IDAGIO | Georg Friedrich Händel: Deutsche Arien

Featuring

Christian Voß
Fritz Spengler
Ensemble ContraPunct_us
George Frideric Handel
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Adam Krieger

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Composition History

Schmelzer's Musikalische Fechtschul' (Musical School of Fencing) was likely part of the Viennese court's carnival festivities, with its picturesque style suggesting it was danced and mimed.

Interpretation

For this recording, Fritz Spengler, Christian Voß, and Ensemble Contrapunctus chose an instrumentation for Händel's Nine German Arias that uses a countertenor, which highlights the appeal of these arias usually sung by sopranos.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Adam Krieger's Neue Arien (New Arias) often feature texts written by himself, focusing on themes from student life such as camaraderie, wine, bachelorhood, and love.

Composer Biography

Adam Krieger (1634-1666), composer of Neue Arien, applied to be the Thomaskantor in Leipzig but was rejected because he refused to teach the school's pupils.

Composer Biography

Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1623-1680), the composer of Musikalische Fechtschul', was the son of a baker and became one of Austria's most famous violinists in the 17th century.

Composer Biography

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759), a cosmopolitan composer, lived and worked primarily in Italy and England.

Compositional Technique

Händel's Nine German Arias (Neun Deutsche Arien) are unique because their texts are in his mother tongue, but the music is in the style of Italian opera.