Produzioni Armoniche
Soprano Anna Fraser
Two remarkable women – Antonia Padoani Bembo and Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre – rose to prominence as composers during the reign of Louis XIV. Their paths to success however, were very different. Antonia arrived in Paris seeking a career as an independent woman having extricated herself from an unworkable marriage. Her Produzioni Armoniche was put together and presented to Louis as her entrée into the musical world of the French aristocracy. Elizabeth was born in Paris and was recognized very early as a child prodigy. Given every encouragement by Louis her considerable talent encompassed virtuosic skills at the harpsichord and a large output of magnificent compositions.
We take pleasure in presenting arias and cantatas by these women, along with pieces by Rameau and Marais.
Anna Fraser (soprano), Shaun Ng (viola da gamba), Tara Hashambhoy (violin), Joanne Arnott (recorders) Diana Weston (harpsichord)
Sunday November 7
Glebe Town Hall
Antonia Padoani Bembo (1643-1715)
From Produzioni Armoniche
‘Ha, que l’absence est un cruel martire’ PA 41, “Air”
‘E ch’avete’
‘Tota pulcra es’ PA 39
‘Mi basta cosi’ no. 22
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 – 1764)
Fifth Concert from Pièces de Clavecin en concerts avec un violon ou un flûte et un viole
Antonia Bembo
From L’Ercole amante aria ‘Juno’
Marin Marais (1656 – 1728)
Sonnerie de St Genevieve du Mont de Paris
Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (c. 1665 – 1729)
Le Sommeil d’Ulisse
Antonia Bembo
From L’Ercole amante: Aria ‘Pasithea’ (II, vi)
Anna Fraser – soprano
Tara Hashambhoy – violin
Joanne Arnott – recorders
Shaun Ng – viola da gamba
Diana Weston – harpsichord
Notes on the program
A mix of Greek and Roman mythology provided a never-ending source of stories on which to hang the dramas required in eighteenth century cantatas and operas. There was always treachery, anguish, romantic and sexual love, turmoil and rest which music could express so vividly. The cantatas we present allude to mythological figures that educated audiences would have recognized immediately – what their stories were, and what they represented.
‘Juno’
Juno, most-powerful and beautiful goddess, rants at the actions of even more beautiful Venus, goddess of love, sex, fertility and beauty. Juno in her wrath refers to Hercules, (son of Alcmene) whom she was duped into suckling as a baby. Now a grown man, Hercules is married to Dejanira but loves Iole, whose father and brothers he has killed. Juno’s accusation is that Venus is aiding this union, when Iole and Hercules’ son Hyllus should be the ones marrying.
This plot provides the text for the opening recitative, but thereafter Bembo takes a moral turn, asserting that love gained in this way means nothing. She ends with the contrasts of turbulence and rest.
Pasithea is a minor goddess, one of the ‘graces’ signifying relaxation, meditation and drowsiness. Bembo starts with Pasithea’s personification before moving to a little homily as text for the aria.
Antonia Padoani Bembo was born in Venice and musically educated with the renowned Francesco Cavalli. She married the nobleman Lorenzo Bembo, but the marriage, by inference, was not successful as Bembo left her family for Paris around 1676, after giving her daughter Diana (with all her jewellery) into the protection of the convent of San Bernardo of Murano. Having to earn an independent living (and pay for her daughter’s keep at the convent) caused Bembo to put together a dossier of her work, Produzioni Armoniche, which she presented to Louis XIV as evidence of the quality of her compositions, and to secure a pension. Produzioni Armoniche consisted of five books of manuscripts dedicated to the king. The first is a compilation of arias, cantatas and motets most of which she likely sang herself as they are nearly all scored for soprano and basso continuo. Books 4 and 5 comprise her only opera Ercole Amante.
Bembo’s vocal works reflected her knowledge of several languages and styles – Italian, French and Latin. They often pertained to the life and interests of women.
‘Tota pulcra es’, a Latin motet, speaks of the lover’s admiration of his beloved. ‘Ha, que l’absence’ is a French air of unrequited love; the cry ‘What’s wrong’? (‘E ch’avete’) sounds awfully familiar and heart-felt, as does ‘Mi basta cosi!’ (‘I’ve had enough’).
Much of her work remains unpublished.