O barbaro Amore Duettii da camera Jory Vinikour, harpsichord & direction O barbaro Amore Agostino Steffani (1654-1728) Duetti da camera

Andréanne Brisson Paquin, soprano Céline Ricci, mezzo-soprano José Lemos, countertenor Steven Soph, tenor Mischa Bouvier, baritone Deborah Fox, theorbo & guitar Jennifer Morsches , cello Jory Vinikour, harpsichord & direction

2 O barbaro Amore This program of duets is designed to tell a story. In È spento l’ardore the poet rejoices in freedom from “barbarous Love”, but after a while she is reminded of her “ex” (Saldi marmi ) and decides to find out whether Cupid is really that cruel ( Io voglio provar ). Smitten again ( Non so chi mi piagò ), she learns that the chains of love afford pleasure ( Placidissime catene ), but when her beloved is away she longs for reunion ( Lontananza crudel ) – her heart becomes a sea of torment ( Il mio seno ), her life unbearable ( Quando ti stringo ). However, when her lover returns, she has to beg for a kiss ( Labri belli ) and concludes that “for every daughter of Love there is one of Deceit” ( Occhi, perché piangete? ). -Colin Timms

1 È spento l’ardore – Andréanne Brisson Paquin, Mischa Bouvier ...... 6’20

2 Saldi marmi – Andréanne Brisson Paquin, Céline Ricci ...... 9’36

3 Io voglio provar – Andréanne Brisson Paquin, Steven Soph ...... 6’16

4 Non so chi mi piagò – Andréanne Brisson Paquin, José Lemos ...... 7’19

5 Placidissime catene – Céline Ricci , José Lemos ...... 6’01

6 Lontananza crudel – Andréanne Brisson Paquin, Céline Ricci ...... 3’33

7 Il mio seno è un mar di pene – Céline Ricci , Steven Soph ...... 9’20

8 Quando ti stringo, o cara – Céline Ricci , José Lemos ...... 3’11

9 Labri belli, dite un po – Céline Ricci , Mischa Bouvier ...... 7’30

0 Occhi, perché piangete? – Andréanne Brisson Paquin, José Lemos ...... 6’54 Total Time: 66’07 3 ezzo-soprano Céline Ricci has collaborated with some of the Mmost distinguished conductors in , including William Christie, Nicholas McGegan and Martin Haselboeck. She has performed in many renowned theatres, such as the Paris Opéra Comique, the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Berlin Staatsoper, the Lincoln Center in NYC, the Disney Hall in Los Angeles and at the Spoleto Festival. Céline has recorded numerous CDs and DVDs, and recently art-directed two CDs of French songs for American label Sono Luminus. Future engagements will bring Céline to the Teatro Real de Madrid and Musica Angelica in Los Angeles. Since 2015 she has revived and staged Ars Minerva’s productions of Daniele da Castrovillari’s La Cleopatra (1662), Carlo Pallavicino’s The Amazons in the Fortunate Isles (1679) and Pietro Andrea Ziani’s La Circe (1665).

4 razilian countertenor José Lemos is noted worldwide for his artistry in Bopera and concert. He won First Prize and Audience Prize in the 2003 International Baroque Singing Competition at Chimay, Belgium. He has sung a wide range of opera roles with leading conductors William Christie, Marc Minkowski, Nicholas McGegan and Jory Vinikour, and with directors Paul O’Dette and of the Boston Early Music Festival. These collaborations have taken him to perform in such places as the Opernhaus Zürich, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls in New York, Royal Festival Hall in London, and the Teatro Real de Madrid. José Lemos is a guest member with the Baltimore Consort and has been a regular guest with several American and European early music ensembles, such as Christina Pluhar’s L’Arpeggiata, Brandywine Baroque, Boston Baroque, , NYS Baroque and Chatham Baroque. Mr. Lemos is a recording artist with Sono Luminus.

5 ennifer Morsches is a freelance recitalist, chamber musician, continuo cellist and Jorchestral player in the UK, continental Europe and her native USA. She is the principal cellist of Florilegium, with whom she has recorded numerous award-winning discs for Channel Classics Records and performs around the globe. A longtime member of the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Les Siècles, she works with such artists as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir András Schiff, Vladimir Jurowski, Sir Roger Norrington, David Zinman and Philippe Herreweghe. As guest prin - cipal cellist she has played with Dutch National Opera, Chicago Opera Theater and Boston Baroque and on tours and recordings with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic. She is Co-Artistic Director of Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble (Cambridge, MA) and Artistic Director of Refractions Music Festival at Owlpen Manor (Gloucestershire). Jennifer graduated from Smith College in Music History and German Literature, and was awarded the Ernst Wallfisch Prize in Music. Subsequently she received a Master’s and a Doctorate in Cello Performance from the Mannes College of Music and SUNY at Stony Brook, New York. Recipient of the CD Jackson Prize at Tanglewood, she was featured on Wynton Marsalis’s educational videos with Yo-Yo Ma. She has given world premieres of chamber music by David Matthews, Michael Wolpe and Ben Zion Orgad and has brought to life new findings on the violoncello piccolo, resulting in first recordings of works by C. P. E. Bach and Francesco Alborea (Barn Cottage Records).

