Cacciatrice", HWV 79 2. La Marche 3. Recitative: Alla Caccia, Alla Caccia 4. Aria: Foriera la Tromba 5. Coro: Alla Caccia 6. Arietta: Di Questa Selva Fra Dubbie Vie 7. Coro: Alla Caccia 8. * Alpestre Monte, HWV 81 9. Accompagnato: Alpestre Monte 10. Aria: Io So Ben 11. Recitativo: Quindi Men Vengo a Voi 12. Aria: Almen Dopo Il Fato Mio 13. * Tu Fedel? Tu Costante?, HWV 171 14. Sonata 15. Recitative: Tu Fedel? Tu Costante? 16. Aria: Cento Belle Ami Fileno 17. Recitative: L'occhio Nero Vivace 18. Aria: Se Licori, Fili Ed Io 19. Recitative: Ma, Se Non Hai Pi? 20. Aria: Se Non Ti Piace Amarmi 21. Recitative: Ma Il Tuo Genio Incostante 22. Aria: Si Crudel, Ti Lasciero 23. * O Come Chiare E Belle, HWV 143 24. Sonata: Allegro 25. Aria: Oh! Come Chiare E Belle 26. Recitativo: Ma Quel Che Pi? D'ogn'altro 27. Aria: Chi Mi Chiama? 28. Recitativo: Dell'arcadi Foreste 29. Aria: Pi? Non Spero 30. Recitativo: Per Te Non Pi? Rubella 31. Aria: Caro Tebro 32. Recitativo: Si, la Gloria Son Io 33. Aria: Tornami a Vagheggiar 34. Recitativo: Tebro, Tu Non Rispondi? 35. Aria: Al Suon Che Destano 36. Recitativo: Di Stupor, Di Diletto 37. Aria: Io Torno a Sperare 38. Recitativo: Di Si Giuste Speranze 39. Aria: Astro Clemente 40. Recitativo: Tebro, Ti Dissi Il Vero 41. Aria: Alle Voci Del Bronzo Guerriero 42. Viva, Viva!