1678-1741 airs d'operas et musique sacree I opera arias and sacred music

EXTWTS DE I EXTRACTS FROM , , , La Candace.. . In Furore iustissimae irae, Laudate pueri dominum

SOPRANO verdnica cangemi SOPR~NO, , guillemette laurens MEZZOSOPFWOS, marie-nicole lemieux CONTMLTO, COUNTERTENOR, , topi lehtipuu TENORS ensemble matheus, jean-christophe spinosi mod0 antiquo, accademia bizantina, antonio vivaldi La fida ninfa RV 714 -Aria Alma oppressa da sorfe crudele 4'51 In Furore iustissimae irae RV 626 -Aria In Furore iustissimae irae 4'30 La fida ninfa RV 714 -Aria Dalla gioia e dall'amore 3'21 La fida ninfa RV 714 -Aria Ilmio cor; a chila diede 5'52 Laudate Pueri RV 601 - Patri et Filio 4'02 La Candace RV 704 -Aria Usignoli che piangete 3'46 La Candace RV 704 -Aria Certo timor ch'ho in petto 4'04 Atenaide RV 702-B - Aria In bosco romito 6'08 La Candace RV 704 - Quartetto Anima del cor mio 4'59 Duo Zefirettiche sussurate RV 749.21 5'04 Laudate Pueri RV 601 - A solis ortu 3'31 La fida ninfa RV 714 - Quartetto Cosi, su gl'occhi miei? 2'49 La Silvia RV 734 -Aria Quell'augellin 4'01 Atenaide RV 702-8 - Aria Della rubella 3'51 In Furore iustissimae irae RV 626 -Aria Tunc meus fletus 6'10 In Furore iustissimae irae RV 626 -Aria Alleluia 1'42 Atenaide RV 702-8 - Aria Son co$evole a' tuoi lumi 4'37 La fida ninfa RV 714 -Trio S'egli 6 ver; chela sua rota 3'1 7

sandrine piau SOPRANO verdnica cangemi 1121 SOPRANO, ann hallenberg [9,10], guillemette laurens [lo] MEZOSOPRnNOS, marie-nicole lemieux [12,18] CONTRALTO, philippe jaroussky [I21 COUNTERTENOR, paul agnew [lo], topi lehtipuu [I81 TENORS ensemble matheus, jean-christophe spinosi [1,3,4,12,18] , federico maria sardelli [6-10,13,14,17] accademia bizantina, ottavio dantone [2,5,11,15,16] giovanna, giustina, margarita .. . et sandrine .. . par frederic delamea

