For this recording, the director Thibault Noally chose to assign the roles of Moses and his companions to male countertenors and a sopranist, while retaining a female voice for the Angel.
Composer Biography
Johann Adolf Hasse, a prolific composer born near Hamburg, began his career as an opera singer and trained with notable figures like Porpora and Alessandro Scarlatti in Naples.
Compositional Technique
The vocal writing in Hasse's arias for this oratorio ranges from extreme virtuosity, with up to 16 consecutive bars of vocalise, to profound and restrained bel canto lyricism.
Historical Context
The four Venetian ospedali were unique institutions that provided rigorous musical education to orphaned girls, creating a pool of highly skilled instrumentalists and singers.
Composition History
Johann Adolf Hasse's oratorio Serpentes ignei in deserto was composed for the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice, an institution known for its musical excellence.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Hasse's oratorio Serpentes ignei in deserto conveys a deeply spiritual message: that man should never doubt divine benevolence and its power to absolve sin and bestow grace for salvation.
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