Fresh, raw harsh noise from American Dan Propert. Runs at around 18 minutes per side and released on Italian noise label Angst (releases by K2, The Rita, Maurizio Bianchi, N., Vomir and others) in 2019.
A. Untitled
B. Untitled
With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. (Psalm 98:6-7, KJV)
Showing posts with label 2019. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2019. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 January 2021
Thursday, 12 November 2020
Alexander Scriabin - Mazurkas
"Scriabin's musical talent was discovered early; he studied piano with the famous teacher and menot Nikolay Zverev, also a teacher of Rachmaninoff, and was destined to become one of the Moscow Conservatoire's most famous graduates. Only three years after his graduation, he was already a hot topic: the prominent music critic, writer, and editor Nikolay Findeizen wrote that Scriabin's name was on everyone's lips, from Rimsky-Korsakov to Stasov, and much was expected of him. Mitrofan Belayev, a wealthy industrialist, music publisher, and philanthropist who supported many promising Russian musicians, committed to publishing Scriabin's works, no matter what they were. Although Scriabin looked like a young boy at the time, aged 24, Findeizen remembered that he already was speaking like a true and mature artist, pronouncing that to sell his works would mean to 'sell off his own inspiration.' However, the lifeline provided by Belayev (and later other publishers) was not something the young composer could do without.
"As an artist, Scriabin developed in the musical environment in Moscow where Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky were revered and diligently studied, where Wagner's music influenced even the staunchest defenders of traditional harmony and melody (like Sergey Taneyev), and where the virtuoso genius of Anton Rubinstein reigned supreme. Scriabin's composition teacher at the Moscow Conservatoire, Sergey Taneyev, was himself a student of Tchaikovsky, but he struggled to find common language with his talented student. Having never really understood Scriabin's creative genius, he could only offer comments on the rules of composition, and shake his head in disbelief at Scriabin's adventurous departure from them. Taneyev sarcastically noted that for the first time in his life he met a composer who, instead of giving his compositions tempi indications, gave them praises instead: 'divine', 'grandiose', 'sublime', etc.
"When in 1902 Scriabin visited Taneyev and spoke about his philosophical views, the astonished Taneyev noted Scriabin's pronouncements in his diary: 'I am I', 'the world is my creation', and 'I am above God'. The music of Scriabin's Third Symphony, however, which was performed in Moscow at the same time, left Taneyev feeling 'as if beaten up by sticks'. Later, Scriabin would develop his aesthetic philosophy and devotion to mysticism into a kind of Messianic vision, and an actual belief that he was destined to bring about the dissolution of the world itself through his mutli-media creation, 'Mysterium'. This he did not finish, having died rather prosaically at the age of 43 from sepsis caused by a sore on his lip.
"Scriabin composed prolifically and predominantly for the piano. Only a handful of works were written for orchestra, although these remain as popular as his piano compositions.
"As a performer, he was described by one of his contemporaries, Leonid Sabaneyev, as a 'magician of sounds'. Although Scriabin insisted on playing in large hall, his pianism was most suited to smaller venues, and ideally to an intimate circle of a salon. He simply did not have enough physical power, a result of his small stature and frailty and also due to a recurring strain in his right hand caused by the over practice of Liszt's 'Don Juan Fantasy' for his graduation recital in 1892, but he more than compensated for it with the mesmerising brilliance and imagination of his tonal nuances. It was as if this alchemist of sounds possessed a secret with which he was able to transform the sounds of the piano into a variety of orchestral timbres.
"Scriabin was close to the family of Boris Pasternak, whose younger brother remembered the impression left by his playing: it was as if, against all physical laws and the mechanics of the instrument, he did not press the keys down, but rather appear to be extricating himself from the keyboard. This appearance of fluttering of the fingers above the keyboard created the unique sound for which Scriabin was remembered by so many of those who heard him play.
"As for performing his own works, Sabaneyev believed that no one could compare with him in being able to transmit 'his own delicately sensuous, erotic moments in his compositions'. Scriabin never performed the same piece in the same way, as if the work was an independent entity, plastic and living and breathing on its own accord, allowing Scriabin to interpret varied nuances of its existence on the piano.
"In the beginning of his professional career as a pianist and composer Scriabin was drawn to, and influenced by, the music of Chopin - the undisputed poet of the piano. And Chopin, in turn, was inspired and drawn to the mazurka - the only form in which he composed regularly throughout his short life, and which he elevated into an intensely personal and nostalgic art form.
"The mazurka, orginally a Polish country dance, developed from the ancient 'Polska' and its descendants, 'kujawiak', 'oberek' and 'mazurek', a folk dance in triple time with strong accents on the second or third beat. The mazurka was popular in Mazovia, the area around Warsaw, and from there conquered European ballrooms in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, even reaching America in the nineteenth century. Throughout the vastness of nineteenth-century Russia, the mazurka was a very popular dance, not least in glittering ballrooms in the estates and palaces of the nobility. Although today the mazurka in classical music is first and foremost associated with Chopin, it was explored by various composers from Glinka to Balakirev, through Debussy and Scriabin, and is still cherished in Poland, in the works of Szymanowski, Maciejewski, Gradstein and other.
"Scriabin composed his 'Ten Mazurkas, Op. 3' between 1888 and 1890, publishing them in 1893. Although often compared in style or at least in inspiration to the musical language of Chopin and Schumann, Scriabin's voice is unmistakable here. It is not surprising to hear these influences - virtually every Russian composer (especially if he was also a pianist) of that period grew up on a diet that included a large of these composers' music. But there is also Wagner, whose music Scriabin may have first encountered at the home of Taneyev, and who influenced many Russian composers of the period. These pieces show that, despite his youth, Scriabin already possessed the very special talent of being able to distil a mood or a sentiment in just a few pages. Many of his mazurkas found their way into his concert programmes throughout his performances career. For example, Op. 3 No. 4 already charmed Anton Rubinstein who had come specially to hear the young Scriabin perform at his final exam at the Moscow Conservatory in 1892.
"The 'Nine Mazurkas, Op. 25' were composed between 1898 and 1899. Bursting with harmonic and melodic invention, these pieces show Scriabin's imagination taking flight with chords already often built on fourths and not thirds. Here, the composer is starting to push harmonic and melodic invention to their extremes, delaying harmonic resolution, blurring the lines between the distinct lilt of the mazurka and often entering the realm of a dream waltz, or a tone poem. Scriabin further enhances the form with the use of unsual and innovative pedalling and also his very distinctive polyrhythmic and polyphonic writing, often in a single hand. In the mazurkas Op. 25 Scriabin goes further than before in his aim to be able to capture a fleeting dream, a mood, a scent, into sounds that take flight and are burning with an inner flame - something that Scriabin wanted his music to encapsulate. In his last ever public performance in St. Petersburg on 2 April, 1915 Scriabin included his mazurka Op. 25 No. 4 into the programme.
"The 'Two Mazurkas, Op. 40', published in 1903, are more economic and concise in their means of expression, and show the spiritual, intimate, distilled light of Scriabin's sound world. Written around the same time as the prophetic Fourth Sonata these mazurkas are already pointing to completely new harmonic and philosophical directions that were to dominate Scriabin's mind from then on.
