Composer: Georg Friedrich Handel
Performer: Adele Stolte, Siegfried Pank, Wolfgang Notzold
Orchestra: Handel Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Thomas Sanderling
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Eterna
Release: 1971
Size: 233 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Crudel tiranno Amor, HWV 97
01. Aria: “Crudel tiranno Amor”
02. Recitative: “Ma tu mandi al moi core”
03. Aria: “O dolce mia speranza”
04. Recitative: “Senza te, dolce spene”
05. Aria: “O cara speme del mio diletto”
Ah, che troppo ineguali, HWV 230
06. Recitative: “Ah, che troppo ineguali”
07. Aria: “O del Ciel Maria Regina”
Tra le fiamme, HWV 170
08. Aria: “Tra le fiamme”
09. Recitative: “Dedalo gia le fortunate penne”
10. Aria: “Pien di nuovo e bel diletto”
11. Recitative: “Si, si, pur troppo e vero”
12. Aria: “Voli per l’aria”
13. Recitative: “L’uomo che nacque per salire”
14. Aria: “Tra le fiamme” (Da Capo)
This recording originally appeared in 1972, when it would have shared shelf space with sopranos belting out Handel’s melodies over the accompaniment of giant symphonic string sections. Adele Stolte, a Bach specialist from the former East Germany, and conductor Kurt Sanderling were thus ahead of the game when they offered this selection of Handel’s Italian cantatas and respected the chamber-sized virtuosity of the works. Handel was in his early twenties when he wrote these pieces, of which about 30 survive of an originally larger group (some for voice with strings and continuo, some without the strings). They are explosive works of a young genius, and they need to have room for the explosions. The spare accompaniment by Sanderling, leading members of the Handel Festival Orchestra of Halle, is ideal, with a sharply delineated gamba-and-harpsichord continuo and a nicely balanced ensemble including a pair of flutes, oboe, and bassoon in Tra le flamme, HWV 170. Stolte’s voice is a bit thin in spots, and hers is overall a reading on the quiet side. But she maintains nice control over the massive “O del Ciel Maria Regina!” (track 7), which spins out a couple of lines of text to a nearly 13-minute length, and this sacred cantata, not as often heard as the outer betrayed-woman items, makes in every way an effective intermezzo. One of the more successful items in the Berlin Classics reissue series, this is a reasonable choice at a budget price even if it has been superseded by the true athletes of the Baroque vocal revival.