Conti: David
Soloists
Il Complesso Barocco
Alan Curtis
There is a question mark over whether I should have included this piece in this project because its exact status is unclear - it seems to sit somewhere between an opera and oratorio and it is unclear whether, and to what extent, it was ever staged. But I am glad that I included it because there was some splendid music here. The overall style is Handelian, with plenty of impressive arias covering a wide variety of moods and emotions. The recitatives are also notable and together they add up to a really satisfying whole. But perhaps ever more notable are the splendid choruses which end each act. These really do pack a punch with some unexpectedly chromatic harmonic effects. Whether these would have been sung by the solosits (as in Handel opera) or by a choir (as in his Oratorios) seems to be a matter of dispute but whatever the historical position they do work very well here sung by a small chorus.
Although Handel represented the peak of baroque Italianate opera his project has clearly demonstrated that other composers, much less well known, were snapping at his heels.