"The 'Mazurkas in B minor and F major, although published in 1893, with the date of composition given as 1889, were most likely composed between 1884 and 1886, when Scriabin had barely entered his teenage years. These two pieces had to wait half a century before they were included into Scriabin's collected works, edited by Konstantin Igumnov (a pianist well known as one of the important Scriabin interpreters). These are two contrasting pieces, with the dreamy and lyrical B minor, to the jubilant and full of youthful exuberance in F major. However, the F major mazurka could also be interpreted in a subtler, more melancholy and introverted way, despite its brightness and openness.
"'Op. 2 No. 3 (Impromptu à la mazur)' was published in 1889, and strictly speaking, this is not a mazurka but rather an improvisation on and contemplation of the form. This charming work shows just how personal a form the mazurka had already become to the young composer, about to take flight into the far reaches of his very own musical universe." (Anastasia Belina. From the liner notes.)
Performer: Peter Jablonski
1. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 1 In B Minor
2. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 2 In F-Sharp Minor
3. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 3 In G Minor
4. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 4 In E Major
5. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 5 In D-Sharp Minor
6. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 6 In C-Sharp Minor
7. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 7 In E Minor
8. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 8 In B-Flat Minor
9. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 9 In G-Sharp Minor
10. 10 Mazurkas, Op. 3: No. 10 In E-Flat Minor
11. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 1 In F Minor
12. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 2 In C Major
13. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 3 In E Minor
14. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 4 In E Major
15. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 5 In C-Sharp Minor
16. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 6 In F-Sharp Major
17. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 7 In F-Sharp Minor
18. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 8 In B Major
19. 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25: No. 9 In E-Flat Minor
20. 2 Mazurkas, Op. 40: No. 1 In D-Flat Major
21. 2 Mazurkas, Op. 40: No. 2 In F-Sharp Major
22. Mazurka In F Major
23. Mazurka In B Minor
24. Impromptu À La Mazur In C Major, Op. 2 No. 3
Monday, 9 November 2020
Georg Friedrich Händel - Agrippina
"He wrote an opera for the Teatro di via del Cocomero in Florence (Rodrigo, 30 October 1707) and a serenata for an aristocratic wedding celebration near Naples ('Aci, Galatea e Polifemo', on or around 19 July 1708), but seems to have passed most of his time in Rome, where he composed his first two oratorios 'Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno' (probably for its librettist Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, in early 1707) and 'La Resurrezione' (for Marquis Francesco Maria Ruspoli, and performed on Easter Sunday, 1708) and spectacular church music composed between April and July 1707, including music for Vespers, Dixit Dominus and numerous Marian motets. He also wrote a large number of secular cantatas. The majority of these were intimate settings of Arcadian poetry for one singer with continuo accompaniment; a few were larger pastoral dramas, featuring several characters and imaginative use of small orchestras, and others were scaled somewhere in between; a few were intensely dramatic miniature tragedies. Although they date from Handel's entire period in Italy, most of these cantatas were composed in Rome for patrons who were leading lights of the Accademia degli Arcadi ('Arcadian Academy'), a group of literary, artistic, musical and aristocratic cognoscenti whose reformist ideas aimed to purify the corrupting indulgence of contemporary writing through the restoration of classical Greek simplicity.
"Having achieved as much as he could without converting to Roman Catholicism, it seems that Handel then resolved to seek a permanent position in suitably Protestant climes. In late 1709 he travelled north to Florence and then to Venice, where, according to his first biographer John Mainwaring (London, 1760), he was recognised whilst playing the harpsichord at a masked ball:
"'Being thus detected, he was strongly importuned to compose an Opera. But there was so little prospect of either honour or advantage from such an under-taking, that he was very unwilling to engage in it. At last, however, he consented, and in three weeks he finished his 'Agrippina', which was performed twenty-seven nights successively [...] The audience was so enchanted with this performance, that a stranger who should have seen the manner in which they were affected, would have imagined they had all been distracted.
"'The theatre, at almost every pause, resounded with shouts and acclamations of 'viva il caro Sassone!' and other expressions of approbation too extra-vagant to be mentioned. They were thunderstruck with the grandeur and sublimity of his style: for never had they known till then all the powers of harmony and modulation so closely arrayed, and so forcibly combined.'
"The exact dates of Agrippina's composition are unknown, but it was certainly written on Venetian paper with Handel's customary speed shortly before the first performance at the Teatro Grimani di San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice on 26 December 1709, a couple of months before Handel's twenty-fifth birthday. The title-role was sung by Margherita Durastanti, who had begun her long association with Handel two years earlier in Rome; it is possible that she was replaced in some later performances by the Bolognese soprano Elena Croce Viviani. The cast also included Diamante Maria Scarabelli (Poppea, soprano), Valeriano Pellegrini (Nerone, soprano castrato), Antonio Francesco Carli (Claudio, bass), Francesca Vanini-Boschi (Ottone, contralto), her husband Giuseppe Boschi (Pallante, bass), Giuliano Albertini (Narciso, alto castrato) and Nicola Pasini (Lesbo, bass). The identity of the alto who sang the goddess Giunone in the opera's concluding Deus ex machina is unknown. On 11 February 1710, the London newspaper The Post-Boy reported the previous month's news from Venice:
"'Mr. Hendle's Opera, which is now performed at San Giovani Chrysostomo, is the best that ever was heard for the Musick; but the Words are but indifferent. Albino[n]i's Opera at San Cassan is also very well lik'd, both for the Words and Musick.'
"This is the only known contemporary reception of 'Agrippina'; it is also the earliest mention of Handel in an English newspaper — about eight months before he set first foot in the country that would eventually become his permanent home.
"Despite The Post-Boy's low opinion, the libretto is one of the finest that Handel set to music. Its author was almost certainly Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani (1652/5-1710), a member of the wealthy Venetian patrician family that had owned and run several of, the city's opera houses for two generations. His father Antonio and uncle Giovanni built and managed the Teatro SS Giovanni e Paolo (which opened in 1639), and in 1678 Vincenzo and his brother Giovanni Carlo inaugurated their magnificent new theatre just behind the church of San Giovanni Grisostomo, a tiny parish in the Cannaregio district not far from the Rialto (on the site of the present-day Teatro Malibran). By 1700 Venice had about sixteen opera houses, but San Giovanni Grisostomo was the largest: its stage had a particularly large proscenium and powerful stage machinery, and the auditorium was decorated with gilded boxwood reliefs and had five tiers of thirty-one boxes each, with another four on either side of the stage; including the parterre, its capacity is estimated to have been more than 1,400. It quickly established a reputation as Venice's foremost opera house, attracting the best singers and composers until well into the eighteenth century.
"At the time of Handel's arrival in Venice in late 1709, Giovanni Carlo Grimani's home was the regular meeting place of the local branch of the Arcadian Academy, so we can imagine a social connection occurring between the young Saxon visitor and the theatre's co-owner. Vincenzo Grimani had not let being ordained to the priesthood prevent him from writing the librettos 'Elmiro Re di Corinto' (set by Carlo Pallavicino for carnival, 1686/7) and 'Orazio' (set by Giuseppe Felice Tosi, 1687/8). It seems likely that his 'Agrippina' originated during the same period but was not used, perhaps because its author was banished from Venice in 1690 after the French complained about his overtly pro-Habsburg political sympathies when negotiating an alliance between the Duchy of Savoy and the Holy Roman Empire. Nevertheless, in 1697 Grimani was elevated to the rank of cardinal. Although pardoned by the Venetian Republic, he spent the remainder of his life working for the Habsburgs; on 1 July 1708 he took up his appointment as the Viceroy of Naples, where he might briefly have encountered Handel — although they had probably met in Rome in 1706-8, when Grimani was the Holy Roman Empire's representative to the Vatican. The cardinal was busy with official duties in Naples throughout the entire period of the commission, composition and performances of 'Agrippina', so it is unlikely that author and composer collaborated directly. An old spare text lying around from twenty years earlier was probably picked out for Handel, whose judicious self-borrowing from his own recent Roman and Neapolitan works (both music and words) suggests that it was refashioned for his purposes in collaboration with one or more unknown Venetian poets associated with the Grimani family's flagship theatre.
