Bernarda

“During this visit, these young ladies were so obliging as to sing me a Salve regina, lately set by their father, in duo. It is an exquisite composition, full of grace, taste and propriety.” What more could one ask of an antiphon than that which Charles Burney found in an impromptu performance by Hasse’s daughters during a visit to their father in Vienna in 1772? Hasse composed several settings of the Salve regina of which Reinhard Goebel has chosen two for his interesting programme of vocal and instrumental pieces by the composer.

Haydn’s songs, German and English, have never quite had the standing they deserve: two of the English canzonettas and one of the German songs here are not even in the current catalogue. Most often they are sung by sopranos, but there is no reason why a tenor shouldn’t be used; Haydn, a tenor, is known to have sung them himself. The performances here, by all three singers and Roger Vignoles’ alert and thoughtful accompanying perhaps plays a key role take them seriously and show them as the substantial music they are.

A ubiquitous Viennese figure in the early 1700s, Francesco Conti was one of several gifted Italian Baroque composers who settled in foreign lands. If Caldara remains the most durable Italian figure in Vienna, Conti's star — on this evidence — deserves to be dusted down and given a second chance. These four cantatas from eight Cantate am istromenti probably date from the first decade of the century and feature the most delectable plethora of obbligato instruments imaginable.

Mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink is a remarkably versatile singer, but she has devoted the bulk of her career to the music of the Baroque. Her impeccable technique, fluent coloratura, and warm, pure tone make this an ideal repertoire for her. She tends to convey a sense of dignity that can come across as reserve. When called upon, as in more emotionally charged repertoire, she can generate the necessary passion, but her naturally dignified musical demeanor ideally suits these Bach cantatas.

This important recording presents all of Hugo Wolf’s settings of the poetry of Eichendorff—26 songs in all, several of which seem never to have been recorded before (a fact which is hard to understand because they are very attractive). One of Wolf’s favourite writers, Joseph, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788–1857) was the German Romantic poet par excellence and his poems are full of the sounds of nature, the beauty of landscape, religious faith, and much musical imagery, with references to minstrels and other musicians. He was the poet of Schumann’s Op 39 Liederkreis, though perhaps the most well-known Eichendorff setting is Im Abendrot from Strauss’s Four Last Songs.

Bernarda Fink's voice is well suited to the nineteenth century lied; it's warm, full, and intensely focused, with a radiant luminosity over its whole range. She projects a sense of regal composure and a maturity that's not so much chronological as spiritual; you just have the sense that this is a very centered individual. Those qualities, along with her interpretive sensitivity, make this a truly memorable version of Frauenliebe und -leben.

Rare recordings of two settings of Mary’s passionate Easter lament. For their second L’Oiseau Lyre disc, Il Giardino Armonico, again under their director Giovanni Antonini, are joined by celebrated mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink, for a project exploring the Passion of Christ as seen through the eyes of the Virgin Mary. The two central works are both vocal settings of the Virgin’s lament.