Time 19:00
The Palace on the Isle in the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw
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There is certainly no place in the world where a man may travel with greater pleasure and advantage than in Italy. With these words, Joseph Addison began the account of his journey to Italy, which he made just a few years before Haendel. Although young Haendel did not initially show such enthusiasm for the idea of travel, there is no doubt that his visits to Florence, Venice, Rome, and Naples played a key role in shaping his creative expression. Enchanted by the melodiousness and theatricality of local music, Haendel wrote tens of cantatas, of which one of the most moving is undoubtedly La Lucrezia HWV 145 from 1706. In the subsequent recitatives and arias, the composer conveyed the entire range of intense emotions of a woman who, having experienced rape, finally decides to take her own life. An entirely different mood accompanies the cantata Mi palpita il cor HWV 132, where a young lover is tormented by doubts as to whether his beloved reciprocates his feelings. This composition must have been a favorite of Haendel himself, as he composed it in at least four versions, for different instrumental ensembles.
The cycle Neun deutsche Arien HWV 202-2010 was created much later, between 1724 and 1727, in London. Let us not be fooled by the German text of Barthold Heinrich Brockes’ poetry – the musical style of these works does not differ from Haendel’s Italian works from this period. Although these arias are not part of a larger narrative, they – like the solo passages from Rodelinda or Julius Caesar – delight with their songful melodies, intuitive harmony, and natural, moderate expression.
PROGRAM
Georg Friedrich Haendel — from the cycle Neun deutsche Arien HWV 202-210:
Künft’ger Zeiten eitler Kummen HWV 202
Das zitternde Glänzen der spielenden Wellen HWV 203
Süßer Blumen Ambraflocken HWV 204
Die ihr aus dunkeln Grüften HWV 208
Meine Seele hört im Sehen HWV 207
Georg Friedrich Haendel — Mi palpita il cor HWV 132c
Georg Friedrich Haendel — from the cycle Neun deutsche Arien HWV 202-210:
In den angenehmen Büschen HWV 209
Süße Stille, sanfte Quellen HWV 205
Flammende Rosen, Zierde der Erden HWV 210
Singe Seele, Gott zum Preise HWV 206
Georg Friedrich Haendel — La Lucrezia HWV 145
PERFORMERS
DOROTA SZCZEPAŃSKA SOPRANO
ANNA RADZIEJEWSKA MEZZOSOPRANO
THE PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ENSEMBLE OF THE POLISH ROYAL OLPERA CAPELLA REGIA POLONA
KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA HARPSICHORD, CONDUCTOR
Duration: approx. 1 h 40 min
The seats in the auditorium are not numbered.
