Il Gedeone (Oratorium in 2 Teilen) (Gesamtaufnahme)

Disk 1 

1 Introduzione
2 Rezitativ: Principe a te ritorno apportatore (1. Teil)
3 Arie: Quasi locuste che intorno
4 Rezitativ: Mar forse disperati
5 Arie: Quell' aura lusinghiera
6 Rezitativ: Padre non più vana
7 Arie: Tu se' il minore de tuoi fratelli
8 Rezitativ: Signor del popol tutto
9 Arie: Mi vegga, oh Dio
10 Rezitativ: In qual dubbio d'affetti
11 Arie: Di nemico sangue il campo
12 Arie: Odo le strida, già vaggo il volto
13 Rezitativ: Oh Dio, che troppo sono potenti
14 Rezitativ: D'una dolce speranza
15 Arie: Cadranno i lupi fieri
16 Terzett: A quella omnipotente man
17 Chor: Signor, le tue minacce noi provammp

Disk 2 

1 Sinfonia (2. Teil)
2 Rezitativ: Sichemi perche mai lui
3 Arie: L'alte strida
4 Rezitativ: Ove' son giunto, ohime infelice
5 Arie: A pur vinto, o sorte barbara
6 Rezitativ: Alfin sè giunto al varco dallo
7 Arie: O beato fortunato
8 Rezitativ: Che fia di Gedeone?
9 Chor: Lodi al Dio delle vittorie
10 Rezitativ: Non le mie
11 Arie: Cogliete, amici, il frutto di vostra fede
12 Rezitativ: M'abbondano le lagrime per doppia gioia
13 Chor: Chi nel signor confida non perisce in eterno

Kai Wessel (countertenor)
Ulf Bästlein (bass)
Linda Perillo (soprano)
Jörg Waschinski (countertenor)
Vokalensemble Nova
Wiener Akademie
Martin Haselböck - conductor

With a libretto based on the Old Testament account of Gideon and his non-violent triumph over the Midianites, the Neapolitan composer Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) produced a score which, though far from consistent, has moments of great beauty. Among them are Gideon’s aria ‘Cadranno i lupi’; a sublime Sinfonia at the opening of Part Two; a couple of fine choruses and, above all, beautifully wrought recitatives. These apart, don’t expect a forgotten masterpiece. This performance – the first in modern times – boasts competent and well-matched soloists. Countertenor Kai Wessel as the eponymous hero gives a poised and musical account, though his voice could benefit from a weightier lower register. Male soprano Jörg Waschinski produces an ethereal, emasculated sound that is, perhaps, as close as we can come to that of the original soprano castrato who sang the part of Gideon’s enemy, Oreb. (Pity the man – he ends up losing his head, not to mention his unmentionables.) But most impressive is soprano Linda Perillo (Gideon’s wife, Sichemi) whose singing is by turns agile, sensuous and dramatic. Martin Haselböck draws some silvery string playing from the Vienna Academy, and if his shaping of the oratorio can lack momentum, at least he avoids the aggressively hard-driven style of some period performances. ---Kate Bolton,classical-music.com

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Disc: 1
1. Sinfonia: Lentement (1. Akt) -
2. (ohne Satzbezeichnung) -
3. Allegro
4. Ombre amene
5. Dimmi, dimmi, ove sei?
6. Quel cauto nocchiero
7. Cotesti tuoi sì strani dogmi
8. La bella mia nemica
9. Zeffiro lusinghiero (2. Akt)
10. Amor a te mi lega
11. Il piè s'allontana
12. Reggi su questo braccio
13. Se i rai del giorno
14. Marcia
15. Pur ti raggiungerò, barbaro imbelle
16. Dal mio bel sol lontano
17. Esci dal chiuso tetto
18. Quell'umidetto ciglio
19. Oh Medoro, Medoro
20. Mentre rendo a te la vita

Disc: 2
1. Sinfonia: Allegro (3. Akt)
2. Mio bel Medoro
3. Sopra il suo stelo
4. Sì, mio caro Medoro
5. La tortora innocente
6. Orlando, oh quanto in vano ricercato
7. Costante, e fedele
8. Non ebbi mai più fortunato giorno
9. Vanne, felice rio
10. Così dunque s'impara ad ingannar
11. Non so come si possa
12. Torna, torna, Medoro
13. Quando ritorni al fonte
14. Ah che di Orlando a fronte
15. Se infida tu mi chiami
16. Liete piante, verdi erbe (4. Akt)
17. Perfidissima donna
18. Mi proverà spietato
19. Fuggiam, bell'idol mio
20. Bella diva all'ombre amica
21. Andiam, Medoro, andiamo
22. Io dico all'antro, addio
23. Ove son? Chi mi guida?
24. Da me che volete
25. Ma qual astro benigno
26. Aurette leggere