6 eborah Fox is the Artistic Director and founder, in 2005, of Pegasus Early DMusic, Rochester’s early music concert series, and the director of NYS Baroque in Ithaca and Syracuse. She is a lutenist with a repertoire ranging from medieval to baroque music, as a soloist, chamber music player, and opera continuo player. She has performed with major early music ensembles and festivals from Newfoundland to Sydney, including the Carmel Bach Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, Les Violons du Roy (Montreal), Spoleto Festival, Opera Atelier (Toronto), Aradia (Toronto), Tafelmusik, Concert Royal, Brandywine Baroque, Music of the Baroque and Haymarket Opera (Chicago). She has made frequent trips to Australia to work with Pinchgut Opera in Sydney. She received the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Early Music at London’s Guildhall S c h o ol of Music and Drama, specializing in the improvised accompaniment practices of the seventeenth century. Her teachers have included Paul O’Dette, Pat O’Brien and Nigel North. She performs as a regular member of the baroque chamber music ensemble Fioritura. She has recorded for Naxos, Sonabilis, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Centaur, as well as making the CD Io Vidi in Terra with countertenor José Lemos and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour (Sono Luminus). She has been a Teaching Artist for the Aesthetic Education Institute.

7 enor Steven Soph performs through - out the United States and Europe. He Thas sung as a soloist under esteemed conductors Franz Welser-Möst, Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, Simon Carrington, Patrick Dupré Quigley, Dennis Keene and Barthold Kuijken. As a member of American early music ensemble Cut Circle, Mr. Soph appears at the Utrecht Early Music Festival, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Musica Sacra Maastricht, and Laus Polyphoniae Festival in Antwerp. Mr. Soph holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Yale School of Music, where he studied with renowned tenor James Taylor. He was a 2014 Carmel Bach Festival Adams Fellow and 2016 Oregon Bach Festival Young Artist.

8 ontreal-born soprano Andréanne Brisson Paquin is equally experi - Menced in many different musical genres, singing Baroque, classical, operatic and contemporary repertoire. In past seasons she has been invited to the Festival International de Lanaudière, Montreal Baroque Festival, Festival Baroque de Pontoise, Lufthansa Baroque Festival, Music and Beyond Festival, and Montreal Bach Festival. She has been guest soloist with I Musici, Arion, Les Voix humaines, Pallade Musica, Masques, Caprice, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and Musica Angelica. As a recitalist, Andréanne’s qualities are well suited to the intimacy of chamber music. She has won many national and international prizes, such as the Guy-Soucie Excellence Award, Second Prize in the Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Lyon, Second Prize in the Eckhardt-Grammatée competition, and Second Prize and Duo Prize at New York City’s Joy in Singing. She was also a finalist at the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2012.

9 aritone Mischa Bouvier has per - formed in a wide range of musical Bstyles from baroque to contemporary. He has appeared with Musica Sacra at Alice Tully Hall; David Lang’s “collected stories” series at Zankel Hall; the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Stern Auditorium and the New York Live Arts Theater; the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico at the Festival Casals; the American Bach Soloists at Grace Cathedral and the Monday Center; the Mirror Visions Ensemble at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs; and with many other leading ensembles and orchestras. As a recitalist Mischa has performed throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He holds degrees from Boston University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

