the halls; with the due proportions, instead, it anticipated that heavy sound orgy featured

by Berlioz, Mahler and Strauss by the end of the Nineteenth century.

This is what happened, for instance, when Queen Cristina of Sweden wanted to cele-
brate king James II of England, with a cantata performed by famous singers, "choirs of
a hundred musicians" and a huge orchestra of more than 150 string musicians; in other
occasions, the violins were doubled by flutes and oboes.

IL GIARDINO DI AMORE (Venus and Adonis)

Thomas Griffin has carefully studied the Roman and Neapolitan production of sere-
nades, focus ing the contributions Alessandro Scarlatti has certainly or probably brought
in to this genre. Certai nl y dated manuscripts ascribe many of his serenades to the period
1705-1706, that is to say when Alessandro Scarlatti had to cope with the Roman cris is,
due to the papal prosecution agai nst the opera theatres. Musicians had then to focus their
production upon the genres of oratorio or serenade, in a way, genres si.milar to melodra-
ma. Griffin does not explain the reasons why he dates the Jl Giardino di Amore to the
years 1700-1705, still, the circumstance that the instrumental accompaniment of this
piece has not been properly indicated in the score might lead us to think that its client
could not rely on the composer's assistance at the time of its pelf0ll11ance.
And it is difficu lt for us to consider Venus and Adonis without thinking back of the
famous picture Titian painted of this mythological subject. In that painting, in fact, Eros
sits nodding under a tree, his quiver hanging from its benches: there's no need of its
aITOWS to make Venus fall in love, since she is well determined to seduce the beautiful
Adonis. The young hunter looks quite staggered, yet pleasantly surprised, seeing the cur-
vaceous goddess holding his arm. Only one of Adonis hunting dogs seems interested in
this love affair.
In fact, these dogs, pelfectly suitable for hunting, are not guard dogs: they do nothing
to save the poor boy from the loving attentions of a goddess, as well as they won't spare
him from the fury of a jealous god turned into a wild bear. The Giardino d'Amore moves
from the same mythological characters, but it describes a further moment of their ima-
-14 -
ginary love affair. If in Titian 's painting nature was intended as a wondelful background ,
the styli zed arcadic scenery derived from the Sixteenth century artistic co ncept plunges
the scene among shadowy woods (if not shrouded by nocturnal darkness), however apt
to the pelformance of the serenades, usually played outdoors, after the sunset.
And the Venus lingering in the Giardino di Amore does not resemble at aU the seduc-
tive goddess painted by Titian. In fact, after the first burst of passion, the young hunter
must have looked like cooled down at the goddess' eyes, tortured by the suspicion of
having been forgotten by her lover. Actually, Adonis just feel s inadequate, and, tonnen-
ted by a similar anxiety, wanders in the meadows lamenting his sorrow. A clearing up
between the two would probably solve the situation, but the lasting expectancies of a
genre of entertainment such as the serenade were all another matter: therefore, it all ends
up in a stretching of the action (typical of the Arcadic genre: ecstasy for Nature, few facts
and lots of laments), which however offers to Scarlatti the possibility to make us a gift
of some more excellent musi c. Usually, serenades were written and pelformed just once.
But Scarlatti had to know exactly the number and the characteristics of the musicians
entru sted of the pelformance by the unknown cl ient of the Giardino d'Amore, as well as
the many indications for optional choi ces may reveal the composer's ambition - or hope
- for a latter revival of his composition, played by a different ensemble - more or less
rich - than the one employed for the first pelfo rmance.
