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- The English Orpheus 29 -

JOHN FREDERICK LAMPE

(1702/3-1751)

FLUTE CONCERTO IN G, THE CUCKOO'

E Vivace [2'59] [H Adagio [1'04] m Allegro [1'42]

s pyamus an

R A C H E L B R O W N flute

A Mock Opera (1745)

[3'18] [136] [5'51] [372] [3'20] [278] [2'5 8] [2'03] [3'35]

thiSBe
[4'48] [3'19] [3'5 5] [l'42] [3'2 7] [3'41] [336] [l'05] [2*56] [l'16]

edited and completed by Peter Holman S Overture: Allegretto - Adagio e piano Allegro

M Air 'Ladies don't fright you'

EU Air 'The man in the moon I am, sir' H 'Wliere is my love, my Pyre dear' m Arioso 'Sweet moon, I thank thee'

Poco presto Affettuoso - Poco presto

n Duetto 'I go without delay'

m Air 'Fly, swift good Time' m Whispering duetto 'Not Shafiilus'

s Air (Pyramus) 'And thou, O wall' n Aria 'O wicked wall'

m Air (Wall) 'The wretched sighs and groans'

n Air 'Approach, ye furies felF n Air 'Now I am dead'

m Air 'These lily lips' m Dance

mDuetto 'Thus folding, beholding' n Chorus 'Now e'er you remove'

OPERA RESTOR'D
J A C K E D W A R D S director P E T E R H O L M A N musical director

Pyramus MARK PADMORE tenor Thisbe SUSAN BISATT soprano

Wall and Master M I C H A E L S A N D E R S O N tenor Moon and Prompter A R W E L T R E H A R N E tenor Lion and Prologue A N D R E W K N I G H T bass Mr Semibref P E T E R M I L N E First Gentleman A L A N M c M A H O N Second Gentleman J A C K E D W A R D S with P H I L I P P A H Y D E soprano, C O L I N B A L D Y baritone

JUDY TARLING, WILLIAM THORP, ELLEN O'DELL, CLARE SALAMAN violin 1 THERESA CAUDLE, JEAN PATERSON, PAUL DENLEY, PAULINE SMITH violin 2 NICOLETTE MOONEN, JANE ROGERS viola KATHARINE SHARMAN, NICOLA KINGSLAKE cello IAN GAMMIE bass RACHEL BROWN flute GAIL HENNESSY, CATERINA SPRECKELSEN oboe SALLY JACKSON bassoon ROGER MONTGOMERY, CHRISTIAN RUTHERFORD horns PETER HOLMAN harpsichord

PETER HOLMAN conductor

Pitch A = 415Hz Temperament: Vallotti, prepared by Philip Ridley Harpsichord: J & A Kirckman (London, 1778)

Recorded on 5-7 July 1994 Recording Engineer ANTONY HOWELL Recording Producer MARTIN COMPTON Design TERRY SHANNON Executive Producers JOANNA GAMBLE, NICK FLOWER & Hyperion Records Ltd, London, MCMXCV Front illustration: a detail from The downfall of Shakespeare on the English stage (exhibited 1765) thought to be by William Dawes (active 1760-1774). Private collection

othing for sure is known of the early life of John Frederick Lampe beyond the fact that he was born in the winter of 1702/3 and came from Saxony. He was probably educated in Brunswick, and is known to have studied law at the University of Helmstedt between 1718 and 1720. Lampe did not pursue a legai career and was soon attracted to music and to Europe's busiest and most lucrative musical centre; he arrived in London around 1726 and seems initially to have earned his living playing the bassoon in Handel's opera orchestra. Handel, a fellow Saxon and another failed lawyer, evidently encouraged him and planned to have him playing the double bassoon at the coronation of George II in 1727. An instrument was specially built by Thomas Stanesby but, according to Burney, 'for want of a proper reed, or for some other cause, at present unknown, no use was made of it, at the time'. Lampe presumably persevered with it, for there is a double bassoon part in Handel's L'Allegro (1740). Lampes career as a composer seems to have owed a good deal to his friendship with the poet and musician Henry Carey. Carey wrote a quatrain in his honour in 1726,
Call not my LAMP obscure, because unknown, He shines in secret (now) to Friends alone; Light him but up! let him in publick blaze, He will delight not only but amaze.

