Johann Adolf Hasse - Bella, Mi Parto: Cantatas and Chamber Music

"Johann Adolph Hasse, byname Il Sassone, (born March 25, 1699, Bergedorf, near Hamburg—died Dec. 16, 1783, Venice), outstanding composer of operas in the Italian style that dominated late Baroque opera.

"Hasse began his career as a singer and made his debut as a composer in 1721 with the opera Antioco. He went to Italy, where he studied with Nicola Porpora and with Alessandro Scarlatti and where his opera seria 'Sesostrate' (1726) established his reputation; in Italy he became known as 'il Sassone' ('the Saxon'). After spending several years in Venice, where he married the celebrated mezzo-soprano Faustina Bordoni (c. 1700–81), he became music director of the Dresden Opera (1731). He resided in Dresden from 1739 to 1763, when he retired and went to Vienna. His last work for the stage was 'Ruggiero' (1771), written for the wedding of the archduke Ferdinand at Milan.

"Hasse’s compositions include more than 60 operas, many of them to librettos by Pietro Metastasio, and nearly a dozen intermezzos, as well as oratorios, masses, and instrumental works. His music was enormously popular during his lifetime; its chief characteristics were melodic beauty and formal balance. His operatic overtures had considerable influence on the development of the symphony, especially in northern Germany." (Biography from the Encyclopedia Britannica. See here.)

Performers: Musica Alta Ripa, Kai Wessel

1. Ah, Troppo È Ver!: 'Ah, Troppo È Ver!'

2. Ah, Troppo È Ver!: 'Sol Che Un'istante Io Mire'

3. Ah, Troppo È Ver!: 'Nel Sol, Quando La Miro'

4. Ah, Troppo È Ver!: 'Bella Fiamma Del Mio Core'

5. Sonata In G Major, Op. 3/4: I. Allegro Moderato

6. Sonata In G Major, Op. 3/4: II. Adagio

7. Sonata In G Major, Op. 3/4: III. Allegro

8. Bella, Mi Parto, A Dio: 'Bella, Mi Parto, A Dio'

9. Bella, Mi Parto, A Dio: 'Nel Pensar Ch'io Sarò Privo'

10. Bella, Mi Parto, A Dio: 'Ma Di Cara Beltà'

11. Bella, Mi Parto, A Dio: 'S'hai Pietà Del Mio Timore'

12. Harpsichord Sonata In C Major: I. Moderato

13. Harpsichord Sonata In C Major: II. Allegro Assai

14. Concerto In G Major: I. Allegro

15. Concerto In G Major: II. Largo

16. Concerto In G Major: III. Allegro

17. Se Il Cantor Trace, Oh Dio: 'Se Il Cantor Trace, Oh Dio'

18. Se Il Cantor Trace, Oh Dio: 'Si Che Sei Ben Fortunato'

19. Se Il Cantor Trace, Oh Dio: 'Deh, Rammentati'

20. Se Il Cantor Trace, Oh Dio: 'Se Sapessi Con La Morte'

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André Grétry - Zémire et Azor

"An opéra-comique in four acts, 'Zémire et Azor' premiered on November 9, 1771, at court in Fontainebleau. The first public performance was on December 16, 1771, at the Comédie Italienne in Paris. 'Zémire et Azor' was successful from the beginning and continued to be so for years, raising Grétry's fame to its highest level at home and abroad. As a result, the composer received a royal pension. This success, however, would not last. Several of his subsequent works were failures, and the arrival in Paris of Gluck and Piccini did not help matters.

"On the title page of the first edition of 'Zémire et Azor' (1772), the opera is described as a Comédie-Ballet with a dedication to Madame La Comtesse. The designation reflects the folklike nature of some of the arias and the presence, as was normal in French opera, of a ballet performed by Azor's servant in Act II to attract Zémire.

"For Grétry's opera, Jean-François Marmontel (1723 - 1798) developed an 'oriental adaptation' of Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont's 'La belle et la bête', published around 1750 and itself probably inspired by Neville de Chaussée's 'Amour pour amour' (1742). Chaussée's play inspired Marmontel's Middle Eastern setting and character names, and the magical transformation of the beast at the end is derived from Favart and Duni's opera, 'La fée Urgèle' of 1765. The result is an effective combination of classical opera, comedy, tragedy, and exoticism, with clearly drawn characters.

"After the first public performance, the Mercure de France described Grétry's music for 'Zémire et Azor' as 'pleasant, always appropriate'. Innovation begins in the overture, a three-part structure depicting the storm that destroys Sander's ship. The opening Allegro is in sonata form and is followed by a larghetto section. When the closing Allegro, depicting the storm, begins, so does the action on the stage, as Sander and Ali take shelter in Azor's deserted castle. Grétry develops the exotic, Middle Eastern flavor through ornamentation in highly embellished vocal and instrumental cadenzas, often employing harmonic minor scales. In this way, he could maintain European harmony and structure and still convey a sense of his location.

