The fame of the Italian masters of the 17th and 18th centuries radiated throughout Europe, and their contributions to the development of musical means of expression inspired many artists. Naples, Venice and Rome became cultural centres where composers from various countries came to get musical experience. Among the multitude of genres, cantatas occupied an important place. Created and performed by the greatest artists of the era, they were a highlight of gatherings held at aristocratic courts.
The concert will open with a composition by Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739) – a Venetian nobleman who successfully combined his love of musical creativity with his public duties. In the cantata Arianna abbandonata, Marcello excellently employs a variety of melodic and rhythmic techniques, reflecting the despair of the heroine abandoned by Theseus, and then her excitement at the expected meeting with Dionysus. The theme of despised love is also present in the moving piece Ombre tacite e sole by Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725), a master of the Neapolitan school. Representatives of this group of artists also include Nicola Antonio Porpora (1686-1768) and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736). The former became famous not only as an excellent composer but also as an outstanding teacher. Distinguished among his students was the castrato Farinelli, who was probably the first to perform the technically demanding cantata Destatevi, a pastori. The event will end with Pergolesi’s cantata Chi non ode e chi non vede. The prematurely deceased genius captured in this small musical form the theatrical expression of a love complaint and painted a blaze of timbres through the use of interesting harmonic and melodic solutions.
PROGRAM
Benedetto Marcello – Arianna abbandonata
Sinfonia
Recitativo accompagnato: Dove misera, dove
Aria: Come mai può
Recitativo: Se fia che pensi
Aria: Che dolce foco in petto
Alessandro Scarlatti – Ombre tacite e sole
Recitativo accompagnato: Ombre tacite e sole
Aria: Con piede errante
Recitativo accompagnato: Qui, tra tenebre oscure
Aria: Allor d’intorno a te
Arcangelo Corelli – Concerto grosso op. 6 nr 1
Largo – Allegero – Largo – Allegro – Largo – Allegro – Allegro
Nicola Antonio Porpora – Destatevi, o pastori
Recitativo accompagnato: Destatevi o pastori
Aria: Nei campi e nelle selve
Recitativo accompagnato: Tornerò fra le greggie
Aria: Silvio amante disperato
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi – Chi non ode e chi non vede
Aria: Chi non ode e chi non vede
Recitativo: Di costei parlo
Aria: Tu dovresti amor tiranno
Recitativo: Mà dove io mi rivolgo
Aria: Cadrò contento dal duolo oppresso
PERFORMERS
MARTA BOBERSKA SOPRANO
ANETA ŁUKASZEWICZ MEZZOSOPRANO
THE PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ENSEMBLE OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA CAPELLA REGIA POLONA
KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA HARPSICHORD, CONDUCTOR
