Gelosia! - Italian Cantatas Philippe Jaroussky & Artaserse

• Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 - 1725): Ombre tacite e sole:
• 1 Scarlatti: Ombre tacite e sole: I. Recitativo accompagnato. "Ombre tacite e sole" 02:35
• 2 Scarlatti: Ombre tacite e sole: II. Aria. "Con piede errante e lasso" 05:16
• 3 Scarlatti: Ombre tacite e sole: III. Recitativo. "Qui, tra tenebre oscure" 01:41
• 4 Scarlatti: Ombre tacite e sole: IV. Aria. "Allor d’intorno a te" 05:57
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): Cessate, omai cessate, RV 684:
• 5 Vivaldi: Cessate, omai cessate, RV 684: I. Largo e sciolto. "Cessate, omai cessate" 01:53
• 6 Vivaldi: Cessate, omai cessate, RV 684: II. Larghetto. "Ah ch'infelice sempre" 05:28
• 7 Vivaldi: Cessate, omai cessate, RV 684: III. Andante e pianissimo. "A voi dunque ricorro, orridi spechi" 01:14
• 8 Vivaldi: Cessate, omai cessate, RV 684: IV. Allegro. "Nell'orrido albergo, ricetto di pene" 03:33
• Nicola Porpora (1686 - 1768): Perdono, amata Nice "La gelosia":
• 9 Porpora: Perdono, amata Nice "La gelosia": I. Sinfonia. Allegro 01:00
• 10 Porpora: Perdono, amata Nice "La gelosia": II. Recitativo. "Perdono, amata Nice" 01:16
• 11 Porpora: Perdono, amata Nice "La gelosia": III. Aria. "Bei labbri, che Amore formò per suo nido" 08:21
• 12 Porpora: Perdono, amata Nice "La gelosia": IV. Recitativo. "Son reo, non mi difendo" 02:28
• 13 Porpora: Perdono, amata Nice "La gelosia": V. Aria. "Giura il nocchier, che al mare" 04:42
• George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759): Mi palpita il cor, HWV 132c:
• 14 Handel: Mi palpita il cor, HWV 132c: I. Recitativo. "Mi palpita il cor" 00:35
• 15 Handel: Mi palpita il cor, HWV 132c: II. Arioso. "Agitata è l’alma mia" 00:37
• 16 Handel: Mi palpita il cor, HWV 132c: III. Recitativo. "Tormento e gelosia" 00:46
• 17 Handel: Mi palpita il cor, HWV 132c: IV. Aria. "Ho tanti affanni in petto" 07:08
• 18 Handel: Mi palpita il cor, HWV 132c: V. Recitativo. "Clori, di te mi lagno" 00:53
• 19 Handel: Mi palpita il cor, HWV 132c: VI. Aria. "Se un dì m’adora la mia crudele" 03:06
• Baldassare Galuppi (1706 - 1785): La gelosia:
• 20 Galuppi: La gelosia: I. Recitativo accompagnato. "Perdono amata Nice" 01:25
• 21 Galuppi: La gelosia: II. Aria. "Bei labbri, che Amore formò per suo nido" 03:48
• 22 Galuppi: La gelosia: III. Recitativo accompagnato. "Son reo, non mi difendo" 02:43
• 23 Galuppi: La gelosia: IV. Aria. "Giura il nocchier" 04:23
• Total Runtime 01:10:48

Info for Gelosia! - Italian Cantatas

Gelosia! (Jealousy!), Philippe Jaroussky’s latest project with the instrumentalists of Artaserse, takes its dramatic name from two solo cantatas receiving world premiere recordings. Programmed beside cantatas by Vivaldi, Handel and Alessandro Scarlatti, they are by the Neapolitan Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) and the Venetian Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785). Though composed some 35 years apart, both cantatas set the same text, ‘La Gelosia’, written by the prolific Pietro Metastasio.

“The cantata da camera or secular cantata, was an incredibly popular genre in the 18th century,” explains Philippe Jaroussky. “Written for a solo singer, it often portrays a man or woman going through the torments of love and depicts the character’s various states of mind … On this album we have focused on cantatas written with a string accompaniment [rather than simply for singer and basso continuo] … Cantatas of this kind often served as a laboratory for new ideas and, I believe, as a kind of personal diary for composers. Being away from opera, with its more academic demands, they could write as they wanted, completely free to express their feelings.”

When Jaroussky recorded an album of arias by Porpora as a tribute to the castrato Farinelli – the composer’s singing pupil – the Times wrote: “I’d be surprised if Farinelli’s voice was any more astonishing than the countertenor Philippe Jaroussky …” Now the singer provides some insights into both Porpora’s and Galuppi’s settings of ‘La Gelosia’.

“In Porpora’s setting, composed in 1746, there is a compact instrumental overture, which signals the cantata’s status as a work that stands as an independent entity. Porpora is at his best in accompanied recitative – this becomes clear as the protagonist expresses his regret at daring to doubt the fidelity of his mistress. He swears he will no longer be jealous, but then, in the second recitative, he reverts to form as he remembers how she blushed when she saw another man ... Porpora’s writing is very much in the galant style, characterised by florid sequences of triplets and an abundance of accents and trills. The final aria reflects the text wonderfully ... In its first section the instruments depict the sea, and in the central section they evoke the trumpets of war.