10 n repertoire ranging from Bach to Poulenc to Nyman, Jory Vinikour has performed as soloist with the IOrchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the MDR and Cape Town symphony orchestras, the Lausanne, Netherlands and Moscow chamber orches - tras and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, with such conductors as Stéphane Denève, Martin Haselböck, Marek Janowski, Armin Jordan, Benjamin Levy, Fabio Luisi and Marc Minkowski. He will make his debut with the Cleveland Symphony in March 2018, playing Poulenc’s Concert champêtre under Denève, the orchestra’s first performance of the work. Mr. Vinikour’s debut recording for Sono Luminus, the complete harpsichord works of Jean-Philippe Rameau, was nominated for a Grammy® award in the category Best Classical Solo Instrumental Recording in 2013, an honor also accorded to his Toccatas (contemporary American works for harpsichord) in 2015. Jory’s recording of J. S. Bach’s Partitas for harpsi - chord appeared in late 2016, and his performance with Rachel Barton Pine of Bach’s sonatas for and obbligato harpsichord will be released on Cedille Records in May 2018. Also for Cedille, his recording of 20th-century concertos for harpsichord and orchestra (Leigh, Rorem, Kalabis, Nyman) with the Chicago Philharmonic is scheduled for a 2019 release. In recent seasons Mr. Vinikour has appeared as conductor with the St. Louis Symphony, Bergen and Hong Kong philharmonic orchestras, Los Angeles and Korea chamber orchestras, Musica Angelica, musicAeterna, Juillard415, Alabama Symphony, West Edge Opera and Chicago Opera Theater. For Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera he will direct John Blow’s Venus and Adonis alongside Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas , and for Musica Angelica a program of French Baroque music featuring mezzo-soprano Céline Ricci and violinist Cynthia Roberts. Jory Vinikour is Artistic Director and co-founder of Great Lakes Baroque in Milwaukee. 11 Steffani and the Chamber Duet

gostino Steffani (1654–1728) was one of many Italian composers who in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries gained employment north of the Alps. He A was exceptional, however, in that as well as being a truly outstanding musician, he became a prominent diplomat and a senior representative of the Catholic church in north Germany. Apart from a period of retirement in (1722–5), he spent his adult life in (1667–88), (1688–1703 and 1709–28) and Düsseldorf (1703–9). At Munich he wrote church music, secular chamber music and operas. As Kapellmeister at Hanover before the arrival of Handel he presided over the heyday of Baroque opera at the court, composing and directing new works and establishing a glorious tradition that was sadly cut short by the death of Duke Ernst August in 1698. At Düsseldorf he worked as a government minister, became Bishop of Spiga and devoted the rest of his life to the church. During his final year he wrote a few pieces for the Academy of Vocal Music in London, which elected him president in 1727. A month before his death he sent the academy his Stabat mater , which he described as his masterpiece. Steffani is remembered mainly for his Hanover operas and his chamber duets. His operas combine the Venetian style, which he had absorbed as a boy, with the characteristic features of the French style, which he had encountered in music by Lully and Charpentier during a visit to Paris in 1678–9. In his Hanover operas the Italian and French styles are juxtaposed as well as fused, producing a mixed style that was distinctive and highly valued. These works were revived in Hamburg in 1695–9 and made a deep impression on Reinhard Keiser, Johann Mattheson and, via them, Handel, Telemann and J. S. Bach. They encouraged the cultivation of opera in north Germany and laid the foundations for the language of late Baroque music throughout the region. Although opera at Hanover and elsewhere attracted a good deal of attention, it was performed only once or twice a year during limited seasons. Most of the music cultivated in

12 courts was more modest in scale – like the chamber duet, one of the many kinds of vocal chamber music that were cultivated in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by such composers as Monteverdi, Carissimi, Cesti, Giovanni Bononcini and Clari. Steffani spe - cialized in the duet to a greater extent than did any of his compatriots or contemporaries. Of the many examples ascribed to him in manuscript sources, 81 are reliable attribu - tions. The majority are scored for two voices and basso continuo, but six call for additional instruments (for which the music, however, is lost). Nineteen survive in two versions; the later versions, including Occhi perché piangete? and Saldi marmi , were composed during the last four months of 1702, when he gathered his duets together in order to make a new collection in thirteen volumes, with six duets in each. Mischa Bouvier , Andre anne Brisson Paquin Dates of composition can be suggested for only a handful of his duets (other than the revised versiońs). It seems, nevertheless, that he wrote most of them at Munich and Hanover. Among the earliest must be Lontananza crudel , which is ascribed in most sources to Bernabei – either , Steffani’s teacher (1672–4), or his son Giuseppe Antonio, both of whom followed him to Munich. Another duet with roots in this court is Oh! che voi direste bene : in 1693 Violante Beatrice, a Bavarian princess who had married Ferdinando De’ Medici, asked Steffani to send her an aria from this piece. For other duets, clues are found in the texts. Six works are based on poems