The strings follow the Baroque pattern of the contraposition between the "concertino"
(2 violins, cello and continuo) and the "concerto grosso" (stringed instrumen ts, apparen-
tly without the violas). In the opening instrumental symphony the basso continuo is on
the lute, but, further on in the score, the indications "double basses without harpsichord"
and "all with harpsichord" add precious details about the orchestration that Scarlatti
wanted to preserve from other pelformers' improvisation. A trumpet turns out to be a
brilliant timbric element while a piccolo is meant to portrait in music the trills of the
"sweet ni ghtingale" and the "songbirds" in voked by Adonis. Two couples of recitatives
followed by da capo arias give the right prominence to Venus appearance. After a short
refrain corresponding to the goddess exit, Adonis is introduced by a lively recitative, fol-
·15·
lowed by a stunning Aria with piccolo. Scarlatti adds the precise indication that "should
not a piccolo be available, it may be played by a solo violin, while the trill of a nightin-
gale will be heard". It is an astoni shing ant icipation of the introduction of a real bird song
into a mu sical petformance: something that Respi ghi did only two centuries later, intro-
ducing the recording of a nightin gale trill in 1 Pini di Roma ; Scarlatti might well have
recurred to an automaton, but it was easier to him to use those hunting decoys that are
always more frequently adopted in the modern pelformances of thi s picturesque serena-
de. An accu rate research for timbric variety leads the composer to alternate passages in
which the soprano sings in duet with the piccolo and the "nightingale" with others in
which the mechanic automaton is excluded; the piece is concluded by an uni sonou s
refrain of " all the violins".
Finally the lovers meet, and an articu late recitati ve, dotted by " nightingale triU s",
would seem to prelude to a final resolution, in the capturing followin g duet. Scarlatti wri-
tes another virtuoso piece, Venus' aria "Little singing birds", in which the " trill of many
birds, if a player is available" should be introduced (therefore confirming the recourse to
a variety of whi stles, used by one player only), whi le the chant of the goddess is accom-
partied by the violins of the conceltino " with the bow" or "without the bow", and then
in pizzicato, as it can be read in a following indication.
As already stated, the rest of the serenade is a mere filling, even if in a marveUous
mu sical setting. The duet "So much the heart breathes" (a sweet Siciliana, with da-capo
and final refra in) is follo wed by Adonis' bustling aria "Alas, don 't tell me so", set bet-
ween two stunning exploits of the solo violin ; in Adonis ' aria "To the contest of fierce
torment" the contest with Cupid gives the trumpet the possibility to resume its warlike
character, at least as thi s instrument was commonly conceived during the Baroque
period. In the last two recitatives the lovers proclaim their solenul renunciations: Venus
would even abandon her divine status , whi le Adonis declares his intention to give up
hunting to follow the will of the "winged child". The strings and a guitar, together with
the continuo accompan iment, provide a brilliant effect to the duet "Come, fly, sweet con-
cent" sung by the two main characters, with which the serenade is concluded.
- 16 -
 SU LE SPONDE DEL TEBRO (On the banks oj the Tiber)
cantata for solo voice with violins, trumpet and continuo

Althou gh Su le JPonde del Tebro is clearl y indicated as "cantata" in the title page of
the manuscript containing its text, it might as well be considered as a short serenade, for
the presence of the trumpet, usually not appropriate for chamber music.
The title, clearly taken from a poetical verse, and the warlike character of the concer-
tante instrument would suggest that its subject could have been drawn from ancient
hi story (such as II Corio/ano, La Didone abbandonata, Il Germanico, Lamento di
Cleopatra , Lisimaco di Tracia, La Lucretia l"0171ana, Il Nerone, La morte di Nerone)
spotting Scarlatti's rich cantantas production. Yet, in this case, the tawny Tiber does not
become red with heroic blood, but it provides the background - with the conventional
surrounding of breezes, skies and winds - to the grieves of the sorrowful Aminta, "revi-
led by Cloris"; "gigantic warriors" can only be called the pains of the tormented she-
pherd; whilst the warlike remarks of the trumpet colour their assaults with irony.
Betrayed lovers, or however unhappy, populate the repertory of Baroque chamber music;
in this case, the poor Aminta does not assail anybody with an invective (unlike the com-
moner Cicco in the picturesque Cantata in lingua napoletana), but he seems content
with singing a sad self-pity song, written in the traditional pattern of recitatives followed
by arias and preceded by a brief Symphony, with two instrumental refrains. The first one
is also considered by Scarlatti a Symphony despite its shortness.