"The plot is drawn from the histories of Tacitus and Suetonius, and the drama is set in Rome, c.50 AD. The ambitious Julia Agrippina (fourth wife of the Emperor Claudius and sister of Caligula) schemes to put her son Nero (from a previous marriage to the consul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus) on the throne. It is reported that Claudius has died in a shipwreck on his way back from an invasion of Britain. Having secured the loyalty of the influential and wealthy freedmen Marcus Antonius Pallas and Narcissus, Agrippina attempts to proclaim her son emperor - but is thwarted when news arrives that Claudius was rescued from drowning by Marcus Salvius Otho, whose reward is to be named the emperor's successor. Agrippina discredits Otho and deceives his lover Poppaca Sabina (who also fends off amorous attentions from Claudius and Nero), and when her increasingly desperate intrigues fail, she cunningly twists the truth to create an illusion of her political and emotional fidelity. Claudius reconfirms Otho as his heir and instructs Nero to marry Poppaca, but Otho renounces the throne rather than lose Poppaea— which suits Nero very well, and brings about the triumph of his devious mother. The goddess Juno descends to bless the marriage of Poppaca and Otho.
"Agrippina is a comedy of antiheroic characters with an unquenchable thirst for political and sexual power, whose amoral, corrupt and decadent intrigues are shown as intrinsic parts of everyday life among ancient Rome's ruling class. The pervasive tone of irony and humour in the subject matter is the natural by-product of a Venetian text much closer in spirit to the mischievous world view found in the operas of Cavalli and his successors than to the virtuous heroism and moral integrity championed by Apostolo Zeno, Pietro Pariati and Metastasio, the Arcadian-inspired librettists active in Venice during the first few decades of the eighteenth century. Beneath the satirical surface of Agrippina, Handel's inventive musical treatments and youthful playfulness bring to the fore an unusually wide range of emotions as his characters display by turns seductive charm, deceit, exasperation, naivety, despair, barely controlled lust, fury and gleeful one-upmanship, as well as genuine tenderness and sincere love (Poppea and Ottone are not yet the characters we find in 'L'incoronazione di Poppea', although Nerone is well on his way there).
"Handel's music vividly portrays this emotional roller coaster, notwithstanding the fact that about seventy-five per cent of the score was remodelled from works he had written in Italy over the previous three years. The opening section of the overture was adapted from the Marian motet 'Donna, che in ciel di tanta luce splendi' (probably performed in Rome on 2 February 1707). Narciso's enthusiastic reply to Agrippina's suggestive proposal in Act 1 Scene 5 ('Volo pronto', with chirpy recorders) was based on an aria from the continuo cantata L'ungi da me, pensier tiranno' (copied in August 1709 for Ruspoli in Rome). Pallante's amorous response to the same promise ('La mia sorte fortunata', I:3) was based on the jealous Polyphemus getting hot under the collar in the Neapolitan serenata 'Adi, Galatea e Polifemo', while an aria for the sea-nymph Galatea was the basis for Poppea's 'Vaghe perle', the delightful music refitted for our first encounter with the vain beauty, gleefully admiring herself in a mirror. Claudio's seductive 'Vieni, O cara' is refashioned from a slow moment in the soprano motet 'Saeviat tellus inter rigores' (probably for Carmelite vespers feasts in Rome, July 1707). From his first oratorio 'Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno', Handel reworked musical material for Ottone's lonely 'Vaghe fonti', the pastoral lament with bubbling recorders evoking fountains modelled after Disinganno's 'Crede l'uom', while 'Come nube che fugge dal vento' reapplied the malevolent fury of Piacere to the psychopathic Nerone revealing his true nature in a violent tantrum: scolded by his exasperated mother for ruining his chances of becoming emperor, Nerone declares that he will abandon any interest in Poppea - a protestation that we know from history to be untrue. Two bass arias from 'La Resurrezione' were adapted, one for Claudio's boast of being conqueror of the world ('Cade il mondo', based on Lucifer's claim to have defeated God in 'Caddi, è ver'), the second for Pallante's devious promise to fulfil his part in Agrippina's murderous plot ('Col raggio placido', based on Lucifer's infernal 'O voi dell'Erebo').
"Durastanti was given several arias based on music she had sung previously for Handel in Rome, most notably 'Ho un non so che nel cor' - Mary Magdalene's words and music from 'La Resurrezione' changed only slightly to transform joy at Christ's resurrection into Agrippina's encouragement to the anxious Poppea to carry out her instructions (I:18), Perhaps Durastanti had sung the earlier incarnation of 'Non ho cor che per amarti' (I:23) in the cantata 'Qual ti riveggio, oh Dio' (Rome, 1707), and she had certainly performed the original version of 'Ogni vento, ch'al porta'; the lilting Act 1 finale, where it appears that Agrippina has secured everything she desires, was based on the fickle Fillide's 'Fiamma bella che al ciel s'invia' from the pastoral cantata 'Arvesta il passo' (Rome, 1708). Moreover, Agrippina's final aria 'Se vuoi pace? (III:I4, in which she appears to offer calm counsel to her beleaguered husband) was based on an aria Durastanti had sung as the two-timing minx 'Chloris in Clori, Tirsi e Fileno' (Rome, 1707). Several of the arias in the opera recycled music from Roman cantatas that were initially constructed using borrowings from works by Reinhard Keiser, six of them from his Hamburg opera 'Octavia' (1705) in which Handel had probably played in the orchestra.
"Poppea's 'Se giunge un dispetto' (which concludes Act 1, at which point she believes Ottone has betrayed her) is based on an aria from 'Tis fedel? tn costante?', and Ottone's lament 'Voi che udite il mio lamento' (II:5) contains material adapted from 'Alpestre monte' — both cantatas that might have originated in Florence, c. 1706-7. Agrippina's soliloquy 'Pensieri, voi mi tormentate' (II:13), her most private moment in the opera and one that exposes her anxieties as she desperately plots a triple murder to cover her treason, is a transformation of a jagged musical idea for unison strings that Handel had initially utilised for the comparably worried eponymous anti-hero midway through Rodrigo ('Siete assai superbe, o stelle'); for Agrippina's show-stealing prayer to the gods to aid her intrigues, Handel added a tormented solo oboe part, reinvented the string parts and created a new and much tauter voice part.
