In 1706, 21-year-old Handel arrived in Italy as a prodigious celebrity, already having caught the eye and won the patronage of the Medici family in Florence. Further honors and rewards were heaped on him when he moved to Rome the following year and came under the sponsorship of the most cultured and influential of the city's noble families. It was for them that he wrote a string of secular cantatas, on time-honored and popular themes of arcadian and amorous bliss. These Roman cantatas have received more attention from scholars and performers in recent years, but the four presented here are still relatively unfamiliar, beginning with the brief, hunting-themed Diana cacciatrice HWV79. This cantata's striking feature is an aria with echo soprano and trumpet solo, while Alpestre monte is an anguished tale of betrayal and suicide, including a pair of ravishing arias (again for soprano). Faithfulness is once more the vexed question posed by the album's best-known cantata, Tu fedel? Tu costante? The searing purity of Carlotta Colombo's soprano makes her a worthy successor to distinguished early-music specialists who have taken on the work, including Emma Kirkby. Conceived on a grander scale, Olinto pastore arcade alle glorie del Tebro is scored for three solo singers, to present an allegorical discussion between the shepherd Olinto, the river Tiber and the embodiment of Glory, concerning how the humble shepherd (a veiled allusion to Handel's patron at the time) will restore Rome to her ancient greatness. The singer and conductor Roberto Balconi founded Fantazyas in 2000 as a flexible ensemble of instruments and voices specialising in Italian music of the 17th and 18th centuries. They have toured across Europe and Japan, and here they make their debut on Brilliant Classics.

Tracklist:

* Alla Caccia, "Diana Cacciatrice", HWV 79
La Marche
Recitative: Alla Caccia, Alla Caccia
Aria: Foriera la Tromba
Coro: Alla Caccia
Arietta: Di Questa Selva Fra Dubbie Vie
Coro: Alla Caccia
* Alpestre Monte, HWV 81
Accompagnato: Alpestre Monte
Aria: Io So Ben
Recitativo: Quindi Men Vengo a Voi
Aria: Almen Dopo Il Fato Mio
* Tu Fedel? Tu Costante?, HWV 171
Sonata
Recitative: Tu Fedel? Tu Costante?
Aria: Cento Belle Ami Fileno
Recitative: L'occhio Nero Vivace
Aria: Se Licori, Fili Ed Io
Recitative: Ma, Se Non Hai PiÃ¹
Aria: Se Non Ti Piace Amarmi
Recitative: Ma Il Tuo Genio Incostante
Aria: Si Crudel, Ti Lasciero
* O Come Chiare E Belle, HWV 143
Sonata: Allegro
Aria: Oh! Come Chiare E Belle
Recitativo: Ma Quel Che PiÃ¹ D'ogn'altro
Aria: Chi Mi Chiama?
Recitativo: Dell'arcadi Foreste
Aria: PiÃ¹ Non Spero
Recitativo: Per Te Non PiÃ¹ Rubella
Aria: Caro Tebro
Recitativo: Si, la Gloria Son Io
Aria: Tornami a Vagheggiar
Recitativo: Tebro, Tu Non Rispondi?
Aria: Al Suon Che Destano
Recitativo: Di Stupor, Di Diletto
Aria: Io Torno a Sperare
Recitativo: Di Si Giuste Speranze
Aria: Astro Clemente
Recitativo: Tebro, Ti Dissi Il Vero
Aria: Alle Voci Del Bronzo Guerriero
Viva, Viva!

UPC: 5028421964782
Label: Brilliant Classics
Release Date: 6.24.22
Format: CD

Handel / Colombo / Fantazyas - Italian Cantatas (CD)