Roberto Pagano

-17-
 SU LE SPONDE DEL TEBRO
Si/!/orlia
Sulle sponde del Tebro,
ove Ie Dee latine
fecero it gl' Archi lo r corde del crine
cola Aminta il fido
da Clori vilipeso
con dolore infinito
disse al C iel, disse al mondo:
"la, io SOil tradito! "
Contentatevi, 0 fidi pensieri,
trattenervi per g um'die almio core ,
che gli affanni , giganti guerri eri ,
dan I' assai to, et educe il dolore,
Mesto, stanco e spi rante
del d uol che I'opprimea
ri volto a gl ' occhi suoi cosl dicea:
Infe li ci miei lumi,
gia che soli noi stiamo,
aprite il varco al pianto
e concedete al core,
che tramandi su gl 'occhi il nuo dolore ,
Dite almeno , astri crudeli,
quando mai vi offese il petto ,
che ricetto
voi 10 fate di dol ore,
E gia martire d'amore
nelle lacrime fedeli
a sperar solo e costretto,
All ' aura, al cielo, ai venti
Pastorello gentil cosl pm'lava,
e pur l'aura crudel fido adOl'ava;
ma conoscendo al fine,
che ne pianti, ne preghi
sapevano addolcire un cor di sasso,
- 18-
ON THE BANKS OF THE TIBER
Symphony
Over the Tiber banks
where the Latin Goddesses
made the strings of a bow with their own
hair, there the faithful Am inta
rev iled by Clori s
with immense torment
sa id to the Sky, and to the world:
"Me, me, I am betrayed"
Be content, faithful thoughts,
of being the guard ians of the heart;
cause the torments, the giganti c warriors,
give the assault, and the pain is the captain ,
Sad, tired and sin king
oppressed by hi s pain
so he spoke to hi s eyes:
O h unhappy eyes
s ince we are alone
you can finally shed the tem's
and let the heart pour his sufferance
onto the eyes,
Tell , at least, cruel stars,
when have you ever bee n offended by this
hemt; since you made of it
the shelter of every torment.
Victim of love,
on ly the hope in the faithful tears
is left to him,
To the breeze, to the sky, to the winds
the kind shepherd spoke this way;
and he loved al so the cruel breeze;
but being aware that
an icy heart cou ld not be moved
by tears nor prayers ,
riso luto e costante
cos) di sse al suo cor schernito amante:
Tralasc ia pur di piangere
povero affl iIto cor,
che sprezzato da l tuo fato
non ti resta che compiangere
d ' una infida il suo rigor.
FINE
IL GIARDINO DI AMORE
Sin/ollia
VENERE
Care selve, amati orrori,
Ri spondete , per pi eta
E, comrnosse al mio martoro
Que l bell ' idolo ch' adoro
Dite, oh Dio, dov'e, che fa.
Ma vo i non rispondete
E del vago idol mio
Celando i bei sembianti,
Ben conosco che siete
Troppo spietate e avare.
Dunque, aure, voi mel dite;
Ma voi, pronte e leggiere,
per non udire il pi anger mio fuggite.
Fugge I' aura , si posa ogni fronda ,
Altro intorno non miro ch ' orror.
Pi ll del fiume non mormora I' onda
Solo intendo la pena nel cor.
ADONE
Invan fra queste selve
Cerco dar pace all ' affann ato core,
Mentre da che al candore
Del bel di Citerea fi ssai 10 sguardo,
Odi o gli strali e il dardo
-19 -
reso lute and sure
so he fi nally spoke to his reviled loving
heart: Cease sheding your tears,
poor tormented heart,
despi sed by fate
you cannot but complain
the severity of an unfaithful girl.
THE END
THE GARDEN OF LOVE
Symphony
VENUS
Dear meadows, beloved cliffs,
answer to me, for sake,
and te ll me, oh Lord , where is,
and what is he doing
the beautiful ido l that I adore
Still you do not answer,
and concealing the beautiful countenance
of my beloved idol
I see you are too cruel and mean.
Then , breezes, you will tell me:
but, quick and li ght,
you flee not to hear my lament.
The breeze fli es away, every leave stands
still , I cannot see but horror.
The wave of the stream
does not murmur any more;
I cannot feel but the sorrow of the heart.
