Agostino Steffani

Lajos Rovatkay, einer der frühesten praktischen Propagatoren der Musik Agostino Steffanis – zumindest auf dem Kontinent – war Gründer (1981) und Leiter des Barockorchesters „Capella Agostino Steffani“ (seit 1996 „Hannoversche Hofkapelle“). Mit diesem Ensemble brachte er die neuzeitliche Wiederaufführung von Agostino Steffanis Festoper „H e n r i c o L e o n e“ im Januar 1989 zum 300-jährigen Jubiläum des hannoverschen Opernhauses. Er dirigierte das Werk über zwei Spielzeiten bei ausverkauftem Haus und führte es auch in der Braunschweiger Oper und im Rahmen des Boston Early Music Festivals auf.

The Italian Steffani spent most of his fabulous career as a composer, spy, and diplomat in Germany, in München and Hanover, with a prolonged visit to Paris to the court of Louis XIV. In terms of the prevalent national styles of music in the late 17th C, Steffani was "all over the place" – his overtures are thoroughly French, his arias sparklingly Italian, and his mastery of counterpoint profoundly German. Does that stylistic Duke's Mixture ring any bells? A certain pair of Germans born in 1685, one revered for his cantatas and the other for his operas, were both indebted to Steffani for his synthesis of Italian, French, and German fashions.

Agostino Steffani (1654-1728) was the most important composer ever to be appointed by the Duchy of Hannover. At the end of the 17th century this noble family embarked on a cultural offensive with the objective of having Duke Ernst August become a prince elector. To this end, the Welph dynasty obtained the services of Steffani, a master choice in itself as his works are still performed to this day in the majestic gardens of Princess Caroline of Monaco and her husband, the current Ernst August of Hannover.

Agostino Steffani is one of those multi-talented personalities one often encounters in the baroque era - he was a man of the church who made it as far as titular bishop and mediator between Pope and Emperor. He was a much-travelled diplomat and politician, as well, who held high state offices up to minister, and he was a composer who wrote operas for the courts in Munich, Hanover and Dsseldorf. The Italian soprano Silvia Frigato and the Castor ensemble trace the stages of Steffani's life through a selection of arias from his operas.

Allegri's early Baroque masterpiece Miserere from around 1630 movingly juxtaposes modal chant with tonality, and was so popular that the Vatican refused to allow it to be performed anywhere else - until the 14 year old Mozart broke the Vatican's monopoly by writing it down from memory after attending a performance. Pergolesi's late Baroque masterpiece Stabat Mater for soprano and alto dates from 1736, the year of his death at the age of 26. It was originally written for male voices but since it's hard to find a castrato these days, it's generally performed by two women or by a female soprano and counter-tenor. This performance uses a female alto but in other respects it's very much a period performance - the sound is intimate and the tempos are lively without any sacrifice of spiritual depth.

The triumphant release of Mission in autumn 2012 drew rave reviews and was followed up in September 2013 with Steffani’s Stabat Mater, alongside his greatest sacred works for chorus, orchestra and soloists, and a further disc of dances and overtures with the celebrated I Barrochisti conducted by Diego Fasolis. On the Stabat Mater, Bartoli leads an array of internationally celebrated singers including countertenor Franco Fagioli, the bass Salvo Vitale and the two young German tenors Daniel Behle and Julian Prégardien. The final album of the collection is Danze & Ouvertures’, contains 43 great tracks of enchanting early-baroque music.

The Sixteen adds to its stunning Handel collection with a new recording of Dixit Dominus set alongside a little know treasure - Agostino Steffani’s Stabat Mater. Full of virtuosity, vibrant colour and dynamic energy, Handel’s Dixit Dominus captures absolutely the Italian style of the period. Handel’s control of forces is masterly and the range of texture and style is breathtaking. Written during the composer’s time in Italy in the early eighteenth century it is amongst his first autographed works and also one of his finest.

Betrayal, sorcery and one dazzling aria after the next…Ovid's Queen Niobe of Thebes, who turns to stone when her children are slain by the gods as punishment for her arrogance and pride, is the subject of this forgotten 1688 masterpiece. The Italian composer-priest Agostino Steffani languished in obscurity until the opera was rediscovered recently; the Boston Early Music Festival give its world-premiere studio recording with Karina Gauvin in the psychologically complex title role, and countertenor Phillipe Jaroussky singing 'powerfully and sweetly' (The New York Times) as Niobe's husband Anfione, driven to suicide in the face of family tragedy.

Bien avant que Cecilia Bartoli n'attire l'attention sur Agostino Steffani avec son disque "Mission", Divox Antiqua et le groupe Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca avaient essayé de le faire avec ce très beau CD consacré à des ouvertures et suites orchestrales tirées d'opéras comme "Henrico Leone" (Hanovre 1688), "Il trionfi del fato" (Hanovre 1695), "Niobe Regina di Tebe" (Münich 1688), et "Amor vien dal destino" (Düsseldorf 1709).

This is undoubtedly the best film of Cecilia Bartoli in performance allowing fans to see the astounding Mezzo-soprano at her dazzling best, performing the spectacular music of themulti-faceted Agostino Steffani. Cecilia Bartoli is accompanied by the leading Baroque ensemble I Barrochisti, directed by Diego Fasolis. She is also joined on screen and in duet with guest star, countertenor Philippe Jarrousky.