Le melomane connait depuis longtemps Chiaretta,Anna Maria ou Teresa, ces pensionnaires de I'Ospedale de la Pieta auxquelles Vivaldi dedia certains de ses concertos pour violon, viole d'amour ou violoncelle. Mais qui connait Giovanna, Giustina ou Margarita, chanteuses d'opera du Prete Rosso que Sandrine Piau fait revivre dans cette anthologie en leur pr6tant sa merveilleuse voix? Et que savons-nous d'elles? Peu de choses le plus souvent. Car ces artistes, dont les prenoms evoquent les pastels de Rosalba Carriera, n'ont le plus souvent laisse d'autres traces que les notes ecrites pour elles par les cornpositeurs de leur temps. Par la force de son mauvais caractere, Margarita Gualandi est I'une de celles qui echappent a cet incognito. Cette maitresse femme, dont toute I'ltalie musicale connaissait la reputation de harpie inflexible, exceda d'ailleurs tellement Vivaldi par ses caprices qu'il la menaFa un jour de ne plus Bcrire pour elle ... II est vrai que selon I'un de ses proches, Margarita pouvait ((hurler plus fort qu'un aigle. lorsque ses exigences n'etaient pas satisfaites! Mais ses cordes vocales pouvaient surtout eblouir son auditoire, comme dans le delectable Quell'augellin que Vivaldi lui dedia dans La Silvia (Milan, ete 1721), et qu'il accompagna sans doute lui-rnerne du violon, dans une joute apaisee. GiustinaTurcotti,qui crea le r6le titre dlAtenaide(Florence, carnaval 1729), alimenta moins la chronique parses frasques.Tous les temoignages dont nous disposons a son sujet Bvoquent en revanche une chanteuse dotee d'une voix sublime. C'est cette atres belle voix. que loua le Prince Charles-Albert de Bavikre lorsqu'il I'entendit en concert prive et c'est encore cette voix qui fit dire a Montesquieu, prestigieux spectateur de I'Atenaide florentine, que seule la fameuse Faustina Bordoni surpassait en ltalie le talent de .la Turcoffan. A en juger par les airs chantes par Giustina dans cet opera, ces deux temoins ne mentaient pas. Pour qui, sinon une chanteuse debordant de sensibilite et de finesse, Vivaldi pourrait-il en effet avoir compose tout a la fois les admirables In bosco romito et Son co$evole, sans compter I'adaptation de Della rubella, un air provenant de son Orlando furioso? La destinee des autres chanteuses auxquelles Sandrine Piau rend hommage dans ce recital est encore plus mysterieuse. Giovanna Gasperini, pour qui Vivaldi composa le rBle de Licori dans La fida ninfa, etait une protegee du gouverneur de Mantoue. Dotee d'une tessiture exceptionnelle et d'une agilite remarquable, elle excellait dans les acrobaties vocales comme en temoigne I'etourdissant air de bravoure Alma oppressa. Mais Giovanna ne possedait pas cette seule corde a son arc et son chant s'epanouissait tout autant dans le lyrisme tendre d'll mio cor, hymne a la fidelite amoureuse chante par Licori au debut du 2he acte de I'opera. De mhe, sa palette expressive variee lui permettait de peindre avec subtilite les clairs-obscurs poignants d'un air depouille comme Dalla gioia e dall'amore ou d'entrainer la dynamique dramatique collective de I'energique quatuor Cosi, so gl'occhi miei? ou de I'enivrant trio S'egli e ver; che la sua rota. On sait egalement peu de choses de Margherita Zani (ou Ziani), creatrice du rBle titre de Candace (Mantoue, carnaval 1720). Mais on pressent cependant, derriere les compositions conCues pour elle par Vivaldi, les multiples facettes de son talent: cabotine irresistible dans Anima del cor mio, le savoureux quatuor du 2he acte, palpitante dans Certo fimor ch'ho in petto, le fievreux air de cldture du 1er acte, ou rossignol Bblouissant a I'ouverture du 3he acte avec Usignolichepiangete, lamentation virtuose de la Reine-mere aux pieds de la forteresse oir son fils est enferme. Quant a I'interprete du delicieux Zeffiretti che sussurrate, air separe preserve par Vivaldi dans sa collection personnelle, on ignore tout de lui. Vivaldi composa-t-il cette delicate scene arcadienne pour une chanteuse ou pour un castrat? A une Bpoque ou les voix masculines et feminines se disputaient les plus hauts sommets des tessitures aigues, nulle certitude n'est acquise, sinon que lors de sa reprise sous forme de variante dans Ercole sol Termodonte (Rome, carnaval 1723), Zeffiretti che sussurrate, devenu Onde chiare che sussorate, fut chante par un homme, le castrat soprano Giacinto Fontana. C'est d'ailleurs peut-&tre pour ce m&me chanteur que Vivaldi composa a Rome, a la m&me epoque, le motet In furoreiustissimae irae, une piece d'une difficult6 d'execution redoutable, debutant par une ritournelle cinglante qui figure I'explosion de la colbre divine et s'achevant sur un alleluia d'une Bblouissante virtuosite, qui annonce le pardon divin. Une m6me incertitude plane sur I'identite de I'interprbte de I'imposant psaume Laudate pueri Dominum RV 601, vraisemblablement compose pour Dresde, ou une copie de cette ceuvre est aujourd'hui prhservee. Une chose est sirre cependant: masculines ou feminines, anonymes ou identifiees, vedettes reconnues ou gloire d'une saison, toutes ces voix de soprano furent gratifiees par Vivaldi d'un soin admirable dans I'elaboration de chacune des miniatures dramatiques reunies dans ce programme. Et pres de trois sibcles plus tard, alors que la plupart de ces joyaux etaient demeures ensevelis, Sandrine Piau se les approprie d'une maniere etincelante. Tour a tour noble Silvia ou farouche Licori, Atenaide accablee ou Candace virevoltante, elle nous livre, au travers de son interpretation de ces airs d'une extraordinaire variete sur le plan des affects, du traitement de la ligne vocale, de I'instrumentation, des tonalites ou des tempi, une image luxuriante de la langue theitrale du compositeur des Quatre Saisons. giovanna, giustina, margarita . . . and sandrine by frederic delamea