Robert Expert - Orlando (counter-tenor)
Olga Pitarch - Medoro (soprano)
Betsabée Haas - Angelica (mezzo-soprano)

Real Compañía Ópera de Cámara
Juan Bautista Otero - conductor

Here is the earliest operatic masterpiece of Nicola Porpora, the Neapolitan composer who left an indelible mark on the 18th century and the careers of its greatest masters, from Hasse, Jommelli and Handel to Joseph Haydn, who was his pupil in Vienna. Against the backcloth of theold Carolingian epic, the valiant knight Roland is transformed into a lover before becoming ‘Orlando furioso’ in this encounter of three mythical figures: Ariosto, Metastasio and Porpora. We run the gamut from epic to tragedy in this vibrant, crackling performance under the inspired direction of Juan Bautista Otero, seconded by the vocal soloists and instrumentalists of the young Real Compañia Opera de Cámara. A major discovery! (World Premiere) ---prestomusic.com

It seems like the treasure-trove of Baroque opera will never end. Nicola Porpora was an almost exact contemporary of Handel, and a worthy rival from the evidence of this recording. This is a very satisfying performance of a wonderful opera. The quality of the writing is very high; none of this would be out of place in an opera by Handel. The recitatives are if anything more dramatic and striking than Handel's, the accompanied recitatives full of invention, and the arias full of beauty. There is perhaps a lack of vocal pyrotechnics in the fast arias, but the lyrical ones verge on the sublime. The one duet is particularly striking. The orchestral writing in the overture and sinfonias is very powerful, with a contrapuntal richness that Handel rarely attempted in his opera overtures. My only problem with the recording is the voice of the countertenor, Robert Expert, whose sound does not please me too much. Tastes in countertenors tends to be particular, so not everyone may share my view. All in all, a very fine recording by an unjustly neglected master. One interesting fact about Porpora: he outlived Handel by almost 10 years, and ended up in Vienna as a music teacher, where one of his star pupils was... Joseph Haydn! ---Chris Protopapas, amazon.com

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Or sì m’avveggio, oh Amore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [11'43]
1 Recitative Or sì m’avveggio, oh Amore . . . . . . . [1'17]
2 Aria Dolce pace, lieta calma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [5'28]
3 Recitative Più che nel ciel tra’ Numi . . . . . . . . . [1'18]
4 Aria S’asconde Amor nel volto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3'31]

Credimi pur che t’amo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [13'58]
5 Sinfonia Presto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [0'45]
6 Andante, e spiritoso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [1'30]
7 Allegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [1'24]
8 Recitative Credimi pur che t’amo . . . . . . . . . . . . [0'54]
9 Aria Sì, sì, t’adoro ma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3'55]
10 Recitative Sarò pur nell’amarti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [0'51]
11 Aria Amami e non languir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4'30]

Già la notte s’avvicina (La pesca) . . . . . . . . . . . [11'38]
12 Aria Già la notte s’avvicina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4'59]
13 Recitative Lascia una volta, oh Nice . . . . . . . . . . [1'48]
14 Aria Non più fra sassi algosi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4'44]

Or che d’orrido Verno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [17'59]
15 16 Sinfonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [1'35] [1'02]
17 Recitative Or che d’orrido Verno . . . . . . . . . . . . . [1'32]
18 Aria Lungi dal ben che s’ama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [7'57]
19 Recitative Pur fra tanta mia pena . . . . . . . . . . . . [1'06]
20 Aria Nocchier che mira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4'43]

Elena Cecchi Fedi (soprano)
Alessandro Palmeri (cello)
Carlo Ipata (flute)
Auser Musici
Carlo Ipata (conductor)

'This outstanding disc not only displays unequivocal proof of Porpora's exceptional skill … but also provides some of the most genuinely enjoyable and captivating performances of eighteenth-century vocal music I have heard on disc for a very long time … these are brilliantly written recitatives, clearly, but with Fedi's clarity of diction and conviction of delivery, they are transformed into something truly exceptional. Yet to single out the recitatives, when the instrumental colouring of the arias and sinfonias is so magical, is to do a major disservice both to Porpora and to Auser Musici … here is music-making of such infectious happiness that this disc is destined to be a constant companion for the foreseeable future' (International Record Review)

