Handel: Cantatas & Sonatas

During Handel's stay in Italy he was greatly influenced by the great
vocal tradition of that country. He wrote a substantial quantity of
Italian Cantatas, mini operas for one or more solo voices and
instrumental ensemble. They are on secular texts, often dealing
with Arcadian tales and myths about love, usually unrequited, and
the inevitable sorrow as a result. The Cantatas are perfect vehicles for
the use of "affetti", the art of expressing human emotions in musical
phrases.

The three Cantatas on this new recording are for tenor solo, and are sung
here with a fine feeling for the theatrical by young Spanish tenor Jorge
Juan Morata.

The Ensemble Recondita Armonia plays period instruments, and excel in
the two Sonatas which serve as an instrumental entr'acte between the
three Cantatas.