and in 1732/3 they were both involved with Thomas Arne in a short-lived English opera venture. Lampe's first work for the company, Amelia, was a setting of a text by Carey. Lampe's early operas are mostly serious and made little impression; none survives complete. He discovered his true mtier, the satire of Italian opera, in The Opera of Operas; or, Tom Thumb the Great (1733), though he did not have a smash hit until 1737 when his setting of Carey's The Dragon of Wantley appeared. The text was reprinted fourteen times in little more than a year, and it held the stage until 1782. Lampe's later operas, with the exception of Pyramus and Thisbe, were only mildly successful, partly because the public's attention in the 1740s was engaged by the revolution in Shakespearean acting initiated by Charles Macklin and David Garrick. Lampe went to Dublin for two years in 1748, and then on to Edinburgh. Soon after his arrivai in Scotland he succumbed to a fever and died on 25 July 1751. He was buried in Canongate churchyard in Edinburgh, and was commemorated by Charles Wesley in the hymn "Tis done! the Sov'reign will's obey'd'. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe comes from Book IV of Ovid's Mtamorphoss, and was familiar to readers throughout Europe from Classical times. Shakespeare based his 'lamentable tragedy' on Arthur Golding's translation of 1567, though his comic treatment of it is unusual. Other eighteenth-century operas on the theme, such as those by Rebel and Francoeur (1726),
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Hasse (1768) and Rauzzini (1775) are tragedies. The story is neatly summarised in the 'argument' at the beginning of the printed text of Lampe's libretto, which is worth reproducing in full. Pyramus and Thisbe were two celebrated Lovers, bred up in Babylon, whose parents lived in neighbouring houses; they kept a nightly correspondence through a hole in a wall that parted their gardens. They determined one evening to steal from home and meet by moonlight at an appointed time at the tomb ofNinus, of the African monarchs. Thisbe came first to the place of assignation, where, being unhappily scared by a lion, she fled, leaving her mantle behind her in her fright. The lion, coming towards the tomb and finding the mantle, in rage tore it to pieces, leaving it stained with gore, his mouth being still bloody with some prey he had met with before. The lion was no sooner gone o f f , but Pyramus came to the tomb. Seeing his mistress's mantle torn and bloody, he concluded she had been devoured by some wild beast, and in despair drew his sword and killed himself. Thisbe, after being recovered from her fear, returned to the tomb, where, meeting this miserable spectacle of blood and horror, with the same sword she put an end to her unhappy life. Lampe's version of Pyramus and Thisbe is a reworking of the play acted by the 'rude mechanicals' in Act V of A Midsummer Night's Dream, with the satire turned from playwrights and actors to Italian opera and opera singers. The text is partly based on Richard Leveridge's lost Comick Masque of Pyramus and Thisbe (1716), though the author of the 1745 version (Lampe himself?) shortened it, leaving out the rehearsal in Act I, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play. In both versions, the on-stage audience was changed from Duke Theseus, Hippolyta and the Athenian court to Mr Semibrief, the supposed composer, and two unnamed gentlemen, one of whom has been on the Grand Tour and is critical of 'homespun English entertainments'. The silly comments they make throughout the show are largely drawn from Shakespeare, as are the words of the recitatives, though new words were provided for some of the airs and there are numerous small changes; some are probably corruptions, but we have preserved them since they are part and parcel of the text Lampe set. The other main change is at the end, where an epilogue consisting of a duet and a final chorus was added, despite the fact that Duke Theseus (the Second Gentleman here) has just declined to see one. Lampe's music for Pyramus and Thisbe was published in full score, though, like many English operas of the time, the recitatives and choruses were omitted and are lost. I composed the recitatives recorded here for Opera Restor'd's touring production, first mounted in 1985, while the final chorus is an adaptation of one in The Dragon ofWantley. Lampe's setting is largely deadpan, with plenty of charming and rather galant music in the style of his brother-in-law,
6

Thomas Arne; in particular, the fashionable 'Scotch snap' rhythms and the sighing appoggiaturas are also found in Arne's song collections of the period. However, Lampe does allow himself a few satirical touches: in Wall's Air the 'groans' and 'moans' are graphically illustrated by the violins, and the 'whispering hole' is delightfully rendered. Handel seems to be the target of Lampe's satire in Pyramus's two rage arias; the second, with its florid runs, is particularly well observed. Of course, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it is pleasant to imagine Lampe carrying out his 'research' each evening in the pit during performances of Handels opras. This recording begins with Lampe's only surviving independent orchestral work, the G major Concerto for flute, strings and continuo. It has been included to represent the sort of orchestral music that was routinely played in the London theatres before plays began and as interval music. Its title is easily explained by the last movement.
PETER HOLMAN 1995

pyRAmus an thisBe
A Mock Opera ( 1 7 4 5 ) T h e words taken from Shakespeare Edited and completed by Peter Holman 0 Master Prompter Master Prompter Semibrief Master 1 st Gent Semibrief Enter Master and Prompter Are the properties and everything ready for the performance? Everything, sir. Have you ordered the singers to dress themselves that the practice may be in form? All is ready as you ordered, we only wait for Mr Semibrief - here he cornes, sir. Enter Mr Semibrief and tivo gentlemen Sir, your most obedient. 1 hope I have not made you wait, but I was obliged to cali on these two gentlemen, whom I have made bold to bring with me to hear the music. Sir, there needs no apology; the gentlemen are welcome. Sir, we are obliged to you. You must know, sir, one of these gentlemen, having made the tour of Italy, has but little taste for our homespun English entertainments, nor has he yet got the better of his foreign prejudice. But, between you and I, I don't doubt, when he has heard a little of this piece, I shall bring him over to our opinion, and let him see the English tongue is as fit for music as any foreign language of them all. One of our greatest composers has been of that mind, and I have long been of his opinion. We shall be very well pleased to be convinced. I'll go and hasten the performance.