"Handel's autograph lacks the overture and the first, folio of the opening scene, but contains a large amount of material that he cancelled, transferred or substituted during the compositional process. A neater performing score would have been prepared for use during the 1709/10 Venice carnival, but is now missing. However, it appears to have been copied in its entirety at two different stages of the original production's run of performances. Both of the early manuscript copies are written on Venetian paper-types of the right period and the first of these, now in the British Library, appears to have been made shortly before or soon after the premiere: it contains Agrippina's 'Se vuoi pace' in F major, in accordance with Handel's instruction in the autograph for it to be transposed up from E major, and confirms that the 'Deus ex machina' for Giunone was performed after the chorus 'Lieto il Tebro'. The second copy; now held in the Austrian National Library, was probably made after the end of the run of performances; by this time, Poppea's 'Ingannata una sol volta' (II:8) had been replaced by a new aria and the final scene for Giunone had been cut. Both copies confirm that Handel's original setting of 'Pensieri, voi mi tormentate' was replaced by a new version that was, recomposed, condensed and without the unexpected coda. This recording follows customary modern-day practice in preferring Handel's first and more complex version of the scene, Other differences between Handel's autograph and the first performance are preserved in the libretto printed by Marino Rossetti (Venice, 1709), which also clarifies scene headings, stage directions and numerous small points of spelling and text. The wordbook contains a list of stage settings that includes three ballets for Germans ('Di Tedeschi'), Gardeners ('Di Giardinier') and Knights and Ladies ('Di Cavalieri, e Dame'), but their positions are not cued cither in the libretto or in the musical sources and it cannot be assumed that the lost dance music was by Handel. Moreover, after Giunone's aria at the end of the opera, the wordbook prints 'Segue il Ballo di Deita seguaci di Giunone' (There follows a dance for deities, attendants of Juno), but no music for this is known.
"A new performing edition was prepared for this recording by Peter Jones and the present author. It predominantly reconstructs the text and music given at the first performance. This means that we have chosen the shorter middle section of Ottone's 'Lusinghiera mia speranza' (I:13) and the slightly shortened version of Claudio's 'Pur ritorno a rimirarvi' (I:21). Handel's extensively recomposed final version of 'Se giunge un dispetto' has only superficial similarities to the rejected first version usually heard on other recordings. This performance adopts the simplified second section of the chorus 'Di timpani e trombe' (II:3) and prefers Handel's second setting of Nerone's 'Sotto il lauro' (14) in B-flat major because it captures Nerone's sneering mockery of Ottone's misfortune more adroitly than Handel's rejected siciliano-like E minor first setting.
"'Bella pur nel mio diletto', an elaborate virtuoso aria for Poppea in Act II Scene 6, featuring two concertante oboes and fully scored for four-part strings, was never performed by Handel. It was replaced before the first performance with 'Spera, alma mia', an entirely different text printed in the 1709 wordbook but for which no music survives. Musicologists John H. Roberts and John E. Sawyer both point out that 'Spera, alma mia' is probably a parody text that perfectly fits a simple continuo aria borrowed from 'Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno' that Handel had already tried unsuccessfully to accommodate twice during the composition of Agrippina. It is recorded here in its proper context for the first time; its gentle intimacy conveys Poppea's sorrow and her uneasiness about Ottone's alleged guilt, and forms a more effective dramatic transition from Ottone's preceding soliloquy than 'Bella pur'. We have opted for the recomposed setting of Poppea's 'Ingannata una sol volta' (II:8), and Agrippina' 'Se vuoi pace' is given in its F major transposition.
"A small number of Handel's rejected ideas from his autograph have been reinstated. In addition to the first version of 'Pensicri, voi mi tormentate' we use the slightly more elaborate setting of Lesbo's arietta 'Allegrezzal!' (I:10), as he bursts in after the trumpet fanfare that heralds Claudio's safe return (the fanfare was probably improvised, but to announce the emperor's miraculous return from the grave we could not resist the mischievous appropriation of the trumpet parts from the Angel's proclamatory first aria in 'La Resurrezione'). We have reinstated a two-bar phrase that Handel deleted at the harmonically twisting climax of Ottone's suffering in 'Voi che udite il mio lamento' (on the phrase 'il mio dolor'), valuing the prolonged emotional tension it offers at the epicentre of the opera; having been unjustly scorned and abandoned by each of the characters in turn, Ottone expresses his misery echoed by a doleful oboe and the resolutions of chromatic clashing suspensions for the strings in F minor express pathos and catharsis.
"The final post-chorus scene for Giunone is included but does not form a suitable climax to the entertainment — so the 'Balli' for the followers of Juno are reconstructed using five dances selected from an orchestral suite now bound in Handel's autograph of 'Rodrigo'. Curiously, the entire overture-suite is on Venetian paper, whereas the rest of Rodrigo was written on Roman paper in advance of Handel travelling from Rome to Florence for the opera's production in autumn 1707. Perhaps these folios originated as ballet music in 'Agrippina'. We have sequenced a lively Gigue, an elegant Sarabande, an energetic Bourrée (that corresponds to Giunone's aria), a graceful Menuet (that has the same music as the chorus 'Lieto il Tebro'), and we conclude with an exquisite Passacaille.
"An aria for Poppea after the recitative in I:19, 'Fa' quanto vuoi', was cut before the first performance. Instead, the action proceeded directly into the following scene, leaving Poppea no time to question whether the devious Agrippina has told the truth about Ottone's betrayal before having to fend off the advances of Claudio. The little animated continuo aria (with closing ritornello for four-part strings) has often been restored to its envisaged context in modern productions and recordings; listeners can choose for themselves whether to reinstate it.
"The sincere love duet 'No, no, ch'io non apprezzo' for Poppea and Ottone originally ended II:10, a moment of calm and tenderness following the farcical storm of comings and goings in Poppea's bedroom. Handel adapted the duet from the Roman cantata 'Il duello amoroso' (August 1708), in which the frustrated Daliso and disinterested Amarilli express bitter cynicism about love. Almost identical musical material would have represented the exact opposite sentiment for Ottone and Poppea in Agrippina, but Handel discarded the duet and instead prepared two increasingly different and longer schemes for the scene before he or his singers were satisfied. If listeners want to reconstruct Handel's concise first plan for II:10, culminating in the two lovers joining blissfully together, their duet can replace Ottone's declaration of love in his exit aria 'Pur ch'io ti stringa al sen' (also adapted from 'Il duello amoroso') and Poppea's giddy expression of joy (the recitative 'Piega pur del mio cor' and aria 'Bel piacere'), before proceeding to Nerone complaining to his mother in III:I I. (David Vickers. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev, Joyce DiDonato, Franco Fagioli, Elsa Benoit, Luca Pisaroni, Jakub Józef Orliński, Andrea Mastroni, Carlo Vistoli, Biagio Pizzuti, Marie-Nicole Lemieux
1.1. Sinfonia
1.2. Atto I, Scena I: 'Nerone, Amato Figlio'
1.3. Atto I, Scena I: 'Col Saggio Tuo Consiglio'
1.4. Atto I, Scena II: 'Per Cosi Grand'impresa'
1.5. Atto I, Scena III: 'A' Cenni Tuoi Sovrani'
1.6. Atto I, Scena III: 'La Mia Sorte Fortunata'
1.7. Atto I, Scena IV: 'Or Che Pallante È Vinto'
1.8. Atto I, Scena V: 'Umile Alle Tue Piante'
1.9. Atto I, Scena V: 'Volo Pronto'
1.10. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Quanto Fa, Quanto Puote'
1.11. Atto I, Scena VI: 'L'alma Mia Fra Le Tempeste'
1.12. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Qual Piacer'
1.13. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Amici, Al Sen Vi Stringo'
1.14. Atto I, Scena VIII: 'Ecco Chi Presto'
1.15. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Voi, Che Dell'alta Roma'
1.16. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Il Tuo Figlio'/'La Tua Prole'
1.17. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Ma Qual Di Liete Trombe'