"It was Grétry's primary concern that the music should suit the text and characters. Thus, the personalities in the opera are reflected in the music. Ali's arias are comic and very similar to one another, conveying the simplicity of his character. Zémire's solos, however, are greatly contrasted, varying in complexity and intensity as her emotions and predicaments change. Grétry's emphasis on the individual is clear in the predominance of arias over duets, trios, and other ensembles. One of these ensembles, however, is exemplary: In the famous 'picture trio' of Act III, Sander and his daughters are perfectly unified in their sentiment and expression, conveyed through simple musical vocabulary. The lack of differentiation between characters in this number is perfectly suited to the story, for at that moment the three of them are mourning Zémire, who has left them to sacrifice herself at Azor's palace." (Description by John Palmer for AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: Orchestre De La RTB, Chœurs De La RTB, Edgar Doneux, Mady Mesplé, Roland Bufkens

1.1. Ouverture

1.2. Acte I: 'Quell Étrange Aventure'

1.3. Acte I: 'L'orage Va Cesser'

1.4. Acte I: 'Que Dis-tu? L'orage Redouble'

1.5. Acte I: 'Le Malheur Me Rend Intrépide'

1.6. Acte I: 'Oh! Ciel!'

1.7. Acte I: 'Les Esprits Dont On Nous Fait Peur'

1.8. Acte I: 'Le Temps Est Beau'

1.9. Acte I: 'Le Ciel S'éclaire'

1.10. Acte I: 'La Pauvre Enfant'

1.11. Acte I: 'J'ai L'âime Assez Compatissante'

1.12. Acte I: 'Ne Va Pas Me Tromper'

1.13. Acte I: Symphonie Qui Exprime Le Voi Du Nuage

1.14. Acte II: 'Veillons, Mes Sœurs'

1.15. Acte II: 'Ah! Mon Père'

1.16. Acte II: 'Rose Chérie'

1.17. Acte II: 'Ciel! Où M'as-tu Reduit?'

1.18. Acte II: 'Plus De Voyage Qui Me Tente'

1.19. Acte II: 'Ali, Mon Cher Ali'

1.20. Acte II: 'Je Veux Le Voir'

1.21. Acte II: Entracte

1.22. Acte III: 'Ah! Quel Tourment'

1.23. Acte III: 'Ce Bon Père'

1.24. Acte III: 'Rassure Mon Père'

1.25. Acte III: 'Esclave, Éloigne-toi!'

1.26. Acte III: Entre Des Genies Qui Rendent Hommage À Zémire

1.27. Acte III: Pantomime

1.28. Acte III: Passepied

1.29. Acte III: 'Ah! Revenez, Zémire'

1.30. Acte III: 'Du Moment Qu'on Aime'

2.1. Acte III: 'Je Ne Puis Revenir De Mon Étonnement'

2.2. Acte III: 'La Fauvette Avec Ses Petits'

2.3. Acte III: 'Vos Chants Pour Moi'

2.4. Acte III: 'Hélas, Mon Père'

2.5. Acte III: 'Ah! Mon Pere, Ah! Cruel'

2.6. Acte III: Entracte

2.7. Acte IV: 'Quel Malheur Est Le Mien'

2.8. Acte IV: 'J'an Suis Encore Tremblant'

2.9. Acte IV: 'Ah! Ma Fille'

2.10. Acte IV: 'Ah! Je Tremble!'

2.11. Acte IV: 'Le Soleil S'est Caché'

2.12. Acte IV: 'Azor, Azor! En Vain Ma Voix T'appelle'

2.13. Acte IV: 'Zémire, Zémire!'

2.14. Acte IV: 'Amour, Amour'

2.15. Danses Villageoises, No. 1: Ballet Rustique De Richard Coeur De Lion

2.16. Danses Villageoises, No. 2: Gavotte De Colinette A La Cour

2.17. Danses Villageoises, No. 3: Danse En Rond De Colinette A La Cour

2.18. Danses Villageoises, No. 4: Danse Des Compagnes De La Mariee

2.19. Danses Villageoises, No. 5: Gigue De L'Epreuve Villageoise

2.20. Danses Villageoises, No. 6: Entracte De La Rosiere De Salency

2.21. Danses Villageoises, No. 7: Contredanse De L'Embarras Des Richesses

2.22. Cephale Et Procris, Suite De Ballet, No. 1: Tambourin

2.23. Cephale Et Procris, Suite De Ballet, No. 2: Menuetto

2.24. Cephale Et Procris, Suite De Ballet, No. 3: Gigue

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André Grétry - Le Magnifique