Master Ist Gent Master

Pray, Mr Semibrief, what voices have you? Why, I have collected a few with some difficulty; but, as I have taken no small pains with them, I hope you'll find they'll make a decent figure; and if the town will be so good to bear with such English voices as we could now procure, I don't doubt but, with proper encouragement, we may in time be enabled to give the public musical entertainments without sending our money to foreign parts to purchase performers at exorbitant prices. I wish you may succeed, sir, but I own I have some fears for you. I am confident in the good nature of the audience, so shan't despair - but we lose time; I see the performers are waiting. Enter Prologue If we offend, it is with our good will. That you should think: we come not to offend But with good will. To show our simple skill, This is the true beginning of our end. Consider then, we come, but in despite. We do not come as minding to content you, Our true intent is. Ail for your delight We are not here. That you should here repent you. The singers are at hand, and by their show You shall know ail that you are like to know. This fellow does not stand upon his points. He has rid his prologue like a rough colt: he knows neither stop nor cadence. Indeed, he has played on this prologue like a child on the recorder - in sound but not in government. OVERTURE (Allegretto - Adagio e piano [U Allegro Q] Poco presto - Affettuoso - Poco presto)

After the overture the curtain rises Scene: a garden, Wall discovered Who comes here? This man, with lime and roughcast, presents the wall that parted the lovers, and through which, poor souls, they are to whisper. RECITATIVE In this same interlude, it doth befall, That I, Starveling by name, present a wall; And such a wall as I would have you think That had in it a cranny, hole or chink, Through which the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe Did whisper often, very secretly. This loam, this roughcast, and this stone doth show That I am that same wall, the truth is so. And this the cranny is, right and sinister, Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper.

[s]

2nd Gent Ist Gent Semibrief

AIR The wretched sighs and groans, The rueful sobs and moans, With pity I Have seen, and now condole. I'll now comply And give assistance Without rsistance, If they will hie Unto my whispering hole. Who would desire lime and hair to sing better? This is the most musical partition I ever heard. My friend, this is nothing to what they have abroad, and by degrees I am in hopes to bring our English to this polite taste. But see, Pyramus draws near the Wall. Silence. Enter Pyramus

Pyramus

RECITATIVE O grim-looked night, a night with hue so black, O night which ever art when day is not; 0 night, O night, alack, alack, alack, 1 fear my Thisbe's promise is forgot. [9] AIR And thou, O wall, Thou sweet and lovely wall, That stands between her father's ground and mine, Show me thy chink That I may blink Through with mine eyne. RECITATIVE Thanks, courteous wall. Jove shield thee well for this. But what see I? No Thisbe do I see. [ T ] AIR O wicked wall, through whom no bliss I see, Curst may you be for thus deceiving me. Retires The wall methinks, being sensible, should curse again. There you are quite mistaken, for 'Deceiving me' is Thisbe's eue. She is to enter, and he is to spy her through the wall. Pat as I told you. Yonder she comes. Enter Thisbe

Ist Gent Semibrief

Thisbe

RECITATIVE The promised joys that lovers feel None but a lover can reveal. With expectation here I move To crown my wish and meet my love. E U AIR Fly swift, good Time, with triple speed And bring the moment on. Love, wing the hours for hearts that bleed And for each other moan. The secret flame that warms my breast And round my heart does move, Now gives me hope I shall be blest And soon embrace my love. RECITATIVE O Wall, full often hast thou heard my moan For parting my dear Pyramus and me.

Pyramus Thisbe Pyramus Thisbe [12]

Enter Pyramus I see a voice. Now will I to the chink To see if I can hear my Thisbe's face. Thisbe? My love - thou art; my love, I think. Think what thou wilt; I am thy lover's grace, And like Limander am I constant stili. And I like Helen till the fates me kill. THE WHISPERING DUETTO Not Shafalus to Procrus was^o true. As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you. RECITATIVE O kiss me through the hole of this vile wall. I kiss the wall's hole, not thy lips at ali. Wilt thou at Ninny's tomb meet me straightway? Tide life, tide death, I come without delay. E U DUETTO I come/go without delay. Exit Pyramus and Thisbe PETER MILNE and ALAN McMAHON as Mr Semibrief arxJ First Gentleman

Pyramus Thisbe Pyramus Thisbe

Wall (solus)

RECITATIVE Thus have I, Wall, my part discharged so; And, being done, this Wall away does go.

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Ist Gent 2nd Gent Ist Gent Semibrief Ist Gent 2nd Gent Semibrief Ist Gent Semibrief

Exit Wall Now is the mural down between the two neighbours. No remedy, my friend, when walls are so wilful to hear without warning. This is the silliest stuff that I e'er heard. The best in this kind are but shadows, and the worse are no worse if imagination amend them. It must be your imagination, then, and not theirs. If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves, they may pass for excellent performers. Now here come two noble beasts in: a man and a lion. I wonder whether the lion be to sing. Never wonder at that - one lion may when many asses do. Beside, you that have seen the Italian opera have seen things much more extravagant. The tomb of Ninus in a wood near Babylon. Enter Lion

Lion

RECITATIVE You ladies, you whose gentle hearts do fear The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor, May now perchance both quake and tremble here When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar. Then know that I one Snug the joiner am No lion feil, nor eke no lion's dam, For, if I should as Lion come in strife Into this place, 'twere pity of my life. AIR Ladies, don't fright you. I will delight you With gentle roar. Let not a creature, Though fierce in nature, Change any feature, I do implore. So tarne a Lion, Who can say fie on? So fll of breeding, So far exceeding All lions before. A very gentle beast, and of a good conscience. The very best at a beast that ever I saw. This lion is a very fox for his valour. True, and a goose for his discrtion. Not so, my friend, for his valour cannot carry his discrtion, and the fox carries the goose. His discrtion, I am sure, cannot carry his valour, for the goose carries not the fox.

