Johannette Zomer, Bart Schneemann - Love and Madness, Handel Arias (2009) [SACD]
![Johannette Zomer, Bart Schneemann - Love and Madness, Handel Arias (2009) [SACD]](https://www.dibpic.com/uploads/posts/2021-02/1614238420_c0aee37aa4391fdb.jpg)
BAND/ARTIST: Johannette Zomer, Bart Schneemann
- Title: Love and Madness, Handel Arias
- Year Of Release: 2009
- Label: Channel Classics [CCS SA 29209]
- Genre: Classical
- Quality: DSD64 image (*.iso) / 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz
- Total Time: 01:14:50
- Total Size: 3.97 GB (+3%rec.)
- WebSite: Album Preview
” Zomer and Schneemann (who also contributes a couple of instrumental works to the program) work very well together–two special voices, unique in timbre but united in interpretive style and concept. And the sound is Channel Classics’ usual first-class production.”
While I’m not sure how the idea for this recording was formulated, the result shows the rewards achieved when two compatible and musically accomplished artists collaborate on a project that makes programmatic sense and suits their respective expressive personalities. Although the catalog is not wanting for fine recordings of Handel arias, this one focuses on works that include obbligato oboe, which gives us both some frequently heard selections and a few pieces that we don’t often find on typical compilations, including “Chi t’intende?” from Berenice, “Morirò” from Teseo, and “Caro, vieni a me” from Riccardo Primo, and a cantata fragment “Languia di bocca lusinghiera”.
Soprano Johannette Zomer, a frequent presence on Channel Classics recordings, begins most impressively with Berenice’s aria, displaying solid, centered tone and confident expressive character in a piece that also requires significant dialog with the oboe–which she and Bart Schneemann execute with engaging charm and remarkable timing. There’s even more drama to come in Medea’s aria from Teseo, “Morirò” (I shall die! But I shall die avenged…), and here Zomer shows her ability to command the opera stage, allowing us without any visual cues to experience the song’s full emotional impact, enlivened by the virtuosic support of the Musica Amphion orchestra.
Although Zomer doesn’t shy away from the challenges of Handel’s more fast and florid creations, she’s really at her best in the slower arias–indeed, her “Lascia ch’io pianga” is among the best-ever recorded versions–as are her “Scherza infida!” and “Mi palpita il cor”, which rank with Handel’s most popular and most-frequently performed arias. In the past I’ve had my issues with Zomer’s voice–but I have no such reservations here, especially regarding the exceptionally well-controlled tonal modulations that she uses to great expressive effect, a mastery of technique that wasn’t always present on several of her previous recordings.
Zomer and Schneemann (who also contributes a couple of instrumental works to the program) work very well together–two special voices, unique in timbre but united in interpretive style and concept. And the sound is Channel Classics’ usual first-class production. If we’re lucky these two superb musicians will find another good excuse to get together–and Channel Classics will be there to record it.
classicstoday.com
Tracks:
1 Chi T’intende? – Berenice’s Aria From ‘Berenice’ (1737) – Adagio / Andante 6:23
2 Morirò – Medea’s Aria From ‘Teseo’ (1713) – Adagio / Presto 4:02
3 Ah! Spietato! – Melissa’s Aria From ‘Amadigi’ (1715) – Largo / Allegro 5:13
4 Concerto A Quattro – Adagio 2:08
5 Languia Di Bocca Lusinghiera – Cantata Fragment 5:25
6 Dolce Riposo – Medea’s Aria From ‘Teseo’ (1713) – Largo 2:56
7 Io Sperai – Bellezza’s Aria From ‘Il Trionfo Del Tempo’ (1707) – Adagio 7:14
8 Lascia Ch’io Pianga – Almirena’s Aria From ‘Rinaldo’ (1711) – Largo 3:54
Oboe Concerto – In G Minor (1704-1705)
9 Part I: Grave 2:48
10 Part II: Allegro 1:57
11 Part III: Sarabande 1:56
12 Part IV: Allegro 1:55
13 Scherza Infida! – Ariodante’s Aria From ‘Ariodante’ (1735) – Andante 9:03
14 Mi Palpita Il Cor – Cantata Fragment – Adagio / Aria 7:50
15 Introduzione – From Cantata ‘Delirio Amoroso’ – Allegro / Largo / Allegro 4:41
16 Caro, Vieni A Me – Costanza’s Aria From ‘Riccardo Primo’ (1727) – Andante 5:42
Personnel:
Johannette Zomer, soprano
Bart Schneemann, oboe
Musica Amphion
Jan-Pieter Belder, conductor
Recorded 2008, Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
![Johannette Zomer, Bart Schneemann - Love and Madness, Handel Arias (2009) [SACD]](https://www.dibpic.com/uploads/posts/2021-02/1614238826_back.jpg)
While I’m not sure how the idea for this recording was formulated, the result shows the rewards achieved when two compatible and musically accomplished artists collaborate on a project that makes programmatic sense and suits their respective expressive personalities. Although the catalog is not wanting for fine recordings of Handel arias, this one focuses on works that include obbligato oboe, which gives us both some frequently heard selections and a few pieces that we don’t often find on typical compilations, including “Chi t’intende?” from Berenice, “Morirò” from Teseo, and “Caro, vieni a me” from Riccardo Primo, and a cantata fragment “Languia di bocca lusinghiera”.