"André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, the second of six children born to a professional violinist at the Collegiate Church of St. Denis in Liège on 8th February 1741, showed precocious talent as a composer under the tutelage of H.J. Renkin and Henri Moreau. A Mass and six symphonies earned him a fellowship from the Darchis Foundation to go on to complete his studies in Rome under Giovani Casali. His years in Rome not only brought six string quartets Op. 3, but also, and more importantly, directed him towards opera and the theatre with a commission to compose an intermezzo 'La vendemmiatrice' (1765). From Rome he travelled to Geneva where he was befriended by Voltaire, and composer his first 'opéra-comique', 'Isabelle et Gertrude' (1766). The following year he settled in Paris, where he met the writer Jean François Marmontel. With him he collaborated on a series of very successful 'opéras-comiques': 'Le Huron' (1768), 'Lucile' (1769), 'L'Amitié à l'épreuve' (1770), 'L'Ami de la maison' (1771), and 'Zémire et Azor' (1771), the last of these based on the story of 'Beauty and the Beast'). Grétry did not write exclusively to librettos of Marmontel, however, but also scored successes on text by Anseaume, 'Le Tableau parlant' (1769); by Fenouillot de Falbaire, 'Les Deux avares' (1770) and by Sedaine, 'Le Magnifique' (1773). In fact, much to Marmontel's chagrin, after composing music for their heroic-ballet, 'Céphale et Procris', written for the Paris Opéra in 1773, Grétry essentially put an end to their collaboration. He continued to produce successful 'opéras-comiques' such as 'L'Amant jaloux' (1778), 'Les Evénements imprévus (1779), 'L'Epreuve villageoise' (1784), and 'Richard Cœur de Lion' (1784) arguably his greatest success. At the Opéra he was similarly successful with 'La Caravane du Caire' (1783) and 'Panurge dans l'ile des lanternes' (1785). A number of mediocre works on patriotic/republican subjects appeared during the Revolution. His last two successes after the Revolution were 'Lisbeth' (1797) and 'Elisca' (1799). In his last years he wrote memoirs, 'Mémoires, ou Essai sur la musique' (1789, expanded 1797), and essays: 'De la vérité' (1801) and 'Réflexions d'un solitaire', (published posthumously).

"In his 'Mémoires, ou Essai sur la musique' (1797), Grétry states '...I wished to set to music a poem by Mr. Sedaine, who seemed to me to be the best person either for the creation of characters, or for the so rare ability to bring situations in such a manner as to produce new effects and yet remain true to nature. 'Le Magnifique' was offered to me by Madame de Lalive d'Epinay, the intimate friend of J.J. Rousseau...'

"Indeed Madame d'Epinay held a salon where the intellectual and literary elite of eighteenth-century Paris convened. Both major librettists of Grétry, Marmontel and Sedaine, frequented her salon along with Denis Diderot, Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux, Montesquieu and the baron Melchior Grimm, among others. So it is not surprising that the chosen subject for the libretto of 'Le Magnifique' had a well established literary history going back to Boccaccio's 1353 'Decameron' (Third day, fifth tale). Furthermore, Antoine Houdar de La Motte produced a two-act comedy, 'Le Magnifique', in 1731 which had been performed at court as recently as 1769. Sedaine, however, in the preface of his libretto, denies having seen or read La Motte's comedy when writing the libretto of 'Le Magnifique' and acknowledges having been inspired by La Fontain's tale. Indeed, Sedaine had previously mined the same source for the librettos of 'On ne s'avise jamais de tout' (Monsigny, 1761) and 'Le Faucon' (Monsigny, 1771) and had been inspired by La Fontain's fable for the libretto of 'L'Huître et les plaideurs' (Philidor, 1759). If Grétry wished to set a poem by Sedaine to music, Sedaine admitted to wanting to work with Grétry because Monsigny, his preferred composer to this date, was in possession of two librettos of Sedaine but was in no hurry to set them to music.

"This first collaboration between Sedaine and Grétry proved very fruitful, and Grétry paid homage to Sedaine in his 'Mémoires': 'If Sedaine is not the poet who fashions verses to be sung with the greatest care, the situations that he brings about [...] are so compelling that they force the musician to endeavor to convey them. He almost finds the right word and dispenses himself with poetical embellishments. He forces the musician to find new forms to illustrate his original characters.'