'Soprano Elena Cecchi Fedi's singing is both beautiful and vocally deft, and the playing of the Italian group Auser Musici is emotionally responsive and dramatically alert to match. The opening cantata, Or sì m'avveggio, oh Amore, with its rocketing cello obligato, is particularly fine' ---The Irish Times, hyperion-records.co.uk

Italian period instrument group Auser Musici was founded in 1997, making the rounds of smaller European labels such as Tactus, Agorà Musica, and Symphonia before finally landing with Hyperion, with whom it is now exclusive. Porpora: Cantatas for Soprano is the group's third Hyperion release and it visits a key area of output in the work of a major figure of the Baroque who remains little celebrated, Neapolitan composer Nicola Porpora. Residing in London from 1733 to 1736, Porpora's run as composer with the Opera of the Nobility was viewed in its time as one of the rare instances when George Frederick Handel had serious competition of some sort. Handel must have been delighted that the rival Opera of the Nobility ran into money problems and went belly up in 1737, sending Porpora back to Naples. Rather than holding court at a given location, like Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig or Georg Philipp Telemann in Hamburg, Porpora moved around a lot, which is one reason why it has proven so difficult for history to catch up to him.

Indeed, the four chamber cantatas featured here come from four different eras from within Porpora's retinue; Credimi pur che t'amo originated in Naples and dates from 1712. Or sì m'avveggio, oh Amore also comes from Naples, but was more likely written in the 1720s. Già la notte s'avvicina (La pesca) made its bow in a deluxe printed edition in London in 1735, and Or che d'orrido verno could date from the 1720s or even as late as the 1740s, which for Porpora was mostly spent in Venice; stylistically, it does at least sound more Venetian. The last named work is clearly the strongest of these four cantatas, with bold harmonies, driving rhythms, and imaginative interplay between the strings and the two flute parts. It's a real workout for soprano soloist Elena Cecchi Fedi, as well, as she has to contend with passagework that's as least as difficult as what the winds have to play and often mirrors those parts; unlike some of Telemann's secular cantatas, none of these works are meant for amateurs. Fedi has an attractive, wine-dark soprano voice, and sings all of these unfamiliar works well despite some hesitance in approach to an ornament here and there.

Porpora: Cantatas for Soprano is a little off Hyperion's established standard in some respects; little defects such as a stray squeak on a violin string would have been gone back and done over in Ted Perry's day, whereas here they are left in. Likewise, the disc is rather short at 55:20; it easily could have another cantata, and with Porpora there are at least another 125 to choose from. Nevertheless, there is every reason to want to continue to support Hyperion and some just simply cannot get enough Baroque solo cantatas; Porpora: Cantatas for Soprano easily fills the need. ---Uncle Dave Lewis, Rovi

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1. Vespro Per La Festività Dell'assunta
2. Laudate Pueri Dominum
3. Salve Regina
4. Laetatus Sum
5. Lauda Jerusalem

Marilia Vargas, Soprano
Delphine Galou, Alto
Michiko Takahashi, Soprano
Maîtrise de Bretagne (c: Jean-Michel Noël)
Le Parlement de Musique
Martin Gester - conductor

Porpora's Vespro per la Festività dell'Assunta for the year 1744 is a set of liturgical music for the feast day of the Blessed Virgin's Assumption into Heaven. The live performance here given in 2011 is not in the complete liturgical setting, but a concert version. The main pieces are there - notably the Salve Regina, the Nisi Dominus, Laudate Jerusalem, and other choral works. The major reason that attracted me to purchase this recording is Delphine Galou's 'Salve Regina'. Having heard Elina Garanca and Sonia Prina in this piece, I prefer Galou's more spiritual, and yet fully dramatic, interpretation of this work.

It turns out that other soloists in this live performance are equally good as Galou, and the instrumental ensemble is nothing short of being spectacular. Porpora, as a composer of sacred music, is fully on par with Antonio Vivaldi. It would be a great thing to record this liturgical piece in full, as a direct comparison to Vivaldi's in the Naive edition. Baroque lovers must not overlook this recent live recording of Porpora's masterpiece. --- Abel, amazon.com

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Nicola Porpora: Notturno dei defonti No. 1
1.Lezione I: Parce mihi Domine (Soprano)
2.Responsorio: Credo quod Redemptor meus vivit
3.Lezione II: Taedet animam meam (Alto)
4.Responsorio: Qui Lazarum resuscitasti
5.Lezione III: Manus tuae fecerunt me (Soprano)
6.Responsorio: Domine quando veneris

Nicola Fiorenza: Sinfonia in F Minor
7.I. Largo
8.II. Allegro
9.III. Largo
10.IV. Allegro