Ist Gent 2nd Gent Ist Gent 2nd Gent Semibrief 2nd Gent

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Semibrief

It is well. Leave it to his discretion, and let us hearken to the Moon. Enter Moon

Moon 2nd Gent I st Gent Moon [y0

RECITATIVE This lanthorn doth the horned Moon present. Myself the man in the moon do seem to be. This is the greatest error of all the rest - the man should be put into the lanthorn. How is it else the man in the moon? He dares not come there for the candle; for you see it is already in snuff. AIR The man in the moon am I, sir, And hither come down from the sky, sir, To tell how we people above Enjoy our freedom, pleasures and love. Ever ranging, Ever changing, Bumpers drinking, Never thinking, Thus we riot, thus we rove. The man in the moon am I, sir ... I am weary of this moon. Would he would change. It appears by his small light of discretion that he is on the wane; but yet in all courtesy, in all reason, we must stay the time. Proceed, Moon. All that I have to say is to tell you that the lanthorn is the moon, I the man in the moon, this thorn bush, my thorn bush, and this bumper, my bumper. Enter Thisbe RECITATIVE This is old Ninny's tomb. Where is my love? E H AIR Where is my love, my Pyre dear? Come, come my Love, my Pyre dear. The wheel of fortune guide thee With gentle love beside thee. Good Moon, sweet Moon, Bright Moon, conduct him here. O! O! O! O! Lion roars Ah, ah! ah! ah! Thisbe drops her veil and runs off Well roared, Lion.

Ist Gent 2nd Gent Moon

Thisbe

Lion Thisbe 1 st Gent

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2nd Gent Ist Gent 2nd Gent Ist Gent

Well run, Thisbe. Well mouthed, Lion. And then comes Pyramus. And so the lion vanished. Enter Pyramus

Pyramus | T t ]

ARIOSO Sweet moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams. I thank thee, moon, for shining now so bright; For by thy gracious, golden, glittering streams I trust to taste of truest Thisbe's sight. Spies the mantle RECITATIVE But stay, O spite! But mark, poor knight, What dreadful dole is here? Eyes, do you see? How can it be? O dainty duck, O dear! Thy mantle, good What, stairied with blood?

MARK PADMORE

[Ts]

Ist Gent 2nd Gent Ist Gent Semibrief Pyramus

AIR Approach, ye furies feil. O fates, come, come, Cut thread and thrum, Quail, crush, conclude, and quell. This passion - and the death of a dear friend - would go near to make a man.look sad. Beshrew my heart, but I pity the man. If this won't move the ladies, poor Pyramus will take pains to little purpose. If this won't fetch a subscription, 1*11 never pretend to compose opera or masque again while I live. RECITATIVE O wherefore, nature, didst thou lions frame, Since lion wild hath here deflowered my dear? Which is - no, no - which was the fairest dame That lived, that loved, that liked, that looked with cheer. ARIOSO Come tears, confound; Out sword, and wound The pap of Pyramus. Ay, that left pap,

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Where heart doth hop As bird doth hop in cage. Thus die I: thus, thus, thus. [19] AIR Now I am dead, Now I am fled, My soul is in the sky. Tongue, lose thy light; Moon, take thy flight. I die, die, die, die, die. He dies So, there's an end of Pyramus. I assure you the man died well, like a hero in an Italian opera, to very good time and tune. But how chance the moonshine is gone before Thisbe cornes back and finds her lover? She will find him by starlight. Here she cornes, and her passion ends the masque. Methinks she should not use a long one for such a Pyramus. I hope she'll be brief. A moth will turn the balance which Pyramus, which Thisbe, is the better - silence, she has spied him already. Enter Thisbe Thisbe RECITATIVE Asleep, my love? What, dead, my dove? O Pyramus, arise. Speak, speak. Quite dumb? Dead, dead? A tomb Must cover thy sweet eyes. H o ) AIR These lily lips, This cherry nose, These yellow cowslip cheeks Are gone, are gone. Lovers, make moan. His eyes were green as leeks. O sisters three, Come, come to me Withhands as pale as milk. Lay them in gore, Since you have shore With shears this thread of silk. Tongue, not a word.

1 st Gent 2nd Gent 1 st Gent Semibrief 2nd Gent Semibrief

J A C K EDWARDS

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Come, trusty sword, Come, biade, my beast embrue. Now farewell, friends, Thus Thisbe ends. Adieu, adieu, adieu. lst Gent 2nd Gent Semibrief 2nd Gent She dies Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead. Ay, and Wall too. No, I assure you, the wall is down that parted their father's garden. Now, will it please you to see the epilogue or a dance? No epilogue, I beseech you. The masque needs no excuse, for when the performers are ali dead there need none to be blamed. Yet I think, if he that wrote it had done Pyramus and hanged himself in Thisbe's garters, it would have been a fine tragedy. And so it is, truly, and very notably discharged. But pray, Mr Semibrief, who is to perform the epilogue? Pyramus and Thisbe. Pyramus and Thisbe? They are both dead. Pho, pho, not so dead, but they may revive without the help of a surgeon. So, d'ye hear, get up and prepare for the epilogue. Is it not better that they should get up themselves, than for two of three dirty scene men to carry them off. And whilst they are preparing we'll entertain you with a dance. H DANCE Pyramus and Thisbe come forward and address themselves to the audience Pyramus Thisbe Pyramus EPILOGUE, RECITATIVE Gentlemen and ladies, we've a boon to ask, That you would deign to like our masque. And, in return, our thanks we'll pay, With strife to please you day by day. And wish ali you in love may be, As I to Thisbe, she to me. m DUETTO Thus folding, Beholding, Caressing, Possessing My Thisbe/Pyre, my dear, We'll live out the year. And with its renewing Continue our wooing 'Till ages, when past, Shall as hours appear. And happy, my Thisbe/Pyre,

lst Gent Semibrief lst Gent Semibrief

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Each minute shall prove, Abounding with pleasure, O'erflowing with love. [23] CHORUS Now, e'er you remove, We hope you'll approve This wonderful story of wonderful love.

