Pensieri notturni di filli (Nel dolce dell'oblio), cantata for soprano, recorder & continuo, HWV 134
Il Delirio Amoroso (Da Quel Giorno Fatale), cantata for soprano & instruments, HWV 99
Figlio d'alte speranze, cantata for soprano, HWV 113
Not all of these solo cantatas for soprano were written "for Cardinal Pamphili," as the cover states; two were written for some other unknown Italian patron. But all date from early in Handel's career, when he was living in Italy. The picture that emerges from the detailed, informative notes by Ellen T. Harris is of a young composer working in private, chamber genres rather than the highly public ones of opera and oratorio that would form the basis of Handel's career in England. All of Handel's solo secular cantatas date ...
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Not all of these solo cantatas for soprano were written "for Cardinal Pamphili," as the cover states; two were written for some other unknown Italian patron. But all date from early in Handel's career, when he was living in Italy. The picture that emerges from the detailed, informative notes by Ellen T. Harris is of a young composer working in private, chamber genres rather than the highly public ones of opera and oratorio that would form the basis of Handel's career in England. All of Handel's solo secular cantatas date from before his move to London, and they have been largely neglected. It's hard to say why, for they are extremely compelling pieces. It may be because few singers specialize in this type of material -- the cantatas are highly virtuosic but small in scale, which makes them all the more difficult for the singer. (Bach's church cantatas are similar in scale in many cases but require a different kind of intimacy.) Sample track 9, the aria Giacché il sonno a lei dipinge (As the sun draws...
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