PROGRAM
Georg-Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
Gulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17 (1724)
Ouverture
« Svegliatevi nel core » (Sesto, acte I, sc. 4)
« Cara speme questor cor » (Sesto, acte I, sc. 8)
Sinfonia (Acte III, sc. 2)
« L’Angue offesa mai riposa » (Sesto, acte II, sc. 6)
Rodrigo, HWV 5 (1707)
Passacaille
Serse, HWV 40 (1737)
« Ombra mai fu » (Serse, acte I, sc. 1)
« Crude furie » (Serse, acte III, sc. 11)
Ariodante, HWV 33 (1734)
Ouverture
« Scherza infida » (Ariodante, acte II, sc. 3)
« Dopo notte » (Ariodante, acte III, sc. 9)
Concerto grosso opus 3 n° 2, HWV 313 (1734)
Vivace
Largo
Allegro
Vivace
Moderato [Menuet]
Allegro [Gavotte]
Rinaldo, HWV 7a (1711)
Prelude (acte I, sc. 7)
« Cara sposa » (Rinaldo, acte I, sc. 7)
« Venti turbini » (Rinaldo, acte I, sc. 9)
CAST
Key’mon Murrah, contre-ténor
Les Talens Lyriques
Christophe Rousset, clavecin et direction
« When I began my harpsichord studies in Aix-en-Provence, I had the privilege of attending the final rehearsal of Handel’s Alcina. A vivid impression has remained with me ever since: the beauty of the voices, magnified by an incomparably elegant writing style, the contrasts of emotions, the exhilaration born of virtuosity, and the profound expressive power of the adagios. Thus was born a love that has never faded – for this composer, for the voices best suited to serve him, for baroque opera, and for the sense of wonder it so beautifully conveys. It was when Les Talens Lyriques were still in their infancy that the project to record a little-known Handel opera, Scipione, came to life: a recording and a concert at the Beaune Festival that proved to be milestones. Since then, Handel’s works (Rinaldo, Riccardo Primo, Tamerlano, Alcina, Agrippina, Giulio Cesare, Serse, Ariodante…) have followed one another – not only in Beaune, but throughout the world, even as far as Australia! Our Handel recital recordings with Joyce DiDonato and Sandrine Piau have been met with acclaim, and we have had the privilege of being welcomed by many prestigious stages to bring this composer’s music to life (in Dresden, Paris, Stockholm, Brussels, Vienna, Montpellier, Amsterdam, Bilbao, Toulouse, among others). A Handel aria remains forever a model of its kind – through its form, its expressive substance, and the unique space it offers to the voice. Some of his most beautiful arias, even the most frequently performed, continue to exert an incomparable emotional power over me. I believe I shall never tire of them – nor ever be without them. »
– Christophe Rousset