ope^a RestoR'
Established in 1986, Opra Restor'd has become the leading touring company specializing in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English opra and music theatre both in Britain and abroad. In recent years the company has brought its work to a wider audience by concentrating principally on small-scale, flexible productions of eighteenth-century comic opras.

PETER HOLMAN A photograph by Sophie Baker

The trio of directors (Peter Holman - music, Jack Edwards - stage, and Robin Linklater design) share the task of seeking out and reviving the lesser-known repertoire, restoring it in a way that both creates and makes accessible the rich musical life of earlier centuries. Through their work both inside and outside the company, they also provide opportunities for many new young singers and designers. Opra Restor'd works with Hyperion Records in exploring these works, and a recording of three opras by Charles Dibdin (including The Ephesian M atron) was released in 1992 to wide critical enthusiasm.
C H A R L E S DIBDIN ( 1 7 4 5 - 1 8 1 4 ) T h e Ephesian Matron T h e Brickdust Man T h e Grenadier OPERA R E S T O R ' D / PETER HOLMAN Compact Disc C D A 6 6 6 0 8 'An hour of unmitigated pleasure. Another splendid addition to Hyperion s English Orpheus sris' (Classic C D ) 16

pyamus e t thisBe
eu d'vnements des premires annes de la vie de John Frederick Lampe sont connus, part le fait qu'il est n en Saxe durant l'hiver 1702/3. Il fut probablement duqu Brunswick, et il tudia le Droit l'Universit de Helmstedt entre 1718 et 1720. Lampe ne poursuivit pas de carrire en Droit et fut trs tt attir par la musique, ainsi que par le centre musical le plus anim et lucratif de toute l'Europe, Londres. Il y arriva aux alentours de 1726, et semble avoir au dbut gagn son pain en tant que bassoniste au sein de l'orchestre de l'opra de Haendel. Haendel, un collgue saxon ayant lui aussi abandonn le Droit, l'encouragea et proposa qu'il tienne le rle de bassoniste au Couronnement du Roi George II, en 1727. Un instrument fut spcialement fabriqu par Thomas Stanesby mais, selon Burney, "il ne fut jamais utilis l'poque, en raison de l'anche qui n'tait pas approprie, ou pour d'autres raisons encore inconnues". Lampe persvra vraisemblablement avec celui-ci, car l'Ai/egro de Haendel (1740) contient une partition pour basson. La carrire de Lampe comme compositeur semble s'tre dveloppe en grande partie grce son amiti avec le pote et musicien Henry Carey. Carey composa un quatrain en son honneur en 1726,

Call not my LAMP obscure, because unknown, He shines in secret (now) to Friends alone; Light him but up! let him in publick blaze, He will delight not only but amaze. Ne crois pas que ma LAMPE est obscure parce qu'inconnue, Elle brille en secret (maintenant) aux yeux de ses Amis; Eclaire-la! Laisse la flamboyer en public, Non seulement elle charmera mais elle surprendra.

et en 1732/3 tous deux furent invits, avec Thomas Arne, prter main forte l'entreprise phmre d'un opra anglais. La premire oeuvre de Lampe pour la compagnie, A melia, tait la mise en musique d'un texte de Carey. Les premiers opras de Lampe sont pour la plupart srieux, et n'impressionnent pas tellement; aucun ne survcut en entier. Il dcouvrit son vrai mtier, la satire de l'opra italien, dans The Opra of Opras; ou, Tom Thumb the Great (1733), mais il ne connut pas de succs important avant 1782. Les opras plus tardifs de Lampe, l'exception de Pyramus et Thisbe, ne connurent pas non plus un succs grandiose, en partie parce que l'attention du public dans les annes 1740 tait plus attire par la rvolution dans la faon de jouer Shakespearienne, initie par Charles Macklin et David Garrick. Lampe se rendit Dublin en 1748 et y vcut pendant deux ans. Il s'tablit ensuite Edimbourg. Peu aprs son arrive en Ecosse, il succomba la fivre et mourut le 25 juillet 1751. Il fut enterr

