Arias For Guadagni - Iestyn Davies, Jonathan Cohen, Arcangelo (2012)

British countertenor Iestyn Davies is one of the fastest rising stars on the concert and opera circuit. Following his highly acclaimed recording of Porpora cantatas, he returns for a second solo album with Hyperion, a selection of arias written for Gaetano Guadagni. Italian-born Guadagni was the first ‘modern’ castrato, famed all over Europe for the lyric purity of his voice and his powerful, naturalistic acting style. Not only did he enjoy a close artistic relationship with Handel, who nurtured Guadagni’s voice to fit the alto roles in his English oratorios, but he effectively created the role of Orpheus in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, an opera he thoroughly made his own. Here, Iestyn Davies is joined again by the renowned period-instrument band Arcangelo, directed by Jonathan Cohen.

Composer: George Frideric Handel, Johann Adolf Hasse, John Christopher Smith, Thomas Augustine Arne, …
Performer: Iestyn Davies
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo

Reviews: The majority of the castrati with whom Handel worked were well known stars. Gaetano Guadagni (1728 - 1792) was different; he arrived in London in 1748 with a comic-opera troupe which went bankrupt. He was introduced to Charles Burney who in turn introduced him to Handel. Handel wrote a number of roles for Guadagni and adapted others for his use. At this stage of his career, Handel was used to training his own singers and he seems to have done the same; Guadagni worked for longer with Handel than any other composer.

Guadagni was well read and had a fine library of theoretical treatises. He had a small voice which responded to the changes in style which were happening. Refinement and taste were replacing virtuoso bravura performance. So Guadagni had the right sort of voice, but was also an opportunist. This led, ultimately, to his journey from Handel to Gluck’s Orfeo.

Counter-tenor, Iestyn Davies, and Arcangelo directed by Jonathan Cohen, here explore the music from roles written for Guadagni. The first half of the disc is devoted to his seven years in Britain, with arias by Handel, Hasse, John Christopher Smith and Arne.

O Lord, whose mercies numberless from Saul showcases Guadagni’s skill at legato singing, here beautifully realised by Davies. He sings the second verse with a lovely sense of line and imaginatively ornament. Yet, can I hear that dulcet lay from The Choice of Hercules is similarly focused and Davies produces some alluringly sweet tone. The raptur’d soul from Theodora and Destructive war from Belshazzar pushed Guadagni closer to its limits, though Davies demonstrates that they lie easily within his. Destructive war with its trumpets and drums is very martial, and Davies produces some fine bravura singing.

In 1753 the Dauphine Maria Josepha invited him to take part in performances of Hasse’s Didone abbandonata in Versailles. Guadagni’s performances attracted great approbation and he returned to Paris the following year to sing in the Concert Spirituel.

Guadagni was admired in both arias and recitative and Davies includes both the accompagnato Ah che dissi which precedes the aria Se resto sui lido, and the recitative Odi cola la frigia tromba preceding the aria A trionfar mi chiama. Hasse’s opera was premiered in Versailles in 1750, Hasse being invited because Dauphine Maria Josepha was originally from Saxony where Hasse was based at the Saxon court.

In style, Hasse’s music approaches the galant style. Se resto sul lido is fascinating; Hasse alternates faster running passages, neatly sung by Davies, with slower reflective phrases to reflect Aenee’s confusion, between leaving and staying. In A trionfar mi chiama we have martial horns and a very toe-tapping tune.

After his Handelian roles, Guadagni continued to work with other British composers. Say, Lovely Dream comes from John Christopher Smith’s The Fairies performed in 1755 . Smith was Handel’s last secretary, but also had his own career as a composer. The Fairies was based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is a nicely lyrical, sub-Handelian piece. But the performance had an important place in Guadagni’s career as it led to his meeting with Garrick and, according to Charles Burney, to acting lessons with the great actor. However it happened, Guadagni developed into a highly admired operatic actor.