1.18. Atto I, Scena X: 'Allegrezza, Allegrezza!'
1.19. Atto I, Scena X: 'Che Sento!'
1.20. Atto I, Scena XI: 'Alle Tue Piante, O Augusta'
1.21. Atto I, Scena XII: 'Augusta, Amo Poppea'
1.22. Atto I, Scena XII: 'Tu Ben Degno'
1.23. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'L'ultima Del Gioir'
1.24. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'Lusinghiera Mia Speranza'
1.25. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Vaghe Perle'
1.26. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Otton, Claudio, Nerone'
1.27. Atto I, Scena XV: 'Signora, O Mia Signora!'
1.28. Atto I, Scena XVI: 'Di Lieta Nuova'
1.29. Atto I, Scena XVII: 'Perché Invece Di Claudio'
1.30. Atto I, Scena XVII: 'È Un Foco Quel D'amore'
1.31. Atto I, Scena XVIII: '(Ma Qui Agrippina Viene)'
1.32. Atto I, Scena XVIII: 'Ho Un Non So Che Nel Cor'
1.33. Atto I, Scena XIX: 'Cieli, Quai Strani Casi'
1.34. Atto I, Scena XX: 'Non Veggo Alcun'
1.35. Atto I, Scena XXI: 'Pur Ritorno A Rimirarvi'
1.36. Atto I, Scena XXI: 'Ma, O Ciel, Mesta E Confusa'
1.37. Atto I, Scena XXI: 'Vieni, O Cara'
1.38. Atto I, Scena XXI: '(Che Mai Farò?)'
1.39. Atto I, Scena XXII: 'Signor, Signor, Presto'
1.40. Atto I, Scena XXII: 'E Quando Mai / Quando Vorrai'
1.41. Atto I, Scena XXII: 'Pur Al Fin Se N'andò'
2.1. Atto I, Scena XXIII: 'O Mia Liberatrice'
2.2. Atto I, Scena XXIII: 'Non Ho Cor Che Per Amarti'
2.3. Atto I, Scena XXIV: 'Se Ottone M'ingannò'
2.4. Atto I, Scena XXIV: 'Se Giunge Un Dispetto'
2.5. Atto II, Scena I: 'Dunque Noi Siam Traditi'
2.6. Atto II, Scena II: 'Coronato Il Crin D'alloro'
2.7. Atto II, Scena II: 'Roma, Più Ch'il Trionfo'
2.8. Atto II, Scena III: Preludio
2.9. Atto II, Scena III: 'Ecco Il Superbo'
2.10. Atto II, Scena III: 'Di Timpani E Trombe'
2.11. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Nella Britannia Vinta'
2.12. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Cade Il Mondo'
2.13. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Signor, Quanto Il Mio Cuore'
2.14. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Nulla Sperar Da Me'
2.15. Atto II, Scena IV: 'E Tu Poppea'
2.16. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Tuo Ben È Il Trono'
2.17. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Soccorri Almen Nerone'
2.18. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Sotto Il Lauro'
2.19. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Scherzo Son'
2.20. Atto II, Scena V: 'Otton, Otton'
2.21. Atto II, Scena V: 'Voi Ch'udite'
2.22. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Spera, Alma Mia'
2.23. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Il Tormento D'Ottone'
2.24. Atto II, Scena VII: '(Par Che Amor Sia)'
2.25. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Vaghe Fonti'
2.26. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Ma Qui Che Veggo'
2.27. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Fantasme Della Mente'
2.28. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Ti Vuo' Giusta'
2.29. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'Da Quali Ordite Trame'
2.30. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'Ingannata Una Sol Volta'
2.31. Atto II, Scena IX: 'Pur Alfin Ti Ritrovo'
2.32. Atto II, Scena X: 'A Non Pochi Perigli'
2.33. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Son Qui, Mia Vita'
2.34. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Col Peso Del Tuo Amor'
2.35. Atto II, Scena XII: 'Qual Bramato Piacere'
2.36. Atto II, Scena XII: 'Quando Invita'
2.37. Atto II, Scena XIII: 'Pensieri, Voi Mi Tormentate'/'Quel Ch'oprai'
2.38. Atto II, Scena XIV: 'Se Ben Nemica Sorte'
2.39. Atto II, Scena XIV: 'Col Raggio Placido'
2.40. Atto II, Scena XV: 'Di Giunger Non Dispero'
2.41. Atto II, Scena XVI: 'Or È Tempo'
2.42. Atto II, Scena XVI: 'Spererò, Poiché Mel Dice'
3.1. Atto II, Scena XVII: 'Per Dar La Pace Al Core'
3.2. Atto II, Scena XVIII: 'A Vagheggiar Io Vengo'
3.3. Atto II, Scena XIX: 'Signor, Poppea'
3.4. Atto II, Scena XIX: 'Basta Che Sol Tu Chieda'
3.5. Atto II, Scena XX: 'Favorevol La Sorte'
3.6. Atto II, Scena XX: 'Ogni Vento'
3.7. Atto III, Scena I: 'Il Caro Otton'
3.8. Atto III, Scena II: 'Ah, Mia Poppea'
3.9. Atto III, Scena II: 'Tacerò'
3.10. Atto III, Scena III: 'Attendo Qui Nerone'
3.11. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Anelante Ti Reco'
3.12. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Coll'ardor Del Tuo Bel Core'
3.13. Atto III, Scena V: 'Amico Ciel'
3.14. Atto III, Scena VI: 'Qui Non V'è Alcun'
3.15. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Temerario Insolente'
3.16. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Ora, Claudio, Che Dici?'
3.17. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Io Di Roma'
3.18. Atto III, Scena IX: 'Pur Alfin Se N'andò'
3.19. Atto III, Scena X: 'Ora Ottone, Che Dici?'
3.20. Atto III, Scena X: 'Pur Ch'io Ti Stringa Al Sen'
3.21. Atto III, Scena X: 'Piega Pur Del Mio Cor'
3.22. Atto III, Scena X: 'Bel Piacere'
3.23. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Cotanto Osò Poppea?'
3.24. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Come Nube'
3.25. Atto III, Scena XII: 'Evvi Donna Più Empia?'
3.26. Atto III, Scena XIII: 'Agrippina, Nerone'
3.27. Atto III, Scena XIV: 'Adorato Mio Sposo'
3.28. Atto III, Scena XIV: 'Se Vuoi Pace'
3.29. Atto III, Scena XV: 'Ecco La Mia Rivale'
3.30. Atto III, Scena XV: 'Lieto Il Tebro'
3.31. Atto III, Scena XVI: 'D'Ottone E Di Poppea'
3.32. Atto III, Scena XVI: 'V'accendano Le Tede'
3.33. Atto Terzo, Balli: Gigue
3.34. Atto Terzo, Balli: Sarabande
3.35. Atto Terzo, Balli: Bourrée
3.36. Atto Terzo, Balli: Menuet
3.37. Atto Terzo, Balli: Passacaille
3.38. Appendix. Atto I, Scena XIX: 'Fa' Quanto Vuoi'
3.39. Appendix. Atto III, Scena X: 'No, No, Ch'io Non Apprezzo'
Thursday, 10 September 2020
Jean-Baptiste Lully - Isis
"'Isis' - following 'Cadmus et Hermione' (1673), 'Alceste' (1674), 'Thésée' (1675) and 'Atys' (1676) - was the fifth 'tragedie en musique' resulting from the collaboration between Jean-Baptiste Lully and his librettist Philippe Quinault. The opera was premiered on Tuesday 5 January 1677 at the chateau vieux of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which was then the only royal residence with a theatre suitable for opera performances. In December 1669, at the request of Louis XIV, the architect Carlo Vigarani had transformed the original ballroom, built in the sixteenth century under Francois I, into a theatre, complete with stage machinery capable of elevating performers and shifting sets, and accommodating some six hundred and fifty spectators.
