Apollo e Dafne
Handel's Italian cantatas
The Resonance
Fabio Bonizzoni
Glossa
For the final installment of Fabio Bonizzoni's tour of Handel's "Italian" cantatas, the stage moves –as if it were a Grand Tour– from Rome to Naples; Probably the difficulties in a Rome besieged by the imperial troops during the War of the Spanish Succession prompted the young Saxon musician to move south, where you could continue to develop your career with greater security and better prospects.
Haendel conceived the three moving cantatas heard on this album at a time when Domenico Antonio Manna's prodigious bass voice could be enjoyed in Naples., with a vocal range spanning two octaves and a fifth. It is therefore possible that Handel wrote two of these pieces –Apollo e Dafne and Cuopre tal volta il cielo– with Manna in mind., although it is probable that the first one was not completed until 1710, with Haendel already in Hanover.
The attractive essay by Carlo Vitali included in the booklet of this album colorfully portrays the culture of Naples at the beginning of the 18th century and Handel's place within it.
Next to Fabio Bonizzoni and La Risonanza, that relive that musical world of baroque Italy experienced by Handel, there are basses Furio Zanasi and Thomas Bauer, in addition to the soprano Roberta Invernizzi, which has been an integral part of this revealing and highly praised collection dedicated to Handel since its inception.