Vengeance, O come inspire me from Arne’s Alfred is rather better known than the Smith. It has a highly arresting opening and a rather catchy tune.

Before the group of Gluck arias, the ensemble play an instrumental interlude perhaps reflecting the fact that, as a result of his move to Lisbon being stopped by the 1755 earthquake, Guadagni took time off to reflect and restructure his technique and career.

Performing a variety of roles on the continent, from the traditional to the avant-garde, Guadagni was talent-spotted and invited to join the team being built in Vienna around Gluck and Calzabigi. The first role that Gluck wrote for Guadagni was Orfeo. It was tailored to his voice, the lyrical simplicity, the intimate refinement. In Calzabigi’s view, in any other hands the role would have been disaster. Davies sings the items from Orfeo ed Euridice, with beautifully moulded phrases and sweet tone. There is a hint that perhaps the lower end of the range does not entirely sit comfortably, but it is a relatively small point in the context of such fine performances.

After Orfeo ed Euridice Guadagni sang in one more Gluck opera, Telemaco, this time not quite as much a reform opera as Orfeo but still very striking. Something went wrong and Guadagni never sang for Gluck again. What he did do, though, was to consolidate his association with the role of Orfeo, continuing to sing Gluck’s setting as well as those of other composers. He composed replacement arias for Gluck’s opera and also a replacement aria for a performance of Ezio (in a setting by Guglielmi or Bertoni). This latter aria is the last item on the disc, Guadagni writing for himself to sing. The aria is rather more ornamented than Gluck’s writing for Guadagni, but without ever being virtuosic.

Davies’ performances here are spot-on, poised and beautifully modulated with a fine sense of line. He is well supported by Arcangelo under Cohen, who give a nicely dramatic performance of C.P.E. Bach’s symphony. When you read descriptions of some castrato voices, the choice of a counter-tenor to sing castrato roles seems a bit limited, but here Davies seems to match very well what we know of Guadagni’s voice and technique.

This is a finely performed recital, but what puts it in the remarkable category is the fascinating and illuminating programme. Here is a disc which sheds light on a remarkable performer, someone associated with an iconic role.

Tracklisting:

1. Theodora, HWV 68: The raptur'd soul by George Frideric Handel
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: 1749-1750; London, England

2. The choice of Hercules, HWV 69: Yet can I hear that dulcet lay by George Frideric Handel
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1743

3. Saul, HWV 53: O Lord, whose mercies numberless by George Frideric Handel
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: 1738-1739; London, England

4. Belshazzar, HWV 61: Destructive war, thy limits know by George Frideric Handel
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1745; London, England

5. Didone Abbandonata: Ah che dissi, infelice! by Johann Adolf Hasse
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: 18th Century

6. Didone Abbandonata: Se resto sul lido by Johann Adolf Hasse
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: 18th Century

7. Didone Abbandonata: Odi colà la frigia tromba? by Johann Adolf Hasse
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: 18th Century

8. Didone Abbandonata: A trionfar mi chiama by Johann Adolf Hasse
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: 18th Century

9. The Fairies: Say, lovely Dream! by John Christopher Smith
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1755; England

10. Alfred: Vengeance, O come inspire me! by Thomas Augustine Arne
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1740; England

11. Sinfonias (4), Wq 183: no 1 in D major, H 663 by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Classical
Written: 1775-1776; Hamburg, Germany

12. Telemaco: Ah! non turbi by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Classical
Written: 1764; Vienna, Austria

13. Orfeo ed Euridice: Dance of the Blessed Spirits by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria

14. Orfeo ed Euridice: Che puro ciel! by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria

15. Orfeo ed Euridice: Che farò senza Euridice? by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria

16. Orfeo ed Euridice: Ahime! Dove trascorsi by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria

17. Pensa a serbarmi, o cara by Gaetano Guadagni
Performer: Iestyn Davies (Countertenor)
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arcangelo
Period: Baroque



Thanks to the original releaser