"Like 'Thésée' and 'Atys,' also premiered at Saint-Ger-main-en-Laye, 'Isis' was sung by artists from Lully's Academie Royale de Musique (also known as the Opera) and from the Musique du Roi. The two basse-contre parts were taken by Jean Gaye of the Chambre du Roi (Hierax) and Francois Beaumavielhe of the Opera (Jupiter). Lully gave the title role to Marie Aubry, the first soprano in his troupe, who the previous year had created the role of Sangaride in 'Atys.' As for the jealous goddess Juno, who persecutes the poor nymph Io, her part was taken by the great Mademoiselle de Saint-Christophle of the Opera, who specialised in the roles of goddesses and enchantresses, and had created that of Cybele in Atys. A hundred musicians, members of the Grande Ecurie, the Chambre du Roi and the Opera, formed an impressive orchestra composed of the finest instrumentalists in the realm. Some of them played on stage, including several trumpeters from the Grande Ecurie accompanying Fame (La Renommée) and her attendants in the prologue, and four members of the famous Hotteterre family (Louis, Jean, Nicolas and Jeannot) playing the flute in the Act III divertissement telling the story of Pan and Syrinx.
"Louis XIV had begun to take a very keen interest in opera performances in 1675 when, at the age of thirty-seven, he retired from dancing in public. After Thesée, many other works by Quinault and Lully were first presented at court during the Carnival period, then staged in Paris at the Opera: 'Atys' (1676), 'Isis' (1677), 'Proserpine' (1680), 'Le Triomphe de l'Amour' (1681), 'Phaeton' (1683), 'Roland' (1684).
"Rehearsals, covering a period of almost two months, board and lodging for all the artists (accommodated by locals), the making of the sets and costumes, designed respectively by Carlo Vigarani and Jean Berain: everything was paid for by the royal treasury, with no expense spared. The aim was to dazzle all present - especially foreign ambassadors, but also the courtiers and the Parisians who were allowed to attend certain performances - and to show off the opulence and splendour of the court of the Sun King, while at the same time asserting the power of France. Rehearsals of 'Isis' began at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 19 November 1676. On 23 December, with preparations in full swing, Quinault read the prologue to the Academie Francaise, and was complimented on the beauty of his writing, which raised hopes for the great success of the work. Quinault was inspired for his libretto by the story of Io as related in the first book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. For understandable reasons, he omitted Io's transformation into a white heifer, but took up the episode in which Jupiter hides the nymph in a cloud in order to escape his wife's jealous eye. The encomiastic prologue, to the glory of Louis XIV, alludes to the French naval victory of 1676 over the Dutch and the Spanish in the Franco-Dutch War 'Mon empire a servi de théâtre a la guerre,' sings Neptune.
"Eyewitnesses of the first performance found Jean Berain's costumes admirable, and the ballets choreographed by Pierre Beauchamp and François-Hilaire d'Olivet also received much applause. The reception of the opera was nevertheless mitigated. Quinault was criticised for producing a libretto that was considered below his normal standard, without any real dramatic action, and some critics found Lully's music too 'savant.' Apparently Louis was dissatisfied with a work for which he himself had chosen the subject, and Madame de Montespan, the king's mistress for the past ten years, attended only a few performances: she disliked the opera, finding its subject improper. Despite its relative lack of success, however, 'Isis' continued to be performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, alternately with 'Thesée,' until the end of February 1677.
"Little did Louis realise, when he approved the libretto, that during the summer of 1677 the court would identify the jealous and irascible goddess Juno with Madame de Montespan, and the character of Io with the young Marie-Elisabeth de Ludres, one of the royal mistress's fines d'honneur, with whom the king had become infatuated. Madame de Sevigne was among those who described the events of June-July 1677 (shortly before the work was taken to Paris) through the characters of 'Isis.' Quinault was accused of deliberately making fun of La Montespan; as a result he had to suffer two years of disgrace, during which time he wrote no more librettos for Lully: Thomas Corneille was to provide the texts for 'Psyché' (1678) and 'Bellerophon' (1679). Jean-Francois Lalouette, Lully's assistant, also got into trouble for having reportedly boasted that he was the author of some of the best parts of 'Isis': Lully dismissed him and appointed the composer Pascal Collasse to take his place.
"Its lack of success at court meant that 'Isis' was not given in Paris as soon as the Opera reopened after Easter, as was customary; instead Lully revived 'Thesée.' Parisians did not have a chance to see the work until August 1677, when it was performed with the same costumes and sets at the theatre of the Academie Royale de Musique in the Palais-Royal, and with a change in the cast: Francois Baumavielhe, who had sung the role of Jupiter at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, took over the part of Hierax, previously sung by Jean Gaye, thus performing two roles. The work ran continuously until March 1678, when 'Psyché' was taken up again. Meanwhile, printed copies of the work had a wide distribution: 'Isis' was Lully's first printed score: part-books, running to at least six editions in 1677, were sold at performances (The full score was not published until 1719). During the composer's lifetime the work was also given in Amsterdam (25 November-30 December 1677, and 3 February 1678) and Regensburg (1683), and sometime around 1686 excerpts from the opera were presented in Ansbach.
"There were only three known revivals of 'Isis' at the Paris Opera in the eighteenth century (1704, 1717-18 and 1732-33). The last revival during the remaining years of the Sun King's reign took place on 14 February 1704. The 1717 revival was a great success: the cast was outstanding and particular care had been taken over the costumes and sets. Isis remained on the bill for five months, from 14 September 1717 to 9 January 1718, and gave rise to a parody by Jacques Charpentier, 'La Vache Io ou Les Amours de Jupiter et d'Io,' presented at the Foire Saint-Laurent that same year, 1718. The last Paris revival, from 14 December 1732, received much applause for its first-rate cast and its fine ballets choreographed by Michel Blondy, but the work as a whole was not very successful and it was taken off on the following 25 January. Despite such a short run, this last revival gave rise to two more parodies, both by Louis Fuzelier: 'La Jalousie avec sujet' (1732, not performed), and 'À Fourbe, fourbe a demi ou Le Trompeur trompé' (Foire Saint-Germain, 1733). On 16 and 21 March 1733 'Isis,' including Jean-Fery Rebel's 'Fantaisie,' was given 'pour la capitation des Acteurs.' After that 'Isis' left the repertoire of the Paris Opera. In the provinces, it was given in Lyon in 1698, Marseille in March 1701, and Dijon in 1729. Excerpts from the first three acts were given in Strasbourg in 1732.
