Handel 2018

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Mary-Ellen Nesi presents thirteen arias most of them recorded here for the first time inspired by ten Greek female archetypes. George Petrou and the brilliant Armonia Atenea add fire to this exciting collection of 18th-century masterpieces. MDG listeners will be familiar with Mary-Ellen Nesi from several outstanding Handel recordings. In her most recent recital the acclaimed mezzo-soprano turns to dramatic roles from Baroque and classical operas.

Presented by the Festival della Valle d’Itria, this is the first modern-day staging of Leonardo Leo’s Neapolitan revision of Handel’s Rinaldo, a pastiche with a Mediterranean allure, which was composed in 1718 but considered lost until a few years ago. The story behind this rare opera is fascinating: the score of Handel’s masterpiece was brought illegally to Naples by the castrato singer Nicolò Grimaldi, who had performed Rinaldo in London. Once in Italy, the work was given a makeover by local composers, including Leo, who adapted it to the taste of the Neapolitan public, adding intermezzos and amusing characters.

In 1717, Handel was in dire straits. Living in London, his pension of 200 pounds a year for teaching the Royal princesses had stopped, and the public's enthusiasm for opera had faded. Fortunately, he was to gain a new patron: James Brydges, Earl of Carnarvon and Duke of Chandos. Brydges offered Handel residence at Cannons, his newly built palace in Edgware, then a rural area outside London. Set up as a rival court to King George I, he employed Handel to replace Johann Pepusch as Kapellmeister. Among his commissions were the Chandos Anthems and Chandos Te Deum.

Christopher Purves is renowned for both the powerful sense of dramatic conviction he brings to everything he undertakes, and for a vocal technique which must be heard to be believed. From Handel’s early cantata to selections from Italian opera and English oratorio, this is a recital from a very special singer indeed.

Melancholia is Italian bass Andrea Mastroni's most recent recording project. Mastroni is a true custodian of this type of singing, and this release represents a journey of discovery of the work of Handel that was written especially for Antonio Montagnana, one of the most exceptional singers in England during the period the German composer was working there. Desperation, anger, incantations, warrior instincts and human passion are some of the diverse elements captured in these pieces. A worthy companion for this vocal marathon is the Accademia dell'Annunciata, a baroque orchestra of great quality, conducted by Riccardo Doni.

Melancholia is Italian bass Andrea Mastroni's most recent recording project. Mastroni is a true custodian of this type of singing, and this release represents a journey of discovery of the work of Handel that was written especially for Antonio Montagnana, one of the most exceptional singers in England during the period the German composer was working there. Desperation, anger, incantations, warrior instincts and human passion are some of the diverse elements captured in these pieces. A worthy companion for this vocal marathon is the Accademia dell'Annunciata, a baroque orchestra of great quality, conducted by Riccardo Doni.

Roland Wilson enjoys great esteem as a trumpeter and a cornett player who performs with his own ensemble, and as a musicologist his name stands for the rediscovery of many an early music rarity. On CPO's new recording we hear two highly interesting works that once were (and today still are) ascribed to George Frideric Handel. Johann Mattheson, who was working on the setting of the same libretto in 1723, wrote a detailed review of this Passion probably first performed in 1704 and published anonymously. Although Mattheson does not mention the 'world-famous' man by name, his choice of words repeatedly offers clear references, for example, when he states that the inscription Pilate had put on the cross caused him 'new business' ('neue Händel').

The tale of ill-fated Dido and her Aeneas, as recounted by Virgil, fascinated the 18th century English, who saw it as relevant to the royal machinations they had experienced over the previous hundred years. The glorious economy of Purcell's version was never matched, but numerous versions of the setting by famed Italian librettist Pietro Metastasio were performed on London stages. Handel gets top billing in the graphics here, but in fact this Didone Abbandonata is a work by the Italian composer Leonardo Vinci, who died at age 40 in 1730 before his influence was fully appreciated.