"In 'Le Magnifique' Sedaine presents several compelling situations: the release of prisoners, a theme already illustrated in Sedaine's 'Le Déserteur', to which he will often return ('Richard Cœur-de-Lion' [1784], 'Le Comte d'Albert' [1786], 'Raoul Barbe-bleue' [1789]) and which will later inspire Beethoven's 'Fidelio'; the confrontation of the innocence of a young girl with the cruel realities of the world; and, most dramatically, the love declaration and the dropping of the rose. This scene challenged Grétry to new expressive means and was the chief attraction to Sedaine's libretto. This scene was so successful that people flocked to the theatre to hear Le Magnifique (sung by Clairval) sing his love to Clémentine (Mme. Laruette) and watch her drop the rose. Grétry recounts that a lady attending the performance and 'impatient to see the rose drop from the hands of modesty, opened her charming fingers and dropped her fan on the stage. She was as disconcerted by her action, as was Clémentine a moment later.'

"As beautiful and novel as this scene is, it is not the only noteworthy piece of the score. The overture is one of the earliest examples of programmatic music. The overture portrays the movements and clamours accompanying a procession of captives and is so intimately linked to the beginning of the action that it is necessary for the scene's comprehension. It also has the particularity of juxtaposing music of different styles (march and plain-song) to illustrate the spectacle of different processions (captives, soldiers, priests) occurring simultaneously. This device would be used later by Mozart at the end of Act I of 'Don Giovanni' when three orchestras play, one a minuet, the second a contredanse and the third an allemande, all at the same time. The rondeau of Clémentine's 'Pourquoi donc ce Magnifique' illustrates very aptly, by the return of the rondeau theme, the obsession of Clémentine with Le Magnifique whom she cannot drive out of her mind. There are contrasting scenes such as the comic air of Alix's 'Ô ciel, quel air de courroux', followed by the sentimentality of Clémentine's 'Jour heureux!' and the multi-sectional finale of Act III, inspired by Italian 'opera buffa', which is one of the earliest examples in French 'opéra-comique'. To better link the scenes musically, Grétry composed extended preludes or postludes to his airs or duos to accompany the pantomime described in the libretto. For instance, during the ritornello of the duo between Aldobrandin and Clémentine's 'Ma chère enfant', the libretto states that 'during the ritornello of the following duo, Aldobrandin goes to close the door; Clémentine watches him with some apprehension' while after the duo of Clémentine and Alix in 'Je ne sais pourquoi je pleure', Sedaine directs that 'during the final ritornello, Alix and Clémentine are supposed to hear the steps of people approaching; they pretend to be concentrated on their work: Clémentine is to arrange a flower corsage and attach it to herself, leaving behind a single rose which she keeps in her hand'. This is the rose she will drop in the next scene in response to Le Magnifique's declaration of love. Madame Laurette was so eloquent in the rôle of Clémentine that she inspired the following poem by Frémincourt, published in 'Le Mercure de France':

"'Que ton jeu toujours vrai sait rendre intéressant

Le moment où tes doigts laissent tomber la rose!

Oui, tu triomphes en cédant.

En vain sur ton silence un tuteur se repose:

Que Laurette parle, ou qu'elle ait la bouche close,

Le sentiment par elle est sûr d'être vainqueur;

Elle le peint d'aprés son cœur.'

"[How your acting knows how to make interesting

The moment when your fingers drop the rose!

Indeed, you triumph by yielding.

In vain, a tutor rests assured by your silence,

Whether Laurette speaks, or has her mouth closed,

Feelings are sure to be victorious;

She paints them after her own heart.]" (Nizam Peter Kettaneh. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Opera Lafayette Orchestra, Ryan Brown, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Elizabeth Calleo, Marguerite Krull, Jeffrey Thompson, Karim Sulayman, Douglas Williams, Randall Scarlata

1. Ouverture

2. Acte I, Scène I: Marche. Andante

3. Acte I, Scène I: Tempo Giusto

4. Acte I, Scène I: Marche

5. Acte I, Scène I: 'C'est Lui'

6. Acte I, Scène II: Pourquoi Donc Ce Magnifique'

7. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Ma Chere Enfant'

8. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Ah, C'est Un Superbe Cheval'

9. Acte I, Scène VII: 'Vous M'etonnez, Vous Badinez'

10. Acte II, Scène III: 'Ah! Si Jamais Je Cours Es Mers'

11. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Je Ne Sais Pourquoi Je Pleure'

12. Acte II, Scène X: 'Quelle Contrainte!'

13. Acte II, Scène XI: 'Clementine, Mettez - Vouz La'

14. Entr'acte

15. Acte III, Scène I: 'Ah! Que Je Me Sens Coupable'

16. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Te Voila Donc'

17. Acte III, Scène VI: 'O Ciel! Quel Air De Courroux!'

18. Acte III, Scène VIII: 'Jour Heureux!'

19. Acte III, Scène XIII: 'Ne Me Bats Pas'

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