13 by the actress and singer Brigida Bianchi that were published in Paris in 1659 and 1666: Steffani proba - bly encountered her verses there in 1678–9. Another half-dozen employ texts that were set by other composers between c. 1650 and 1687: for example, the first stanza of È spento l’ardore appears in Jan van Geertsom’s Canzonette amorose libro primo (1656) and in an anonymous setting for solo voice in a manuscript. If the shelf-life of a poem for music was short, Steffani’s settings of these texts must date from his Munich period. He must also have composed a substantial proportion of his duets in Hanover. John Hawkins claims, in his Memoirs of […] Steffani (c. 1750), that he wrote them ‘in compliance with the taste of the ladies of that court’, ‘at the request of divers ladies of distinction’, and that some were composed ‘for their own private practice, and amusement’. He also states that some of the texts were written by Ortensio Mauro, Steffani’s Hanover opera librettist, who, according to Mainwaring (1760), supplied the words of the Hanover duets by Handel. Since Mauro wrote the texts of duets by Carlo Luigi Pietragrua, vice-Kapellmeister at Düsseldorf from 1694 to 1716, it seems safe to assume, in the absence of documentary evidence, that he did the same for Steffani. Many of the ‘ladies’ at Hanover were interested in music, but during Steffani’s period as Kapellmeister the two most accomplished were both named Sophie Charlotte. The princess (1668–1705) married Friedrich of Brandenburg in 1684 but often visited Hanover thereafter;

14 the other Sophie Charlotte (1675–1725) was the illegiti - mate daughter of Ernst August who married Johann Adolf von Kielmanseg g, a gentleman of the bed-cham - ber, in 1701. The princess was a gifted musician and wrote poetry: she supplied the words of Steffani’s duet Crudo Amor, morir mi sento (1698); he sent her three duets from in 1699 (including Placidissime catene ); he com - posed Io mi parto for her to sing with the Bavarian elector Steven Soph & Andre anne Brisson Paquin in 1700, when she visited ́ hi m in Brussels, and she corresponded with Steffani in late 1702, while he worked on his new collection. Three of his duets were evidently composed too late for inclusion in this collection. Dolce è per soffrire appears to date from c. 1711, when the countess of Egmont asked him for a copy. Dolce labbro, amabil bocca , a single movement for soprano and , was written in 1712 at Herten, the seat in Westphalia of the counts of Nesselrode-Reichenstein. Quando ti stringo, o cara , a very similar duet, could have been composed at the same time or possibly in the summer of 1713, when Steffani spent two weeks at Herten with the soprano Antonio Pasi, who had appeared in his opera Tassilone (1709), and the alto Gaetano Berenstadt. These two miniatures demonstrate, at least, that the composer occasionally wrote duets after moving to Düsseldorf.

15 Steven, Andre anne, Jennifer, Deborah, Jory They also suggest that, despité Hawkins’s testimony, not all of Steffani’s duets were intended for performance by ‘ladies’. In 44 of the 75 duets with basso continuo a tenor or a is required. The vocal scorings are as follows:

Soprano–Soprano 11 duets Soprano–Alto 20 Alto–Tenor 4 Soprano–Tenor 19 Alto–Bass 2 Soprano–Bass 19

16 The dominance of the soprano voice is characteristic of all Italian vocal music in Steffani’s day. Why there are fewer duets for two sopranos than for one soprano and a contrasting voice is, however, an interesting question. In addition to the possibility of rivalry between two singers of the same kind, there is the matter of musical texture. The composition of imitative counterpoint is easier when the voices are a fifth or an octave apart. Identical ranges increase the difficulties for the composer and encourage parallel motion, leading to a different experi - ence for performers and listeners alike. The question of who sang Steffani’s duets has never been fully explored, but it is possible to say a few words on the subject. Hawkins’s reference to the ‘private practice’ of ‘ladies’ relates specifically to Hanover, a Lutheran court with neither a chapel nor a resident group of professional singers. Between 1689 and 1697 opera singers came from Italy and other German courts to take part in the annual opera seasons. They did not spend much time in Hanover, but while they were there, they may have performed a few chamber duets. Munich, however, was a Catholic court, with both a chapel and a choir. If chapel singers also took part in chamber music, it seems likely that many of Steffani’s duets with a tenor or a bass voice were written for this court. Here, too, visiting singers may have sung his duets when not required in an opera rehearsal. When opera singers had gone, courts had to do the best they could. If parts for soprano and alto were performed by ‘ladies’, those for tenor and bass may have been sung by court gentlemen. For example, Maximilian II Emanuel, the elector who sang Io mi parto with Sophie Charlotte, was a tenor (and a bass- player), and Baron Kielmansegg, who was par - ticularly interested in opera, was a bass. In addition, musicians who were not primarily singers may have taken part in duets: Bononcini, for example, could sing bass and was accompanied, in Berlin, by Sophie Charlotte at the harpsichord, while the composer Ruggiero Fedeli, also a bass, probably sang Steffani in Kassel, at the court of the landgrave of Hesse. The implications are that Steffani’s duets were performed by two kinds of singer, professional and amateur. If they were, those composed for professional singers were presum - ably more difficult than those for amateurs. One would expect duets for professionals to