Soprano Johannette Zomer, a frequent presence on Channel Classics recordings, begins most impressively with Berenice’s aria, displaying solid, centered tone and confident expressive character in a piece that also requires significant dialog with the oboe–which she and Bart Schneemann execute with engaging charm and remarkable timing. There’s even more drama to come in Medea’s aria from Teseo, “Morirò” (I shall die! But I shall die avenged…), and here Zomer shows her ability to command the opera stage, allowing us without any visual cues to experience the song’s full emotional impact, enlivened by the virtuosic support of the Musica Amphion orchestra.
Although Zomer doesn’t shy away from the challenges of Handel’s more fast and florid creations, she’s really at her best in the slower arias–indeed, her “Lascia ch’io pianga” is among the best-ever recorded versions–as are her “Scherza infida!” and “Mi palpita il cor”, which rank with Handel’s most popular and most-frequently performed arias. In the past I’ve had my issues with Zomer’s voice–but I have no such reservations here, especially regarding the exceptionally well-controlled tonal modulations that she uses to great expressive effect, a mastery of technique that wasn’t always present on several of her previous recordings.
Zomer and Schneemann (who also contributes a couple of instrumental works to the program) work very well together–two special voices, unique in timbre but united in interpretive style and concept. And the sound is Channel Classics’ usual first-class production. If we’re lucky these two superb musicians will find another good excuse to get together–and Channel Classics will be there to record it.
classicstoday.com
Tracks:
1 Chi T’intende? – Berenice’s Aria From ‘Berenice’ (1737) – Adagio / Andante 6:23
2 Morirò – Medea’s Aria From ‘Teseo’ (1713) – Adagio / Presto 4:02
3 Ah! Spietato! – Melissa’s Aria From ‘Amadigi’ (1715) – Largo / Allegro 5:13
4 Concerto A Quattro – Adagio 2:08
5 Languia Di Bocca Lusinghiera – Cantata Fragment 5:25
6 Dolce Riposo – Medea’s Aria From ‘Teseo’ (1713) – Largo 2:56
7 Io Sperai – Bellezza’s Aria From ‘Il Trionfo Del Tempo’ (1707) – Adagio 7:14
8 Lascia Ch’io Pianga – Almirena’s Aria From ‘Rinaldo’ (1711) – Largo 3:54
Oboe Concerto – In G Minor (1704-1705)
9 Part I: Grave 2:48
10 Part II: Allegro 1:57
11 Part III: Sarabande 1:56
12 Part IV: Allegro 1:55
13 Scherza Infida! – Ariodante’s Aria From ‘Ariodante’ (1735) – Andante 9:03
14 Mi Palpita Il Cor – Cantata Fragment – Adagio / Aria 7:50
15 Introduzione – From Cantata ‘Delirio Amoroso’ – Allegro / Largo / Allegro 4:41
16 Caro, Vieni A Me – Costanza’s Aria From ‘Riccardo Primo’ (1727) – Andante 5:42
Personnel:
Johannette Zomer, soprano
Bart Schneemann, oboe
Musica Amphion
Jan-Pieter Belder, conductor
Recorded 2008, Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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