"'Isis' stands apart among Quinault and Lully's operas. Doubtless because the chosen subject, the myth of Io, with its limited plot, provided the authors with few dramatic possibilities, they chose to give a large role to divertissements, episodes providing opportunities for spectacle and dance. As he had done previously in 'La Comédie sans comédie' of 1654, Quinault introduced in Act III a play within a play - or rather a mini-opera within an opera - when the story of Pan and Syrinx is enacted to put Argus to sleep: one of the finest passages in the work. Quinault also had Io transported for her sufferings to different climes, in response to the requirement of varietas, thereby giving the composer, choreographer and stage designer fine opportunities to show their skills, but not permitting a tightening of the plot. The strong presence of very carefully scored orchestral pieces and airs accompagnes, together with the many divertissements, led the work to become known as 'l'opera des musiciens' (Jean-Laurent Le Cerf de La Vieville, 'Comparaison de Ia musique italienne et de Ia musique françoise, Volume I,' 1704).
"Lully's sensibility and artistry are displayed to the full in many beautiful musical passages. Let us mention, for example, the descent of Apollo and the muses in the second scene of the prologue, with a prelude in G minor alternating orchestral tutti with a trio of flutes and violins: a piece showing great refinement in its writing and in the use of modulation. Then there is the announcement of the arrival of Jupiter, 'Échos retentissez dans ces lieux pleins d'appas' (Act I, Sc. 5), with its echo effects. And Pan's lament after the death of Syrinx, 'Hélas! quel bruit! qu'entends-je? Ah, quelle voix nouvelle!' (Act III, Sc. 6), with a basso continuo descending the twelve tones of the chromatic scale and an accompaniment of flutes symbolising Syrinx reincarnated as the reeds blowing and lamenting in the wind - a passage regarded at the time as Lully's masterpiece. But it is the fourth act that presents the greatest concentration of remarkable sequences. The first scene includes the famous chorus 'L'hiver qui nous tourmente,' sung by the people of the frozen regions, preceded by an instrumental entrée, each note of which has to be 'tremblée' in imitation of their shivering. This chorus, widely admired, inspired Purcell's 'Chorus of the Cold People' in Act III of 'King Arthur' (1691). In Scene 3, the Chalybes, famed as forgers of steel, make effective use of onomatopoeia ('Tot, tot, tot') as they strike the red-hot metal on their anvils. The chorus 'Exécutons l'arrêt du sort,' sung by the followers of the Fates in Scene 5, is punctuated by interventions from coryphdes representing War, Famine, Fire, Flood and Violent and Languishing Illnesses; the composer treats this passage with much humour. The act ends with the trio 'Le fil de la vie,' sung by the Fates (Les Parques): vertical writing is animated by brief vocalisations on the word 'tourne' (the image of the Fates spinning the thread of life); this piece was greatly admired for its skilful composition, and Lully was particularly proud of it. It probably inspired Rameau for the scene with the Furies at the end of Act II of 'Hippolyte et Aricie' (1733). (Pascal Denécheau. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Les Talens Lyriques, Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Christophe Rousset, Ève-Maud Hubeaux, Cyril Auvity, Edwin Crossley-Merger, Philippe Estèphe, Ambroisine Bré, Bénédicte Tauran, Fabien Hyon, Aimery Lefévre
1.1. Ouverture
1.2. Prologue, Scène I: 'Publions En Tous Lieux'
1.3. Prologue, Scène I: 'C'est Lui Dont Les Dieux Ont Fait Choix'
1.4. Prologue, Scène II: Premier Air Des Tritons
1.5. Prologue, Scène II: 'C'est Le Dieu Des Eaux Qui Va Paraître'
1.6. Prologue, Scène II: Deuxième Air Des Tritons
1.7. Prologue, Scène II: 'Mon Empire A Servi De Théâtre À La Guerre'
1.8. Prologue, Scène II: 'Célébrons Son Grand Nom Sur La Terre Et Sur L'onde'
1.9. Prologue, Scène III: Prélude Des Muses
1.10. Prologue, Scène III: 'Cessez Pour Quelque Temps, Bruit Terrible Des Armes'
1.11. Prologue, Scène III: Premier Air Pour Les Muses
1.12. Prologue, Scène III: Deuxième Air Pour Les Muses
1.13. Prologue, Scène III: 'Ne Parlez Pas Toujours De La Guerre Cruelle'
1.14. Prologue, Scène III: 'Ne Parlons Pas Toujours De La Guerre Cruelle'
1.15. Prologue, Scène III: Air Pour Les Trompettes
1.16. Prologue, Scène III: 'Hâtez-vous, Plaisirs, Hâtez-vous'
1.17. Prologue: Ouverture
1.18. Acte I, Scène I: Ritournelle
1.19. Acte I, Scène I: 'Cessons D'aimer Une Infidèle'
1.20. Acte I, Scène II: 'C'est Trop Entretenir Ces Tristes Rêveries'
1.21. Acte I, Scène III: 'M'aimez-vous? Puis-je M'en Flatter?'
1.22. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Ce Prince Trop Longtemps Dans Ses Chagrins S'obstine'
1.23. Acte I, Scène V: 'Le Dieu Puissant Qui Lance Le Tonnerre'
1.24. Acte I, Scène V: 'Échos, Retentissez Dans Ces Lieux Pleins D'appas'
1.25. Acte I, Scène V: 'C'est Ainsi Que Mercure'
1.26. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Que La Terre Partage'
1.27. Acte I, Scène VI: Premier Air Pour L'entrée Des Divinités De La Terre
1.28. Acte I, Scène VI: Deuxième Air
1.29. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Les Armes Que Je Tiens Protègent L'innocence'
1.30. Acte I: Entracte
1.31. Acte II, Scène I: Ritournelle
1.32. Acte II, Scène I: 'Où Suis-je, D'où Vient Ce Nuage?'
1.33. Acte II, Scène II: 'Vous Voyez Jupiter, Que Rien Ne Vous Étonne'
1.34. Acte II, Scène III: 'Iris Est Ici-bas Et Junon Elle-même'
1.35. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Arrêtez, Belle Iris, Différez Un Moment'
1.36. Acte II, Scène V: Prélude
1.37. Acte II, Scène V: 'J'ai Cherché Vainement La Fille D'Inachus'
1.38. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Dans Les Jardins D'Hébé Vous Deviez En Ce Jour'
1.39. Acte II, Scène VII: Entrée Pour La Jeunesse
1.40. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Les Plaisirs Les Plus Doux'
1.41. Acte II, Scène VII: Premier Air
1.42. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Aimez, Profitez Du Temps'
2.1. Acte II, Scène VII: Deuxième Air
2.2. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Que Ces Lieux Ont D'attraits'
2.3. Acte II, Scène VIII: 'Servez, Nymphe, Servez, Avec Un Soin Fidèle'
2.4. Acte II, Scène VIII: 'Que C'est Un Plaisir Charmant'
2.5. Acte III, Scène I: Ritournelle
2.6. Acte III, Scène I: 'Dans Ce Solitaire Séjour'
2.7. Acte III, Scène II: 'La Perfide Craint Ma Présence'
2.8. Acte III, Scène III: 'Liberté, Liberté!'
2.9. Acte III, Scène IV: 'De La Nymphe Syrinx, Pan Chérit La Mémoire'
2.10. Acte III, Scène V: 'Liberté, Liberté'
2.11. Acte III, Scène VI: Air Des Sylvains Et Des Satyres
2.12. Acte III, Scène VI: Marche Des Bergers Et Satyres
2.13. Acte III, Scène VI: Deuxième Air
2.14. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Quel Bien Devez-vous Attendre'
2.15. Acte III, Scène VI: Troisième Air
2.16. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Je Vous Aime, Nymphe Charmante'
2.17. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Aimons Sans Cesse'
2.18. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Faut-il Qu'en Vains Discours Un Si Beau Jour Se Passe?'