17 exploit the full spectrum of vocal techniques and musicianship, to demand a wide range and excellent breath control and to employ difficult leaps, melismatic word-setting, long runs, rapid coloratura and possibly chromati - cism and ornaments. Duets for amateurs, by contrast, might require a narrower vocal compass, prefer syllabic word-setting and conjunct motion, and avoid elaborate runs, awkward leaps, chromaticism and orna - ments. If these assumptions are correct, most of the duets on this CD were probably intended for professionals; amateur singers could perhaps have attempted Io voglio provar , Lontananza crudel and Quando ti stringo – and yet Quando ti stringo appears to have been composed for ! The chamber duet has much in common with other forms of secular Italian vocal Jose Lemos, Ce line Ricci music, both earlier and later. The subject- matter of the texts (mośtly anonymous: Non so chi mi piagò is exceptional) is invariably amatory, often celebrating love’s pleasures but more frequently dwelling on disappointment, separation, jealousy or unrequited love. The texts are overwhelmingly lyrical, with little narration (scene-setting or story-telling): the words are an emotional outpouring of an individual (usually unnamed) that could have been set for one voice instead of two. The chamber duet can therefore be seen as a musical enrichment of a solo and thus differs from the cantata a due , in which the text is a dialogue and each of the singers represents a different character.

18 Steffani’s duets are varied in form. The differences between them relate to text and to music, for each kind of verse implies a particular kind of setting. In the period around 1700, poetical lines of seven or eleven syllables were normally set as , but in the sixteenth century they had furnished madrigals. The texts of Lontananza crudel and Occhi, perché piangete? consist of this kind of verse. The words are set for both voices throughout, and the music is through-composed (no sec - tion is repeated): these works are madrigals for two voices and cont- inuo. Three duets – È spento l’ardore , Io voglio provar and Labri belli – are essentially arias. The texts are com - posed of aria verse, with lines of mainly six or eight syllables, the music is in aria style, and the repetition of a refrain or of the opening movement creates an aria form; the last strophe of È spento l’ardore matches the first and is therefore set to the same music, resulting in a closed structure remi - Ce line Ricci, Andre anne Brisson Paquin niscent of a . The other ́ ́ five duets on this CD are based on mixed texts. Placidissime catene and Quando ti stringo resemble the madrigals, but the remaining three include movements for solo voice. Here the contrast between duet and solo movements recalls the alternation in a solo cantata between recitative and aria. Recitative is included in Il mio seno and Saldi marmi , while Non so chi mi piagò incorporates a refrain-like repetition of the opening. Not all of Steffani’s duets can easily be categorized, but his musical setting usually matches the degree of variety or complexity in the text.

19 The composition of works with two melody lines and accompanying bass was not an easy task. The appeal of the challenge lay in the fact that the three parts cou ld furnish both complete harmony and a variety of textures, including counterpoint, antiphony and parallel motion, without sacrificing aural transparency. A masterly demonstration of this is provided by the trio sonatas of Corelli (1653–1713). As well as the challenges that confronted his contemporary, Steffani was faced also by the difficulty of setting a poetical text. The combination, in his duets, of sensitive word-setting with impeccable harmony and counterpoint is little short of miraculous. His vocal writing not only reflects the rhythm, sound and meaning of the words, arousing a variety of affective responses: in addition, it often suggests a n interpretation of the text that would not otherwise be apparent. The scale of Steffani’s achievement did not pass unnoticed. Mattheson described him, in his Vollkommene Capellmeister (1739), as ‘incomparably outstanding’ in the sphere of the Italian duet, ‘above all others whom I know […] to this hour [he] deserves to be taken as a model’. By the time these words were in print, Steffani’s duets had already been imitated by such colleagues as Pietragrua and, even earlier, (in Munich and Brussels). Hawkins noted in his Memoirs that his duets had earned him ‘an universal reputation’. The greatest compliment, however, was paid by Handel, when he used Steffani’s duets as a model for his own and employed his own as a basis for choruses in Messiah . In these ways Handel both demonstrated the value of three-part composition and paid tribute to the quality and importance of Steffani’s chamber duets. -Colin Timms