17

dans le cimetire de Canongate Edimbourg, et fut commmor par Charles Wesley dans l'hymne 'Tis done! the Sov'reign will's obey'd'. L'histoire de Pyramus et Thisbe provient du quatrime livre d'Ovid, Mtamorphoses, et tait familire aux lecteurs de l'poque classique travers l'Europe. Shakespeare s'inspira de la traduction d'Arthur Golding datant de 1567 pour sa 'tragdie lamentable', mais son traitement de la comdie y est inhabituel. D'autres opras du XVIIIe sicle bass sur ce thme sont de style tragique, comme ceux de Rebel et Francoeur (1726), Hasse (1768) et Rauzzini (1775). L'histoire est clairement rsume dans 'l'argument' au dbut du texte imprim du libretto de Lampe, et vaut la peine d'tre cite en entier: Pyramus et Thisbe taient deux amants, et furent levs Babylone. Les maisons de leurs parents taient voisines. Ils correspondaient en secret par une ouverture dans le mur qui sparait leurs jardins. Ils dcidrent un soir de s'chapper en secret de leurs maisons et de se rencontrer, au clair de lune, une heure prcise la tombe de Ninus, un monarque africain. Thisbe s'y rendit la premire, mais fut effraye par un lion et s'enfuit, laissant tomber par inadvertance sa mante. Le lion, s'avanant vers la tombe et trouvant la mante, la dchiqueta dans un moment de rage, et l'abandonna tache de sang, car il avait tu une proie plus tt et sa mchoire tait ensanglante. Le lion venait de disparatre lorsque Pyramus arriva la tombe. En voyant la mante de son amante dchire et tache de sang, il crut qu'elle avait t dvore par une bte sauvage, et accabl de dsespoir, sortit son pe et se donna la mort. Thisbe, aprs s'tre ressaisie, retourna la tombe pour dcouvrir son horreur le spectacle sanglant, et l'aide de la mme pe mit fin son existence sans bonheur. La version de Pyramus et Thisbe de Lampe est un remaniement de la pice joue par les 'ouvriers et artisans frustes' dans l'acte V de Songe d'une nuit d't, avec une ironie, cette fois non pas dirige vers les acteurs et les dramaturges, mais vers l'opra italien et ses chanteurs. Le texte s'inspire en partie du Comick Masque of Pyramus and Thisbe de Richard Leveridge (1716), oeuvre maintenant gare, mais l'auteur de la version de 1745 (Lampe lui-mme?) la raccourcit, supprimant la sance de rptition de l'acte I, scne 2 de la pice de Shakespeare. Dans les deux versions, le public sur la scne, habituellement compos du Duc Theseus, d'Hippolyta et de la cour athnienne, a t remplac par Monsieur Semibrief, le suppos compositeur, et deux aristocrates anonymes, dont l'un faisait partie du Grand Tour et condamnait les 'divertissements simples et rustiques anglais'. Les commentaires stupides qui sont faits tout au long de la pice sont principalement inspirs de Shakespeare, comme le sont les textes des rcitatifs, mais les mots nouveaux proviennent de quelques-uns des airs et plusieurs furent quelque peu altrs; certains sont probablement corrompus, mais nous les

18

avons conservs car ils font partie du texte de Lampe. Un autre changement important se trouve la fin, o est ajout un pilogue qui consiste en un duo et un choeur final, malgr le fait que le Duc Thesus (le deuxime aristocrate) et juste mentionn qu'il ne souhaitait pas voir d'pilogue. La musique de Lampe pour Pyramus et Thisbe fut publie en entier, mais, tout comme plusieurs opras anglais l'poque, les rcitatifs et les choeurs furent supprims et sont maintenant introuvables. Le prsent auteur composa les rcitatifs enregistrs ici pour la production en tourne, Opra Restor'd, qui fut prsente pour la premire fois en 1985, alors que le choeur final est une adaptation tire de The Dragon ofWantley. La mise en musique de Lampe est trs pince-sans-rire, avec sa musique galante et charmante interprte dans le style propre son beau-frre, Thomas Arne; en particulier, le rythme trs en vogue 'Scotch snap' et les appoggiatures qui soupirent peuvent tre aussi trouvs dans la collection de chants d'Arne de l'poque. Cependant, Lampe ne se permet pas de touches satiriques: dans l'air de Wall, les 'grognements' et les 'plaintes' sont illustrs de faon trs vivante par les violons, et 'l'ouverture dans le mur d'o les mots doux sont murmurs' est merveilleusement interprte. Haendel semble tre le point de mire de l'ironie de Lampe dans les deux arias animes de Pyramus; la deuxime, avec ses rythmes fleuris, est d'une observation particulirement juste. Bien sr, l'imitation est la plus sincre forme de flatterie, et il est amusant d'imaginer Lampe excutant le fruit de sa 'recherche' tous les soirs dans la fosse d'orchestre durant les reprsentations des opras de Haendel. La premire partie de cet enregistrement prsente la seule oeuvre orchestrale de Lampe qui ait survcu, le Concerto en Sol majeur pour flte, cordes et basse continue. Elle fut incluse au programme pour donner une ide du genre de musique orchestrale qui tait couramment joue dans les thtres de Londres avant le dbut de la pice ou comme interlude musical. Son titre est facilement expliqu par le dernier mouvement.
PETER HOLMAN 1995
Traduction ISABELLE DUBOIS

Si ce disque vous a plu, sachez qu'il existe un catalogue de tous les autres disques disponibles sur les labels Hyperion et Helios. Ecrivez Hyperion Records Ltd, PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, Angleterre, et nous vous enverrons un catalogue gratuit.