Music-lovers have long been familiar with Chiaretta,Anna Maria and Teresa, those residents of the orphanage of the Pieta for whom Vivaldi wrote some of his concertos for violin, viola d'amore or cello. But who knows Giovanna, Giustina or Margarita, the prete rosso's opera singers whom Sandrine Piau brings back to life in this anthology by lending them her marvellous voice? And what do we know about them?Very little, in general, for these artists whose first names suggest the pastels of Rosalba Carriera have most often left no traces other than the notes written for them by the composers of their day. Thanks to her extremely bad temper, Margarita Gualandi is one of those few singers who have escaped such oblivion. In fact this haughty soprano, known throughout the musical world in ltaly as an intransigent virago, so exasperated Vivaldi with her caprices that he once threatened to stop writing for her. . . It has to be said that, according to one of her intimates, Margarita could 'scream louder than an eagle' when her demands were not satisfied! Nevertheless, her principal use for her vocal cords was to dazzle audiences, as in the delectable 'Quell'augellin' Vivaldi composed for her in La Silvia (Milan, summer 1721), in which he probably accompanied her on the violin himself in a contest of tranquil virtuosity. GiustinaTurcotti,who created the title role in Atenaide(Florence, Carnival 1729), made fewer headlines with her escapades. However, all the extant contemporary accounts are agreed that she was gifted with a sublime voice. Prince Karl Albert of Bavaria praised above all her 'very fine voice' when he heard her at a private concert, while Montesquieu, a prestigious member of the audience at Atenaidein Florence, observed that the famous Faustina Bordoni was the only singer in ltaly to surpass 'LaTurcotta' in talent. To judge from the splendid arias written for the opera's title role, these two eyewitnesses were not exaggerating. For whom, if not for a singer overflowing with sensibility and finesse, could Vivaldi have composed the admirable 'In bosco romito' and 'Son colpevole', not to mention the adaptation of 'Della rubella', an aria from his Orlando furioso? The destinies of the other singers to whom Sandrine Piau pays tribute in this recital are even more mysterious. Giovanna Gasperini, for whom Vivaldi composed the role of Licori in La fida ninfa, was a protegee of the governor of Mantua. Gifted with an exceptional range and remarkable agility, she excelled at vocal acrobatics, as witness the dizzying aria di bravurarAlmaoppressa'. But Giovanna had more strings than one to her bow, and her voice blossomed to equal effect in the tender lyricism of 'll mio cor', a hymn to fidelity in love sung by Licori at the start of the opera's second act. Similarly, her varied palette permitted her subtly to paint the poignant chiaroscuro effects of an unadorned aria like 'Dalla gioia e dall'amore' or to lead the collective dramatic dynamism of the vigorous quartet 'Cosi, su gl'occhi miei?' or the exhilarating trio 'S'egli e ver, che la sua rota'. We know equally little of Margherita Zani (or Ziani), the creator of the title role in Candace (Mantua, Carnival 1720). But one senses the multiple facets of her talent behind the compositions conceived for her by Vivaldi: irresistibly playing to the gallery in 'Anima del cor mio', the gripping Act II quartet; thrilling in 'Certo timor ch'ho in petto', the feverish closing aria of the first act; a ravishing nightingale at the opening of Act Ill with 'Usignoli che piangete', the virtuoso lament of the queen mother outside the walls of the fortress where her son is imprisoned. As to the interpreter of the delightful 'Zeffiretti che sussurrate', an individual aria conserved by Vivaldi in his personal collection, we know nothing at all about her - or him. Did Vivaldi compose this delicate Arcadian scene for a female singer or for a ? At a time when male and female voices vied with each other to attain the highest tessituras, we can be certain of nothing, although we do know that when a variant of the aria, now called 'Onde chiare che sussurate', was taken over into Ercole sol Termodonte (Rome, Carnival 1723), it was sung by a man, the soprano castrato Giacinto Fontana. And it may well have been for this same singer that Vivaldi composed the motet In furore iustissimae irae in Rome at the same period. This fearsomely difficult piece begins with a driving ritornello symbolising the explosion of divine rage and ends with a dazzlingly virtuosic 'Alleluia' which announces God's forgiveness. There is similar uncertainty as to the identity of the performer of the imposing psalm setting Laudate pueri Dominum RV 601, probably composed for Dresden where a copy of this work is preserved today. But one thing is sure: whether male or female, anonymous or identifiable, acknowledged stars or one-season wonders, all these soprano voices benefited from the admirable care Vivaldi lavished on the elaboration of each of the dramatic miniatures assembled in this programme.And after nearly three centuries of neglect of most of these gems, Sandrine Piau makes them her own in sparkling fashion. By turns a noble Silvia, a timid Licori, a prostrate Atenaide or a pirouetting Candace, she gives us, with her interpretation of these arias, so extraordinarily varied in terms of affects, treatment of the vocal line, instrumentation, key and tempi, a rich image of the operatic language of the composer of The Four Seasons. sandrine piau SOPRANO