20 Agostino Steffani Texts & Translations È spento l’ardore È spento l’ardore It’s spent – the flame ch’il sen m’infiammò, that set fire to my heart; o barbaro Amore, oh barbarous Love, felice vivrò. now happy I’ll be . Non sento tormento No torment I feel per colei che nemica è di pietà: for her who is pity’s foe: son rotti i legami, the ties have been ruptured, mio cor, libertà. my heart, off you go. Più non provo di Cupido I no longer have to suffer l’implacabile rigor; Cupid’s unrelenting rigour; fuggo, abborro il dio di Gnido,* I flee, I abhor the god of Knidos,* più non sento suoi dolor. I no longer feel her pains. Fuor d’impacci, Free from hindrance, franti i lacci, snares being broken, vive libero il mio cor. my heart lives in liberty. Quando carco di catene When I burdened was with shackles, mi gemeva il cor, il sen, my heart groaned within my breast, sempre mai vivevo in pene, always did I live in sorrow, mai godevo un dì seren. ne’er enjoyed a day of rest. Or d’amore Now my heart il mio core no longer senses più non sente il rio velen. Cupid’s evil poisoned dart. * Gnido / Knidos: a city in Asia Minor, where the temple housed a famous statue of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty and fertility. 21 Al lampo d’un bel guardo At the light of a ravishing glance più non ardo; I no longer burn; l’ardore del core the fire in my heart in ghiaccio si cangiò. has turned to ice. Tra fiori d’un volto Among flowers is gathered v’è l’angue raccolto the snake of a face che i cori piagò. that has wounded hearts. A riso fallace Deceiving smiles di labro che piace of pleasing lips non credo più, no. I trust no more, no. Io sprezzo lo strale I despise the dart ch’il cor mi ferí, that wounded my heart; la piaga mortale the mortal wound lo sdegno guarí. has been healed by disdain. Mia vita tradita My life, traduced, will not suffer per chi ognor la schernì non penerà: because of her who ever scorned it: son rotti i legami, the ties have been ruptured, mio cor, libertà. my heart, off you go! Saldi marmi “Saldi marmi, che coprite “Marble vaults, that enclose del mio ben l’ignuda salma, the stark remains of my beloved, ch’ogni dì più in mezzo all’alma that day by day do fix my love la mia fede stabilite, more firmly in my heart, che ne dite? what do you say? Deggio al nuovo desire Should I resist my new desire opporre il vostro gelo o pur morire?” with your coldness, or should I die?”

22 Così Fille dicea, That is what Phyllis said del suo perduto bene when she returned one day rivolta un giorno alle bellezze estinte. to the lifeless beauties of her lost love. Viss’ella di Fileno She had enjoyed for a long period lunga stagione in fortunati amori, the pleasure of Philenus’ love, ma già le bionde ariste but the golden ears of corn had already quattro volte divise avea dal suolo been cut four times from the earth del curvo mietitor la falce adunca by the bent reaper’s curving scythe da ch’ei, cedendo a morte, since he, succumbing to death, tra solitari ardor lasciolla in vita. had left her to live in solitary ardour. Non vantar mai tra tanto Meanwhile, no tresses boasted lacci un crin, risi un labbro of fetters, no lips of smiles o strali un ciglio, onde il suo cor fedele nor eyes of glances that had wounded, o piagato o invaghito o avvinto fosse. bound or charmed her faithful heart. Mostrolle al fine il caso At last, fate showed her ne’ begl’occhi di Tirsi a thousand similarities to Philenus dell’amato Filen mille sembianze; in the beautiful eyes of Thyrsis, onde, fatta incapace and so, incapable of resisting di resister al bel ch’amò una volta, the beauty she had formerly loved risoluta d’amare ancora un dì, and intent on loving again one day, parlando a’ pensier suoi, disse così: speaking to her own self, she said: “Incostanza, e che pretendi? “Inconstancy, what do you mean? Amerò, sì, ch’amerò. I shall love, yes, I shall love. So ben io come si può I know it’s possible to change lover cangiar amanti e non cangiar gl’incendi. but not change the fire. Voi tra tanto, occhi lucenti, You, meanwhile, sparkling eyes, che nel cor mi ravvivate who revive in my heart quegl’ardor ch’eran già spenti, those passions that had died,

23 consolate i miei tormenti: console my torments: ch’altri per voi e voi per altri adoro, since I love another through you vissi agl’estinti e per chi vive or moro.” and you through another, I lived for the dead but now die Io voglio provar for one who lives.” Io voglio provar I want to find out s’è vero ch’Amore, whether it is true that Love, a quel che si dice, as people do say, sia un dio traditore is a treacherous god ch’un core felice who may never know giammai sappia far. how to make a heart happy. Arderò, piangerò, I will burn, I will weep, narrerò alla mia bella il mio martoro: I will tell my beloved of my torment: già non si muor sin che si dice ‘Io moro’. You can’t die now and not say ‘I die’. Sento a dire ch’è pazzia I hear it said that it is madness d’un bel volto innamorarsi, to fall in love with a beautiful face, ch’è una specie di follia that it is a form of folly l’ingolfarsi to immerse oneself entro il mar della Speranza in the waters of Hope, con pensier che la Costanza thinking that Constancy guidi al porto del gioir will lead one to the port of joy se la nave del desir if the ship of desire dei martir non regge il pondo: does not master the sea of torments: se così sta, v’ha pochi savii al mondo. if this is true, the world is full of fools. L’un si duol d’esser ferito, One man laments that he is wounded chiede l’altro sua mercé, and asks another person for mercy; chi le fiamme del Cocito* he carries the flames of the Cocytus* * Cocito / Cocytus: a river in ancient Greece, supposed to be connected with the underworld. 24 porta in sen chi ceppi al pié. in his heart and chains on his feet. S’ho da dir la mia intentione, If I have to say what I believe, io la credo un’opinione; I think it’s just an opinion; se m’inganno, if I am wrong, sia mio danno, on my head be it, non saprei che mi ci far. I wouldn’t know what to do about it. Io voglio provar, & c I want to find out, & c