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pyamus un thise
us den frhen Lebensjahren von Johann Friedrich Lampe ist uns mit Sicherheit nur bekannt, da er im Winter 1702/3 geboren wurde und aus Sachsen stammt. Er ging wahrscheinlich in Braunschweig zur Schule und studierte zwischen 1718 und 1720 Jura an der Universitt Helmstedt. Lampe schlug nicht die juristische Laufbahn ein, aber wurde bald von der Musik und von Europas betriebsamstem und lukrativstem Musikzentrum angezogen; er kam 1726 in London an und es scheint, als habe er sich anfangs seinen Lebensunterhalt als Fagottist in Hndeis Opernorchester verdient. Hndel, der ebenfalls Sachse und gescheiterter Jurist war, ermutigte ihn offensichtlich und hatte vor, da er 1727 bei der Krnung von George II. das Kontrafagott spielen sollte. Ein Instrument wurde eigens von Thomas Stanesby angefertigt, jedoch wurde es, laut Burney, "weil es kein richtiges Rohrblatt besa, oder aus einem anderen, jetzt unbekannten Grunde, bei diesem Anla nicht verwendet". Es ist anzunehmen, da Lampe weiter darauf spielte, denn in Hndeis L'Allegro (1840) findet sich ein Kontrafagott-Part. Lampes Laufbahn als Komponist scheint seiner Freundschaft mit dem Dichter und Musiker Henry Carey sehr viel zu verdanken. 1726 schrieb Carey zu seinen Ehren einen Vierzeiler,

Call not my L A M P obscure, because unknown, He shines in secret (now) to Friends alone; Light him but up! let him in publick blaze, He will delight not only but amaze. Nenn' meinen LAMPE nicht obskur, weil unbekannt, Er leuchtet heimlich (jetzt) allein den Freunden; Znd' ihn doch an! la ffentlich ihn lodern, Er wird sowohl erfreu'n als auch erstaunen.

und 1732/3 waren beide Mitarbeiter von Thomas Arne in einem kurzlebigen Opernunternehmen. Amelia, Lampes erstes .Werk fr das Unternehmen, war eine Vertonung eines Textes von Carey. Die meisten von Lampes frhen Opern sind ernster Natur und hinterlieen keinen groen Eindruck; keine von ihnen ist vollstndig erhalten. Sein wahres Metier, die Satire auf italienische Opern, entdeckte er in Der Oper der Opern; oder Der Groe Dumling (1733). Einen Riesenerfolg hatte er jedoch erst im Jahre 1737, als seine Vertonung von Careys Der Drache von Wantley erschien. In etwas mehr als einem Jahr wurde der Text vierzehnmal nachgedruckt und beherrschte die Bhne bis 1782. Mit Ausnahme von Pyramus und Thisbe waren Lampes sptere Opern nur mig erfolgreich, und ein Grund dafr war die durch Charles Macklin und David Garrick entfachte Revolution im Shakespeare-Vortrag, die