Rivelee au Dublic oar la musiaue baroaue aux cBtes de William Christie. Philiooe Herreweahe. Christophe kousset, ~mmanuelle~ai.m; , Gustav ~eonhardt'duRene ~a$bs[ Sandrine Piau affiche auiourd'hui un larse reoertoire reflete oar une abondante discoaraohie. et confirme sa place d'exception la nouvelle generation de chanteurs franGis: ~ur la scene lyrique, elle alterne rBles baroques, classiques et romantiques: L'incoronazione di Poppea, , , Arianna! Giulio Cesare (Cleopatra), Gluck, Mozart (Servilia, Pamina, Konstanze, Ismene), Weber (Annchen), Berlioz (Hero), Verdi (Nannetta), Massenet (Sophie), Britten (Tytania), Wanda (La Grande-Duchesse de Girolstein), Ninette (L'Amour des trois oranges),Pelleas et Melisande (Melisande). Au concert, elle se produit dans L'Enfant et les sortileges (Myung-Whun Chung), La Criation (Daniel Harding), Jeanne d'arc au bDcher (Kurt MasurIPhiiharmonie de Berlin), Le Songe d'une nuit d'ete (enregistre avec ), Elias de Mendelssohn (Michel Corbozrreatro Colbn) ou encore la Messe en ut mineur (Festival de Salzbourg). A noter ses debuts new-yorkais au Lincoln Center avec le Freiburger Barockorchester. En recital, elle a pour partenaires les pianistes Corine Ourous, Alexandre Tharaud, Christian Ivaldi, Georges Pludermacher, Susan Manoff, Myung-Whun Chung et .Avec ce dernier, elle enregistre des melodies de Debussy (Prix Ravel aux Orphees), faisant suite a un premier disque d'airs d'operas de Mozart avec le Freiburger Barockorchester (Prix Charles Cros). Elle enregistre egalement le rBle-titre La fida ninfa de Vivaldi avec Jean-Christophe Spinosi et I'Ensemble Matheus. Son album Haendel avec et a ete distingue comme Editor's Choice par Gramophone eta re$u le Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize pour I'an 2005. Elle a publie en 2007 un recital, vocation, accompagnee par Susan Manoff. Elle a ete faite Chevalier de I'Ordre des Arts et Lettres en 2006. Sandrine Piau a ete consacree Artiste lyrique de I'annke par les Victoires de la musique classique 2009. After initially making her reputation in alongside William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Christophe Rousset, Emmanuelle Haim, Sigiswald Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardtand Rene Jacobs, Sandrine Piau now sings a broad repertoire reflected in her large discography, and has confirmed her outstanding position in the new generation of French singers. On the operatic stage she alternates roles in Baroque, Classical and later music: L'incoronazione di Pappea, Serse, Tamerlano, Arianna, Giulio Cesare, Gluck, Mozart (Servilia, Pamina, Konstanze, Ismene), Weber (Annchen), Berlioz (Hero), Verdi (Nannetta), Massenet (Sophie), Britten vytania), Offenbach (WandalLa Grande-Duchesse de G.6rolsteh), Prokofiev (NinettelL'Amour des trois oranges), Pelleas et Milisande. In concert she has sung L'Enfant et les sortileges (Myung-Whun Chung), Die Schopfung (Daniel Harding), Jeanne @Arc au blicher (Kurt Masurl ), A MidsummerNighf's Dream(recordedwith Philippe Herreweghe), Elias (Michel Corbozfleatro Colbn), and Mozart's C minor Mass (). She made a notable New York debut at Lincoln Center with the Freiburger Barockorchester. Her recital partners include Corine Durous, Alexandre Tharaud, Christian Ivaldi, Georges Pludermacher, Susan Manoff, Myung-Whun Chung, and Jos van Immerseel. With the last-named she recorded a recital of Debussy songs (winner of the Prix Ravel at the Orphees Lyriques), following a first solo CD of Mozart opera arias with the Freiburger Barockorchesterthat won the Prix de I'Academie Charles Cros. She recorded the title role in Vivaldi's La fida ninfa with Jean-Christophe Spinosi and Ensemble Matheus. Her Handel album with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques was Editor's Choice in Gramophone and was awarded the Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize for 2005. In 2007 she released another recital CD, gvocation, accompanied by Susan Manoff. She was appointed Chevalier de I'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 2006. Sandrine Piau was voted Singer of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2009. egalement disponibles I also available brahms haydn vivaldi Ein deutsches Die sieben letzten Worte In furore, Laudate pueri Sandrine Piau, Stephane Degout, Sandrine Piau, Ruth Sandhoff, &concerti sacri Brigitte Engerer, Boris Berezovsky Robert Getchell, Harv van der Kamp, Sandrine Piau, Stefano Montanari, (pianos) Akademie fiir alte Musik-Berlin, Accademia Bizantina. , Laurence Equilbey accentus, Laurence Equilbey Ottavio Dantone V 4956 V 5045 OP 30416 Vivaldi Edition Musica sacra 5 chausson, debussy, koechlin, mozart schoenberg, strauss, zemlinsky Mass in C minor K427 Arie d'opera Evocation Sandrine Piau, Anne-Lise Sollied, Sandrine Piau,Ann Hallenberg, Sandrine Piau, Susan Manoff Paul Agnew, Frederic Caton, Paul Agnew, Guillemette Laurens, V 5063 accentus, La Chambre Modo Antiquo, Philharmonique, Emmanuei Krivine Federico Maria Sardelli debussy Livre-disque V 5032, V 5043 OP 3041 1 Melodies Vivaldi Edition Opere teatrali 5 Sandrine Piau, Jos van Immerseel Opera Arias V 4932 Sandrine Piau, Atenaide RV 702-8 Freiburger Barockorchester, Sandrine Piau, Vivica Genaux, handel Gottfried van der Goitz Guiiiemette Laurens, Arias and duets E 8877 .. ., Modo Antiquo, Sandrine Piau, , Federico Maria Sardelli Concerto Itaiiano, 3 CD OP 30438 Rinaido Aiessandrini Vivaldi Edition Opere teatrali 9 OP 30483 La fida ninfa RV 714 Opera seria Sandrine Piau, Ver6nica Cangemi, Sandrine Piau, Les Talens Lyriques, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Christophe Rousset Lorenzo Regazzo, Topi Lehtipuu. .., E 8894 Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi Between heaven and earth 3 CD OP 3041 0 Sandrine Piau, Vivaldi Edition O~ereteatrali 11 Accademia Bizantina, Stefano Montanari OP30484 n a'iv e ISTITUTO PER 1 BEN1 MUSICAL1 IN PIEMONTE & The Vivaldi Edition