Non so chi mi piagò Non so chi mi piagò ma son piagato. I don’t know who wounded me, but wounded I am. Scorgo in fronte d’un bel nume On the brow of a fair god I see lunga schiera d’amori, a vast array of Cupids, ma ignoto è ’l feritor but I do not know the marksman who ch’or dal seno, or dal labro et now from her breast, now from her lips or dal lume and now from her eyes vibra al misero cor strali et ardori. shoots darts and fires at my wretched heart. Amo un oggetto sol, ma si divide I have one beloved, but the beauty who la beltà che m’uccide in più catene: kills me with many chains is divided: un moto mi ritiene, a gesture entrances me, a caress ravishes me, un vezzo mi rapisce, un crin mi prende, a lock of hair seizes me, and my heart e l’alma non comprende. does not understand. Non so chi mi piagò ma son piagato. I don’t know who wounded me, but wounded I am. È vagante il mio pensiero, My mind wanders freely e pur sempre prigioniero but always is tied dal suo ben non si diparte. like a prisoner to its beloved.

25 Trovo amor in ogni parte: I find love everywhere: mentre un guardo mi combatte, while a glance assails me, d’una man, d’un sen di latte I love in turn a hand a vicenda io son amante; or a milk-white breast; ma più che cangio amor, but the more I change my love, son più costante. the more constant I am. -Pietro D’Averara Placidissime catene Placidissime catene, Sweetest chains, rallentarvi è crudeltà: for you to relent is cruelty: ha perduto ogni suo bene whoever returns to freedom chi ritorna in libertà. loses all happiness. Vivo in doglie e moro in pene I live in pain and die in sorrow se i miei lacci amor disfà. if love unties my bonds. Affanni, pene e guai, Anguish, sorrow and woe, voi non farete mai you will never make me ch’io mi disciolga, no! untie myself, no! Amor, fa quanto sai, Love, do what you will, dalla prigion ch’amai from the prison that I loved mai, mai non fuggirò! I shall never, never flee.

Lontananza crudel Lontananza crudel, tu mi tormenti. Cruel absence, you torment me. Lascia ch’io goda un giorno Oh let me one day enjoy con felice ritorno the happy return and del bramato mio ben i dolce accenti. sweet voice of my longed-for beloved.

26 Il mio seno è un mar di pene Il mio seno è un mar di pene My breast is a sea of troubles in cui nuota il cor amante, in which my loving heart flounders ne ritrarne puon le piante and from which my feet cannot escape che son cinte di catene. because they are bound in chains. Così va a chi al lampo d’un sorriso That’s how it is for one who believes crede aprirsi il paradiso that the paradise of every great joy d’ogni gran felicità. opens up at the light of a smile. Un inganno dell’alme è la bellezza, Hearts are deceived by beauty: ne sa che sia gioir chi non la sprezza. he who does not despise it does not know what pleasure is. Diemmi il fil scaltra Arianna Crafty Arianna gave me the thread per entrar nel laberinto, that I might enter the labyrinth, poich’in quel mi vide avvinto, and when she saw that I was lost, lo recise la tiranna. the tyrant cut it. Qualche raggio di speme Some rays of hope ora la bella ingrata the ungrateful beauty now porge all’alma che geme offers to my soul, which groans, sol per alimentar la mia costanza only to nourish my constancy con un vano piacere with an empty kindness che consiste in un’ombra di speranza. consisting in a pretence of hope. Così meschia crudele Thus the cruel woman mixes relief al ristoro veleno, assenzio al miele, with poison, wormwood with honey e per goder del mio martire ognora and, in order to enjoy my suffering, vuol ch’io viva mai sempre e sempre mora. wants me never to live and ever to die. Che sarà, What will happen, mal gradita fedeltà? unwelcome love?