ADONIS
In vain among these meadows
I seek peace for the troubled heart while,
since I met
Citherea 's beauti ful eyes,
I hate the darts and the arrows,
Ne pill di fiere bel ve and no longer is my desire of chas ing
Alimenta il pensier caldo desio. the fi erce wi Id beasts
Ma sol de ll ' idolm io enough to fi ll my thoughts.
Vo in tracc ia in tutt 'ore [ onl y seek my idol all day long
Per temprar la mia pena , il mi o dolore to restore my grief and my pain
Pill non m'alletta e piace No more I like
11 vago usignoletto the beautiful ni ghtingale,
Benche di ra mo in ramo although sweetl y singing
Dolce cantando va. from bench to bench;
Non pili fra queste selve No more Tenj oy
Godo seguir Ie be lve in chasing the wild beasts
Da che Ciprigna mi a since my Cypri s
Mi to lse al sen la pace has took peace from my heart
AI cor la liberta, la liberta. and freedom fro m my heart.
ADONE ADONIS
Ciprigna, e dove sei? Cypri s, where are you ?
Ah , che voi I'ascondete, antri crude li ; Alas, you who concea l her, cruel dens;
Deh, voi ru bate il mio ben, ombre illfedeli . Deh, you stole my love, unfai th ful caves.
VENERE VENUS
Adone, idolo mio, e tale il duol che sento Adonis , sweet idol, so great is my affl icti on
Ch ' avanza nel penal' ogni tonnento. that it surpasses every sorrow.
ADONE ADONIS
Dici il vera , oppur fingi, anima mia? Is it true, or do you pretend, my soul ?
E trappa tirann ia, empi o tiranno fato, It is too cruel, impiou s tyrant fate,
Giun ger novi tormenti a un tormentato. to give new torments to the tormented one.
VENERE VENUS
Pose da la sua sfera tutto il fuoco Cupid poured the flames of hi s sphere
Cupido ai tuo i bei lumi ; into your beautiful eyes;
Onde non e stupor ch' ardi e consumi no wonder that even an icy hea rt
Anche un gelido sen. may burn and long.
ADONE ADONIS
S' il tuo bel viso, mi a Dea , If you could ever look at your beautiful face ,
Tu rimirar potessi mai, beloved goddess ,
Con amoroso inganno, with a deception of love
Arderesti d ' amor dei tuoi be i rai. you would burn fo r the love
- 20-
Se co me dolce e vago,
Te stessa, 0 bella, il volto
Potess i rimirar
II gum'do in te rivolto
La ili a legg iadra imago
Saprebbe idolatrar.
VENERE
M ira, mi o ben , deh mira,
Come de l rio fu gace
Mesta de l suo penar mormora l'onda
Ma giunta appena all ' adorata sponda
Immobile sostien , la bacia e tace.
ADONE
Senti , Cipri gna , senti
Come il vago usigno lo
Tanto sparge i lamenti
Quanto si mira abbandonato e solo.
VENERE
Au ge lletti , sl cantate,
Voi rusceILi , mormorate,
Raccontate il mio duo lo e il mio piacer.
SI cantate, mormorate
Augelletti, voi ruscell i,
Raccontate il mio duolo e il mio pi acer.
Per godere il caro Adone
Agitate e I' onde e I' ali
Ri storate, ri storate il mio pensier.
ADONE
o fortunate aurette
Che al bell' idol mio ri fa te I'eco,
E voi, auge lli canori ,
Raccontate al mio ben i miei martori.
VENERE
Tanto respira il core ...
- 21 -
of your beautiful eyes
If you yourself, beautifu l goddess,
could look at you r sweet and fancy face
your beautiful countenance
m.ight be ab le to fall in love
with your eyes glaring at yourself.
VENUS
Look, my love , look,
how the sorrowful wave
of the fl ow ing stream murmurs with
sadness, but as it touches the other bank
stands still , and kisses it in silence.
ADONIS
Listen , Cypris, li sten
to the singi ng nightingale
shedding its laments
when he fee ls alone and abandoned.
VENUS
Little singing birds,
and you streams, sing
tell my sorrow and my deli ght.
Sing, murmur,
littl e birds, and you streams,
tell my sorrow and my delight.