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in den 1740er Jahren die Aufmerksamkeit des Publikums in Anspruch nahm. 1748 ging Lampe fr zwei Jahre nach Dublin, und dann weiter nach Edinburgh. Bald nach seiner Ankunft in Schottland zog er sich eine Fieberkrankheit zu und starb am 25. Juli 1751. Er wurde im Canongate-Friedhof in Edinburgh beerdigt und von Charles Wesley in dem Kirchenlied "Tis done! The Sov'reign will's obey'd' [es ist vollbracht! dem Willen des Herrn ist genge getan] gewrdigt. Die Geschichte von Pyramus und Thisbe stammt aus dem 4- Buch von Ovids Metamorphosen, und war seit der Zeit der antiken Klassik Lesern in ganz Europa bekannt. Shakespeare legte seiner 'beklagenswerten Tragdie' Arthur Goldings bersetzung von 1567 zugrunde, ungewhnlich ist jedoch seine komische Behandlung dieses Stoffes. Andere im achtzehnten Jahrhundert entstandene Opern ber dieses Thema, wie die von Rebel und Francoeur (1726), Hasse (1768) und Rauzzini (1775) sind Tragdien. In dem 'Argument' zu Beginn des gedruckten Textes von Lampes Libretto wird die Geschichte in geschickter Weise zusammengefat, und es lohnt sich daher, diese Passage hier ungekrzt wiederzugeben: Pyramus und Thisbe waren ein berhmtes Liebespaar, welches in Babybn aufwuchs, und dessen Eltern in benachbarten Husern wohnten; durch ein Loch in einer Wand, die ihre Grten trennte, hielten die beiden eine nchtliche Korrespondenz aufrecht. Eines Abends entschlossen sie sich, von zu Hause fortzulaufen und sich im Mondlicht zu einer festgesetzten Zeit am Grabe der afrikanischen Knige in Ninus zu treffen. Thisbe erschien zuerst an dem Treffpunkt, floh jedoch, nachdem ein Lwe sie unglcklicherweise erschreckte, und lie vor lauter Angst ihren Umhang zurck. Der Lwe ri, als er zum Grab kam und den Umhang fand, diesen vor Wut in Stcke. Da sein Maul noch blutig vonJ seiner zuvor gefressenen Beute war, hinterlie er Blutflecken auf dem Unhang. Kaum war der Lwe verschwunden, da kam Pyramus am Grab an. Als er den zerrissenen und blutbefleckten Umhang seiner Geliebten erblickte, schlo er, da sie selbst von einem wilden Tier verschlungen worden war. In seiner Verzweiflung zog er sein Schwert und ttete sich damit. Thisbe, die sich von ihrer Furcht erholt hatte, kehrte zum Grab zurck, wo sie, angesichts des frchterlichen Anblickes von Blut und Entsetzen, mit demselben Schwert ihrem unglcklichen Leben ein Ende machte. Lampes Version von Pyramus und Thisbe ist eine Bearbeitung des von den 'groben Handwerkern' im 5. Akt des Sommernachtstraums aufgefhrten Stckes. In ihr richtet sich jedoch die Satire statt auf Bhnenschriftsteller und Schauspieler auf Opern und Opernsnger. Der Text beruht teilweise auf Richard Leveridges verschollener Comick Masque of Pyramus and Thisbe (1716). Der Autor der Fassung von 1745 (vielleicht Lampe selbst?) krzte ihn und lie die in der 2. Szene des 1. Aktes von Shakespeares Stck enthaltene Probe aus. In beiden
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Fassungen wurde das auf der Bhne anwesende Publikum ausgewechselt; statt aus Herzog Theseus, Hippolyta und dem athenischen Hof bestand es jetzt aus Mr. Semibrief, einem angeblichen Komponisten, und zwei namenlosen Herren, von denen einer eine Kavalierstour unternommen hat und 'hausbackener englischer Unterhaltung' kritisch gegenbersteht. Die albernen Bemerkungen, die diese Zuschauer whrend des ganzen Stckes machen, sind groenteils aus Shakespeare entnommen, und das trifft auch auf die Rezitative zu, wenn auch neue Texte fr einige der Arien geliefert wurden und es zahlreiche kleine nderungen gibt; einige dieser Abweichungen sind wahrscheinlich Korrumpierungen, aber da sie alle ein integraler Bestandteil des von Lampe vertonten Textes sind, haben wir sie hier beibehalten. Die andere hauptschliche Abweichung tritt gegen Ende auf. Hier wird ein aus einem Duett und einem Schluchor bestehender Epilog angehngt, obwohl Herzog Theseus (hier in der Rolle des Zweiten Herren), es gerade abgelehnt hat, sich ein solches Nachspiel anzusehen. Lampes Musik zu Pyramus und Thisbe wurde in der vollstndigen Partitur gedruckt, obgleich, wie in vielen englischen Opern jener Zeit, die Rezitative und Chre ausgelassen wurden und mittlerweile verlorengegangen sind. Die hier aufgezeichneten Rezitative komponierte ich fr die erstmals 1985 unternommene Tourneeauffuhrung von Opera Restor'd; der Schluchor ist eine Bearbeitung eines Schluchors in Der Drache von Wantley. Lampes Vertonung ist durchgngig von trockenem Humor geprgt und enthlt reizvolle und ziemlich galante Musik im Stile seines Schwagers Thomas Arne; insbesondere die modischen 'Scotch snap'-Rhythmen und die seufzenden Appogiaturen sind auch in Arnes Liedersammlungen jener Zeit zu finden. Jedoch erlaubt er sich ein paar satirische Anflge: in Walls Arie werden das 'Sthnen' und die 'Seufzer' plastisch durch die Violinen dargestellt, und auch das 'Flsterloch' wird entzckend musikalisch untermalt. In den zwei von Pyramus gesungenen Wutarien scheint Hndel die Zielscheibe von Lampes Satire abzugeben; besonders die zweite mit ihren reichverzierten Lufen zeugt von seiner ausgezeichneten Beobachtungsgabe. Selbstverstndlich ist Nachahmung die aufrichtigste Form von Schmeichelei, und es ist amsant, sich Lampe vorzustellen, wie er jeden Abend bei Auffhrungen von Hndeis Opern im Parkett seine 'Forschungen' trieb. Diese Aufnahme beginnt mit Lampes einzigem erhalten gebliebenen eigenstndigen Werk fr Orchester, dem Konzert in G-Dur fr Flte, Streicher und Continuo. Es wurde hier als Beispiel fr die Art der Orchestermusik aufgezeichnet, die routinemig in Londoner Theatern vor Beginn der Stcke und als Zwischenaktmusik gespielt wurde. Der Titel dieses Konzerts wird leicht durch seinen letzten Satz erklrt.
PETER HOLMAN 1995 bersetzung ANGELIKA MALBERT

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CDA66759

The English Orpheus - 29

JOHN FREDERICK LAMPE

(1702/3-1751)

FLUTE CONCERTO IN G, 'THE CUCKOO'

E Vivace [2*59] E] Adagio [1*04] El Allegro [1*42]

e pyAmus an
[3'18] [1*36] [5'51] [3 '22] [3*20] [278] [2'58] [2'03] [3*35]

R A C H E L B R O W N flute

A Mock Opera (1745)

thisbe
[4'48] [3'19] [3*55] [1*42] [3*273 [3'41] [3'3 6] [1*05] [2'56J [l'16]

edited and completed by Peter Holman O D Overture: Allegretto - Adagio e piano [H LO Allegro Poco presto Affettuoso - Poco presto [w| Air 'Ladies don't firight you' O H Air ' T h e man in the moon I am, sir' OJ] 'Where is my love, my Pyre dear' d Arioso 'Sweet moon, I thank thee' [!| Air 'Approach, ye furies fell' [I| Air 'Now I am dead' H] Air 'These lily lips' [21] Dance [H Duetto 'Thus folding, beholding' IH Chorus 'Now e'er you remove'

O D Air (Wall) 'The wretched sighs and groans' [9] Air (Pyramus) 'And thou, O wall' [3 Aria ' O wicked wall' [nj Air 'Fly, swift good Time' EU Whispering duetto 'Not Shafulus' IH Duetto 'I go without delay'

OPERA RESTOR'D
J A C K E D W A R D S director P E T E R H O L M A N musical director