L'~ditionVivaidi, entreprise discographique conque par le musicologueAlberto Basso et le label independant Naive, constitue I'un des projets d'enregistrement les plus ambitieux du XXle siecle. Son objet premier est d'enregistrer la vaste collection de manuscrits autographes vivaldiens consemee a la Bibiiothkque nationale universitaire de Turin, quelque 450 oeuvres en tout : un veritable tresor puisqu'il s'agit de la bibliotheque personneile devivaidi, I'ensemble des partitions que celui-ci consewait chez lui au moment de sa mort, a Vienne, en 1741. Au terme d'un parcours chaotique qui les emmena de Venise A GGnes puis a Casale Monferrato (Piemant), ses rnanuscrits arriverent presque par hasard a la Bibiiotheque de Turin, qui prit conscience de leur inestimable valeur et les acquit grice a deux genereux mecenes vers 1930. Cet ensemble comprend 15 operas, des centaines de concertos, compositions sacrees et cantates. La majorit6 de ces oeuvres n'a pas Bte entendue depuis le XVllle silrcle. La publication de plus de 100 disques, qui a debut6 en I'an 2000, se poursuivra jusqu'en 201 5. Cobjectif de I'idition Vivaldi est de rendre cette extraordinaire profusion musicale disponible pour le plus grand nombre et de reveler le genie de Vivaidi, non seulement en tant que compositeur de musique instrumentale, domaine dans lequel sa reputation etait deja etablie, mais aussi en tant que createur de quelques-unes des oeuvres vocaies les plus importantes du XVllle sikcle. Par ailleurs, i'~ditiondeveloppe une activite de promotion de concertsVivaldi au sein des plus prestigieuxfestivals et saisons musicales europeens, et developpe des projets multimedia qui rassembient rnusiciens, cineastes, auteurs, plasticiens.. .

