"Caldara was born in Venice to musical parents. He was a working musician from an early age as both contralto chorister and cellist at St. Mark's in Venice, at the same time composing vocal music and his only surviving instrumental material - two collections of string works in the style of the Corelli trio sonata - one of which is presented here (Op. 2 in G Minor, Tracks 12-15). He continued to draw a salary (with pay raises) until nearly age 30 as a contralto at the Basilica. One presumes that in the end he was performing his vocal duties as a falsettist, not as a castrato - 1700 did mark the heyday of that Italian phenomenon - since Antonio Caldara married an actual female contralto with whom he sired children.
"It was the custom of the 18th century for wealthy patrons to subsidize composers. The pragmatic Caldara always played his cards wisely. He looked for a royal position and landed work in 1699 as 'maestro da chiesa e da teatro' (head of music for both church and opera house) at the court of the Duke of Mantua. His new employer was a playboy who indulged in a lavish lifestyle - women, feasts and fancy opera productions. Indeed, this Ferdinando Carlo likely served as model for Verdi's tenor in 'Rigoletto'. Caldara's position was short-lived - so was the Duke, who died mysteriously in 1708. Caldara then took another gamble. He travelled to Barcelona and the court of Charles III, offering to composer music for that monarch's forthcoming marriage to the young Elisabeth Christina of Brunswick. The Venetian composer pleased both the king and his new bride, described at the time as 'the most beautiful queen on the earth' (and later mother of Empress Maria Theresa and the grandmother of Marie Antoinette). Caldara's Spanish campaign was well calculated: Charles III was the young brother of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and next in line for succession.
"Following his Barcelona sojourn Caldara travelled to Rome. He again landed on his feet. For vocal music 1709 marked the high point of the Italian Baroque and Rome was its center. Here the 39-year-old composer met Handel, Corelli, and both Scarlattis. More importantly, he impressed the two principal must patrons of the day, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and the Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli. The Prince hired him as his 'maestro di capella'. This period coincided with a peculiar papal ban on opera. It merely served to inspire Caldara and his contemporaries to circumvent the Vatican by composing cantatas. These non-staged, highly operatic 'miniatures' boasted texts reflecting the same drama, pastoral longing, loss and betrayal of love, and the same elaborate da capo solo arias which informed the now-banned full length works. Caldara produced more than 150 Italian cantatas during his seven years in Rome. He had at his disposal superb singers. Celebrated sopranoa Margarita Durastanti (who would later travel to London with Handel) undoubtedly premiered the lovely continuo cantata 'Lungi dal'idol mio' (offered here, Tracks 16-19). Unlike Handel and the others, Caldara also wrote a greater number of these florid solo works for contralto. Indeed, he met and married the singer Caterina Petrolli in 1711. Biographer David Charlton: 'It is easy to imagine Caldara performing on the cello, accompanying his wife's dazzling alto embellishment of the melody line of one of his cantatas.' The beautiful contralto cantata 'Vicino a un rivoletto' (Tracks 20-23) is a fine example. The composer not only gives the vocalist 'dazzling' opportunities, but wrote for himself a florid solo cello line to accompany her.
"During Caldara's tenure with Prince Ruspoli, he learned that his former Spanish patron, Charles would in fact succeed to Joseph I's throne in Vienna. The composer and his bride hurried to that city for the coronation of Charles VI, hoping to incline the new emperor and his wife to offer him a position in their court. Alas, more senior colleagues were given the posts Caldara hoped for. But royal couple did not forget Antonio Caldara, and four years later he was appointed Vice Kapellmeister in Vienna.
"Charles VI and his brother before him were the last of the reigning Hapsburg dynasty. They were highly enlightened musicians. Antonio Caldara would retain his comfortable position at the Viennese court for the final 20 years of his life, producing an immense operatic and oratorio output. The court feasts ('Hof-Feste') included operatic productions commemorating the birthdays and namedays of the royal family. The Emperor himself studied keyboard and conducting with Caldara, and his two daughter sang on these occasions as well. In summer 1734, Caldara celebrated the Empress' birthday with a charming operatic gem 'Il giuoco del Quadriglio' ('The Card Game', Tracks 1-11), for which the composer provided roles for the young archduchess Maria Theresa and his own wife Caterina. The work's sole contralto (Ottavia) is bitter and shrewish, unlike her more idealistic and jollier fellow soprano cardplayers - a reflection of things in the Caldara household? At any rate, 'Il giuoco' offers each of four female vocalists her own da capo solo turn. It is scored for strings and continuo with the delightful and unexpected appearance of flute and lute and then a final happy ending quartet for everyone. The work is listen in Grove among Caldara's cantatas - works for one or two solo voices at most - but is more properly a chamber opera or 'serenate teatrale', a popular little entertainment at the 18th century Viennese court. Maria Theresa herself would later commission Gluck to provide similar four-treble voice works for her own daughters to sing." (John Ostendorf. From the liner notes.)
Performers: The Queen's Chamber Band, Stephen Alltop, Julianne Baird, Patrice Djerejian, Laura Heimes, Judith Pannill
1. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: Introduzione
2. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Da Che Giuoco Al Quadriglio'
3. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Ah, Se Toccasse A Me'
4. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'I Soliti Lamenti'
5. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Maledetto La Disdetta'
6. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Cosa Volete Far? Ci Vuol Pazienza'
7. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Che Giuoco Felice Che Perde Clarice'
8. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Già Voi Le Cose Serie Le Ponete In Derisione'
9. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Io Vi Leggo Nel Pensiero'
10. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'O Via La Lezione!'
11. Il Giuoco Del Quadriglio: 'Balliamtutte Quante, Che Ancor La Morale'
12. Chamber Sonata In G Minor, Op. 2 No. 2: I. Alemanda
13. Chamber Sonata In G Minor, Op. 2 No. 2: II. Corrente
14. Chamber Sonata In G Minor, Op. 2 No. 2: III. Giga
15. Chamber Sonata In G Minor, Op. 2 No. 2: IV. Gavotta
16. Lungi Dal' Idol Mio: 'Lungi Dal'idol Mio, Fra Mille'
17. Lungi Dal' Idol Mio: 'Piangi, Misero Cor, Il Sospirato Amor'
18. Lungi Dal' Idol Mio: 'Ah, Ben Previde Il Cor, Ch'a Darmi Pene'
19. Lungi Dal' Idol Mio: 'Darvi Un Guardo Solo'
20. Vicino A Un Rivoletto: Vicino A Un Rivoletto Ove Conuta E Onda
21. Vicino A Un Rivoletto: Zeffiretto Amoresetto
22. Vicino A Un Rivoletto: Ma, O Ciel, Che Insin Le Piante
23. Vicino A Un Rivoletto: Aimè, Sento Il Mio Core
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