“Galuppi’s version of ‘La Gelosia’, which dates from 1782, adopts a notably different, Classical style, more concise and full of elegant detail. It moves away from florid writing and instead concentrates on textual inflections. The adagio ending of the second recitative somehow reminds me of ‘Quando corpus morietur’ from Pergolesi’s Stabat mater.”

If the ‘jealousy’ cantatas by Porpora and Galuppi represent a new discovery, Jaroussky has given frequent performances of the works by Vivaldi (‘Cessate, omai cessate’), Handel (‘Mi palpita il cor’) and Alessandro Scarlatti (‘Ombre tacite e sole’). He describes Scarlatti as “the unquestioned master” of the cantata da camera, praising ‘Cessate, omai cessate’ (dating from 1716) as “full of adventurous harmonies and haunting melodic charm”, and noting the composer’s musical evocations of splashing water, howling beasts and slithering serpents! “An absolute masterpiece among Italian cantatas”, is Jaroussky’s verdict on Vivaldi’s ‘Cessate, omai cessate’, composed around 1735. The composer’s distinctive writing for strings echoes and amplifies the emotions of the protagonist, which shift from quiet depair to raging torment. Handel’s ‘Mi palpita il cor’ was written shortly after the young composer’s extended stay in Italy in the early years of the 18th century. Its first aria includes “a sublime and very sensuous dialogue between the voice and a flute,” and, in its opening recitative, the only instance of the word ‘gelosia’ in any of the five cantatas on the album.

Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor
Artaserse

Philippe Jaroussky
The countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has established himself as one of the major singers in the international musical world as confirmed by the French Victoires de la Musique ("Revelation Artiste Lyrique" in 2004, "Artiste lyrique de l'année" in 2007 and 2010) and at the Echo Klassik Awards in Germany in 2008 in Munich (Singer of the Year), in 2009 in Dresden (with L’Arpeggiata) and again in 2016 in Berlin.

An impressive mastery of vocal technique allows performances full of nuance and vocal acrobatics. Philippe Jaroussky’s vast repertoire of the Baroque era ranges from the refinements of the Italian Seicento with Monteverdi, Sances and Rossi to the staggering brilliance of Handel and Vivaldi; the latter being one of the most performed composers by Philippe recently. Philippe Jaroussky is also tirelessly at the forefront of musical researches and made strong contributions to the discovery – or rediscovery – of composers such as Caldara, Porpora, Steffani, Telemann or Johann Christian Bach.

Philippe Jaroussky has had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the best baroque ensembles. He has performed to high acclaim in the most prestigious festivals and concert halls around the world.

In 2002 he founded l'Ensemble Artaserse, which currently performs throughout Europe, North and South America, as well as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, etc.

He explores with passion the very different repertoire of French melodies accompanied by the pianist Jérôme Ducros. He has recently proposed his own vision of Berlioz' Les Nuits d'Été with performances at the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid and at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg (he inaugurated this venue in 2027 and was its very first artist in residence).

Captivated by contemporary works, Jaroussky performed a song cycle composed by Marc-André Dalbavie from the sonnets of Louise Labbé. He premiered the opera Only the Sound remains by Kaija Saariaho, specifically written for his voice, at the Amsterdam Opera and at the Opéra de Paris, and the most recent opera by Dalbavie, Melancholy of Resistance, at the Staatsoper Berlin in June 2024.

2019-2020 season marked his 20-years career with some major events such as the entrance of his statue to the Musée Grévin in Paris, the publication of the biographical book Seule la musique compte and finally the release of a anthology-CD entitled Passion Philippe Jaroussky.

March 2021 saw Philippe Jaroussky's debut as conductor (without singing) with his Artaserse ensemble in a production of Scarlatti's oratorio, Il Primo Omicidio. This programme is performed among others at Salzburg Festival and at the Montpellier Opera, which becomes the residence of Philippe and his ensemble Artaserse for the following three seasons. 2022 confirms this new activity as conductor, with numerous concerts in Paris, Lyon, Montpellier, Budapest, at the Épau or Halle Festivals. Philippe then conducts his first staged production with Artaserse in the pit, in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Montpellier Opera.

During the 2022-23 season, Philippe conducted another staged production at the Montpellier Opera, Sartorio’s Orfeo, production revived in numerous theatres in France afterward.

The 2024/2025 season maintains this remarkable diversity: two exhaustive tours first with L’Arpeggiata in a program celebrating their 15-years old collaboration; then with Jérôme Ducros with songs and lieder from Vienna to Paris; stage production as a conductor with Mozart’s Mitridate, Re di Ponto at the Montpellier Opera; a Vivaldi pasticcio as a soloist with Cecilia Bartoli at the Salzburg Festival; and last but not least, a gala concert celebrating 25 years of career at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with Artaserse.

For his very impressive discography, of note are his collaborations with Jean-Christophe Spinosi and the Ensemble Matheus for the celebrated Edition Vivaldi de Naïve. Philippe Jaroussky has been an exclusive artist with Erato-Warner Classics for many years and has received many awards for his recordings.

For 5 years now, the Academy Philippe Jaroussky is in activity with great success. They support young musicians suffering of cultural isolation, through an original, extensive and demanding teaching.

In 2019, he was appointed Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

Booklet for Gelosia! - Italian Cantatas