The Vivaidi EdiBon, a recording venture conceived by the Italian musicologist Aiberto Basso and the independent label Naive, is one of the most ambitious recording projects of the twenty-first century. Its principal objective is to record the massive collection of Vivaldi autograph manuscripts prese~edtoday in the Bibiioteca Nazionale Universitaria inTurin, some 450 works in all.This treasure trove is none other than the private library of scoresvivaldi had at home at the time of his death in Vienna in 1741 and includes his extant operas, hundreds of concertos, sacred compositions and cantatas.Afler a chaotic itinerary which took them from Venice to Genoa, then to Casale Monferrato in Piedmont,these manuscripts ended up almost by accident at the library inTurin, which, reaiising their priceless value, managed to acquire them around 1930 thanks to two generous patrons. The collection includes fifteen operas and several hundred concertos, as well as sacred compositions and secular cantatas. Most of this music has not been heard since the eighteenth century. The release of more than one hundred recordings, which began in the year 2000, will continue until 2015. TheVivaldi Edition's goal is to make this extraordinary wealth of music available to the public and at the same time to reveal the full genius of Vivaldi, not only as a composer of instrumental music, for which he was already known, but as the creator of some of the eighteenth century's most important vocal music. Beyond the realm of recording, the Vivaldi Edition is active in promoting affiliated concerts in major festivals and concert series throughout Europe and in developing multimedia projects which bring together musicians, film-makers, authors, visual artists and others. Recording producers: Laure C~EWVE-RR~(La fida ninfa), Barbara VALEN~N(Atenaide), Jean-Pierre LOISIL Sound engineers: Thomas DAPPELO(La fida ninfa), Rolf LI~~GELBERG(Atenaide), Pierre-Antoine SIGIIORET [LGS-Le Grenier a Son] Editing: Walter PLATE(Atenaide), Laure C~~M-PCRE

Philippe JAROIJSSKYappears by kind permission of

Naive Classique, Director: Didier [email protected]

Translations: Charles JOHNSTON

Photos: OAntoine LEGRAND

Artwork: naive

8 & 0 201 0 naive 0P30508