27 Quando il tempo de’ miei When will my period of troubles guai finirà? come to an end? Ah, ch’Amor risponde mai. Ah, Cupid never answers. Dunque Amore, per pietà, Well then, Cupid, for pity’s sake, ogni speme togli a un core: remove all hope from my heart: in sperar tropp’anelante by hoping too eagerly solo si muor per essere costante. one merely dies by being constant. Quando ti stringo, o cara Quando ti stringo, o cara, When I embrace you, my darling, il mio core, my heart, tutto amore, full of love, nel suo seno contento sta. is contented in my breast. Ma se di voi son privo, But when you are not near me, come vivo – how I survive – lo sa il cielo, Amor lo sa. only Heaven and Cupid know.. Labri belli, dite un po Labri belli, dite un po, Beautiful lips, tell me now, chi sí ben vi colorì, who coloured you so well, se un corallo si svenò whether a coral bled o una rosa il sen s’aprì. or a rose opened its heart. Ma s’amor v’impietosì, But if love moved you to pity, oh, quanto avari siete: oh, how mean you are: o donatemi un bacio o non ridete. either give me a kiss or stop smiling. Un lampo d’un riso The light of a smile mi strugge e mi sface, undoes me and melts me, ma un bacio improviso, but an unexpected kiss, 28 oh, quanto è vivace. oh, how exciting that is. Rider senza baciar, no, che non piace; To smile without kissing, no, that’s not pleasing; su, dunque risolvete, come on, then, decide: o donatemi un bacio o non ridete. either give me a kiss or stop smiling. Lascivetti, ah si, v’intendo, Wanton [lips], ah yes, I understand, m’altrimedio, io ben lo so; I’m interfering, I know full well; se più rider vi comprendo if I see you smile once more per vendetta piangerò. I’ll take revenge by weeping. Struggerò con calde stille With hot tears I will dissolve quel corallo that coral nel cristallo in the crystal dell’amare mie pupille. of my bitter eyes . Allor poi che ne direte? What then will you say about that? O donatemi un bacio o non ridete. Either give me a kiss or stop smiling.

Occhi, perché piangete? Occhi, perché piangete? Eyes, why do you weep? Forse ancor vi credete Perhaps you think lusingar la mia fede: you still enthrall my heart: stolto è ben chi vi crede. foolish the one who believes you. Dal vostro pianto amaro In your bitter weeping discoprir non poss’io I cannot find raggio alcun di pietade al dolor mio; any ray of pity for my sorrow; ne men spelndore han luminoso e chiaro tears now are just as resplendent, le lagrime giammai, poich’esser sanno luminous and bright, for they know tanto figlie d’amor quanto d’inganno. that for every daughter of love there is one of deceit.

29 I am greatly indebted to Colin Timms, Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham, U.K., author of Polymath of the Baroque: Agostino Steffani and His Music (New York: , 2003) and Honorary President of the Forum Agostino Steffani (Hanover). He not only provided me with the musical scores, texts of the duets and his own English translations, but wrote the essay and helped to edit the remainder of the booklet. For his invaluable assistance in this project, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks. -Jory Vinikour

30 Recording Date: February 14th–18th 2017

Recording Location: Sono Luminus Studios, Boyce VA www.sonoluminusstudios.com

Executive Producer: Peter Watchorn, Musica Omnia, Inc.

Producer: Dan Merceruio

Engineer, Mixing, Mastering: Daniel Shores

Recording Technician: Allison Noah

Translations: Colin Timms

Graphic Design & Layout: Nathan Lambshead, Goodnews Graphics

Front Cover: Giambattista Tiepolo, and Armida in Her Garden (detail), 1742/45. Oil on canvas, Bequest of James Deering, 1925.699. Credit: The Art Institute of Chicago Art Resource, NY This recording is dedicated to the memory of Magdalena Stefania Midgley, née Kedzierska (4th November 1952 – 21st July 2014) beloved wife of Stephen Midgley.

Magdalena was a distinguished archaeologist, Professor of the European Neolithic at the University of Edinburgh, and author of several books on her subject. In addition to her teaching and research, her other interests included art, literature, travel and music, especially Baroque music; she would think nothing of making a long journey to hear a harpsichord recital or to see a Steffani opera production. So she would undoubtedly have been delighted with the outcome of the present recording, and highly appreciative of the contributions of Jory Vinikour and Colin Timms – both of wBhlaomnk shae Bhaedd mneatr –z as well as of the other musicians, the production and recordinPgh toetaom by,: PPeatweerł WMatcciehjeowrnsk iand all at Musica Omnia. On her behalf, I would like to express sincerest thanks to all those involved in its creation. -Stephen Midgley, January 2018

www.musicaomnia.org