2.19. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Je Ne Puis Vous Quitter, Mon Coeur S'attache À Vous'
2.20. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Hélas! Quel Bruit! Qu'entends-je?'
2.21. Acte III, Scène VII: 'Reconnaissez Mercure Et Fuyez Avec Nous'
2.22. Acte III, Scène VIII: 'Revois Le Jour, Argus, Que Ta Figure Change!'
2.23. Acte III: Entracte
2.24. Acte IV, Scène I: Entrée Des Peuples Des Climats Glacés
2.25. Acte IV, Scène I: 'L'hiver Qui Nous Tourmente'
2.26. Acte IV, Scène II: 'Laissez-moi, Cruelle Furie'
2.27. Acte IV, Scène III: 'Tôt, Tôt, Tôt...'
2.28. Acte IV, Scène III: Entrée Des Forgerons
2.29. Acte IV, Scène IV: 'Quel Déluge De Feux Qui Sortent Des Forges'
2.30. Acte IV, Scène V: 'Exécutons L'arrêt Du Sort'
2.31. Acte IV, Scène VI: Premier Air Des Parques
2.32. Acte IV, Scène VI: Deuxième Air Des Parques
2.33. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'C'est Contre Moi Qu'il Faut Tourner'
2.34. Acte IV, Scène VII: 'Le Fil De La Vie'
2.35. Acte IV, Scène VII: 'Tranchez Mon Triste Sort D'un Coup Qui Me Délivre'
2.36. Acte IV: Entracte
2.37. Acte V, Scène I: Ritournelle
2.38. Acte V, Scène I: 'Terminez Mes Tourments, Puissant Maître Du Monde'
2.39. Acte V, Scène II: Prélude
2.40. Acte V, Scène II: 'Il Ne M'est Pas Permis De Finir Votre Peine'
2.41. Acte V, Scène III: 'Venez, Déesse Impitoyable'
2.42. Acte V, Scène III: 'Venez, Divinité Nouvelle!'
2.43. Acte V, Scène III: Premier Air Pour Les Égyptiens
2.44. Acte V, Scène III: Deuxième Air Pour Les Égyptiens
2.45. Acte V, Scène III: 'Isis Est Immortelle'
Friday, 4 September 2020
Sacro e Profano - III
Murky, pornographic concoction of wall noise, sleezy Italian porn samples and industrial atmosphere. Released as a run of sixteen cassettes on Swedish web label Ominous Recordings in 2019.
A. I
B. II
Thursday, 27 August 2020
Aaron Dilloway & John Wiese - Sniper Counter Sniper
Collection of harsh noise material recorded between 2007 and 2019 by the two veteran American sound artists. Ranges from meaty, high intensity assaults to sparse reverberations and intoxicating loops. Old school, high satisfying harsh noise. Released on Dilloway's Hanson records as a CD in 2019. Also included a special edition release featuring a collectible coin (see here, doesn't appear to be available as a digital download through Hanson).
1. Dumbells
2. Zero Loss
3. Windage
4. Scrambler
5. Junk Food
6. Sling Pressure
7. Putty & Plastic Water
Tuesday, 21 July 2020
Vomir - Coma
Cassette on Deathbed Tapes from Romain Perrot. Comes in a camouflage cloth pouch with meteorite fragments and various badges. Released in 2019, the special edition was limited to twenty copies. Audio is Perrot's customary relentless wall noise for 110 minutes over two sides.
A. Coma 1
B. Coma 2
Sunday, 10 May 2020
The Rita - Lip Line
Unlike other promising new material (see splits with Skin Crime and Bacillus from last year, posted below), this 2019 release on Fall into Void Recs continues Mr. McKinlay's unfaltering obsession with the use of makeup and ballet tutorials from YouTube as source audio for HNW. This isn't to say this isn't an enjoyable release; the stuttering, extremely dense fuzz assault is satisfying in a way that only this project can provide.
A. Lip Line I
B. Lip Line II
mp3/320kbps
Saturday, 18 April 2020
Bacillus / The Rita - Collimators, The Ocean
Split from US-based pandemic themed noise project Bacillus and noise veteran The Rita released on the latter's Lake Shark Harsh Noise label last year (possibly some left to buy if you go here). On his site, McKinlay describes the Bacillus side in the following way: "The legendary Bacillus envelopes himself in the world of medical radiation with some of his most dense material yet." For The Rita side: "The Rita observes the ocean of Solaris while processing pre-recorded deep ocean samples." This combination of themes is fascinating and, as I have mentioned here before, it's good to see McKinlay returning to his oceanic themes in favour of another foot fetish-themed album. Alongside the description, the following text is given:
"Radiation induced ionizations also directly damage the cellular molecules and can indirectly produce free radicals, which are derived from the ionization of the water component of the cells, which then attach themselves to the mutated genes, damaging it and causing cell death."
"Genius and mediocrity alike are dumbfounded by the teeming diversity of the oceanic formations of Solaris; no man has ever become genuinely conversant with them."
"The nails, still surrounded by traces of clotted blood, had regrown. There was a pink scar in the hollow of her palm, but even the scar was healing, disappearing in front of my eyes."
A1. Bacillus - Conformal Irradiation Of Gene Mutations
A2. Bacillus - Cancerous Growth Arrested By Stereotactic Radiosurgery
A3. Bacillus - Tomotherapy For Tumor Metastasis Containment
A4. Bacillus - Collimators Delivering Intensity-Modulated Radiation
B. The Rita - Natalya
mp3/320kbps
Saturday, 11 April 2020
The Rita & Skin Crime - Maggie Evans
Collaboration from Sam McKinlay and veteran US three piece Skin Crime. Released on Patrick O'Neil's Self Abuse Records label (he performs in Skin Crime). It's nice to see a return to old slasher movies as a theme from Sam, as opposed to another questionable foot fetish focus. This is dense, rumbling harsh noise, verging on harsh noise wall without being monotonous.
A. Maggie
B. Jossette
mp3/320kbps
Monday, 30 March 2020
Pain Jerk - Mission Invisible
A more recent release from the still very active Kohei Gomi (I count nine releases of live, new and unreleased material last year alone), this CD on Dominick Fernow's Hospital Productions is a recording from 1997, apparently envisioned by Relapse Records' Bill Yurkiewicz. This is one of the foremost talents of japanoise in his prime, playing electronics entirely live (the liner notes make a point of stating: "Completely No Overdub and No Edit").
1. Plug-In
2. Blue Damon
3. Technocrat-Outsider
4. Uncle Scum
5. Plug-Out
mp3/320kbps
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
VMS Elit - Fumes
The latest from this Scandinavian motorcycle death troupe is a blistering assault of driving, surging noise. It is a rare thing to find noise that can inspire such unavoidable adrenaline even in the seasoned listener. The feeling is that of being torn, scraped and battered, rolling over asphalt and gravel at 180km/h in a diesel-fueled inferno of glorious carnage.
1. Sudden Combustion
2. Nighttime Scorcheries
3. Guzzling Refuse
4. Clot
5. Neat Cuts
mp3, 320kbps
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