Nicola Porpora: Notturno dei defonti No. 2
11.Lezione I: Responde mihi (Soprano)
12.Responsorio: Memento mei Deus
13.Lezione II: Homo natus de muliere (Soprano)
14.Responsorio: Hei mihi Domine
15.Lezione III: Quis mihi hoc tribuat (Alto)
16.Responsorio: Ne recorderis

Nicola Fiorenza: Sinfonia for Cello and Violins in F Major
17.I. Largo
18.II. Allegro
19.III. Largo
20.IV. Non presto

Nicola Porpora: Notturno dei defonti No. 3
21.Lezione I: Spiritus meus (Soprano)
22.Responsorio: Peccantem me quotidie
23.Lezione II: Pelli meae consumptis carnibus (Alto)
24.Responsorio: Domine secundum actum meum
25.Lezione III: Quare de vulva (Alto)

Monica Piccinini (Soprano)
Romina Basso (Alto)
La Stagione Armonica,  Dolce & Tempesta
Stefano Demicheli - conductor

An outstanding Italian musician, Stefano Demicheli René Jacobs' closest assistant for a very long time, and has performed with him on many of Europe's main opera stages. A distinguished harpsichordist, who studied with Ottavio Dantone, he is now the leader of the Dolce & Tempesta ensemble, comprising of the best soloists from top European period instrument ensembles. Their first recording is resolutely original, and includes the world premières of the three 'Notturni' composed in c.1740 by Porpora for the All Souls Day in Naples. Carried by one of the most powerful expressive texts in the Christian religion, Monica Piccinini and Romina Basso, accompanied by the Stagione Armonica, offer a nice discovery, full of surprises. Also included are the two highly seductive 'Sinfoniae' by Fiorenza, which give the finishing touch to this major new release! --- arkivmusic.com

Nicola Porpora, if he is known at all, is recognized as Franz Josef Haydn's only music teacher of consequence and as the benevolent figure who rescued Haydn from a life of destitution and homelessness on the streets of Vienna. Still others may know of Porpora as a composer who went up against Handel's popularity in London in the 1730s, only to fail like so many others who tried. Porpora was clearly more significant than just these events would indicate, and though by this writing in October 2007 Porpora's scant instrumental output has been recorded in great deal, little exposure has been given to the area where he truly excelled; vocal music, mainly sacred music, cantatas, and opera. Italian label Fuga Libera has made an important contribution to Porpora's cause in recording Nicola Antonio Porpora: Notturni per I Defunti, featuring singers Monica Piccinini and Romina Basso fronting the chorale La Stagione Armonica and the period chamber orchestra Dolce & Tempesta under Stefano Demichelli.

In this context, the term "Notturni" does not refer to the term in the sense applied by Haydn (i.e., just another word to describe a divertimento), but to the service of Nocturns (or Matins); night prayers, in this case specifically the office for the dead. These only would have been said at the death of a prominent person within the church or community or in observance of All Souls' Day, marked in the liturgical calendar on November 2. As these services were written in Naples for the Conservatorio di S. Maria de Loreto between 1739 and 1742 and no one of such prominence died during this period, the latter purpose is most likely. The surviving manuscript material for Porpora's three-part office is a mess and shows signs of a hasty revision made for a revival of the work made in 1760. The lessons are all intact, but little survives of the vocal parts belonging to the responses and the final response, "Libera me Domine," is missing. Although he opted to decline on recomposing the "Libera me" as would have been necessary, Demichelli has scrupulously rebuilt the rest of the responses based on the music that is left. The high quality of this work is borne out by the fact that one cannot tell where Porpora's full score leaves off and the reconstructed material begins; it is seamless and reads as all of a piece.

Porpora's vocal writing retains some measure of Vivaldi's influence, but it is more toned down in terms of ornamentation. Piccinini and Basso handle it all artfully and very well, though Basso seems a little tripped up at the torturously difficult figure that concludes the "Quis mihi hoc tribuat" in the second Nocturne. The playing of Dolce & Tempesta and the singing of La Stagione Armonica is marvelously relaxed and restrained; after all, you're not looking to wake the dead so much as simply offer prayer on behalf of the dearly departed. The most marvelous aspect, however, of Fuga Libera's Nicola Antonio Porpora: Notturni per I Defunti is the music itself; its hushed, humble mysterious quality, emotionally moving sobriety of expression, and intoxicating harmonic colors make the listener want to hear more of Porpora. In addition to the main part of the program, three intriguing symphonies of completely unknown Neapolitan composer Nicolo Fiorenza are likewise included, an inspired choice of filler. --- Uncle Dave Lewis, Rovi

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