To restore you r dear Adon is
shake your waves , and win gs,
restore , restore my thoughts.
ADONIS
You lucky breezes
you who echo my sweet idol,
and YOll , si nging birds,
tell my love of my torments.
VENUS
SO much the heart breathes ...
ADONE ADONIS
Tanto non sento ardore." r cannot feel but the blu sh".
(A 2) (TOGETHER)
Quanta che da l tuo volta io miro i ra i. Every time I look at your eyes
Pace ho sol q ue l momenta Then I fi nd peace
Solo dolor non sento then I am not aftlicted
Allor che , vago ben, presso l11i stai. when, my beloved , you stand by me.
VENERE VENUS
o me fe li ce, a me beata appieno Happy I would be, blessed me,
Se, can ugual ferita , uguale ardore if, with similar wound , with simil ar passion
II faretrato amore il sen t' arse e ferl. the arrowed love hit and burnt your heart.
ADONE ADONIS
Ah, non mi dir COS!, Alas , don ' t tell me so,
No, no, no . No, no, no.
Ah , non mi dir COS! Alas don't tell me so
Che giungi al Olio do lore As you add to my pain
Tormento assai maggiore such bigger torment
Anz i, che l'a lm a, ahime that, alas , my soul ,
Giii fuor del petta usc!.. leaped from my heart.
VENERE VENUS
Pri a che dal vago Orie nte Before Phoebus returns
Cinto d' aureo splendore bri nging light to the world
Febo ritomi a dar la luce al mondo from the mysterious East
Non pennettere, a caro, and girded of golden shine ,
Che a queste selve intorno, do not let me wander alone, oh dear,
o D io, sola m'aggiri in these woods ,
E can la pena mia, facc ia soggiorno. and lean around with my sorrow.
Andian ne, a caro bene, Let 's go, my beloved,
Non danni , no, pill pene, do not to rment me any more,
Con sola questa cor. restore thi s heart.
L'alm a gja spera aita The soul is alJ'eady confident with help
Dal labbro tuo , mia vita, but your mouth , my li fe ,
Che mi tarmenta ancor. still torments me.
L'alma gia spera aita T he soul is already confident with help
Dall abbro tuo, mia vita, but your mOllth , my life ,
- 22-
Che mi tormenta ognor.
ADONE
Venere, assai ti deggio,
Andiam , a mio tesar, andiamo
Prima che I' Aurora nel cie l
Can pill serti di rose esca dall ' onde.
Can battaglia di fiero tormento,
Senza te mi fa guerra Cup ido.
Come dunque lasciarti un momenta
Pill chi t' ama, chi teco e sl fido ?
VENERE
Io , delle sfere il lumi noso impero,
Ove premea col pie, sog li o gemmato,
Lieta lasciai e per voler del Fato,
E de ll ' infante Arciero ,
Fra questi cupi e boscarecci orrori
D ' umile pastorella viver m'appago
o Dio, tanto innamori!
ADONE
Ed io purche di Cintia
Pill non segua l' impero,
Sprezzo gli strali e l'aJ"Co
E dell ' alato infante
Venero quel volere
Che mi sforza a seguir il tuo semb iante.
VENERE
Vieni, vo la, soave con tento,
ADONE
E ritorna la pace nel cor;
(A2)
Muta in gioie gJi affanni ch' io sento,
In diletto la pena, il dolor.
FINE
- 23-
always torments me .
ADONIS
Venu s, T owe you all,
lefs go, sweet treasure , let 's go
before dawn rises from the waves
with its girdle of roses. To the contest of fier-
ce torment Cupid is making war to me, when
r am not with you how then coul d I leave
you , even for a whi le, me who loves you
most, who is so fai thful to you?
VENUS
Content I left, for the will of Fate,
and for the will of the archer child ,
the shining empire of the skies, where I used
to walk, and the bejewelled throne, and now
I am happy to li ve, as a humble peasant, in
these dark precipices among the woods; oh
god , so powelful you are!
ADONIS
And me, not to yield
to Cinthia 's will ,
I disdain the darts and the bow
and I adore the will
of the winged child
who forces me to strive after you.
VENUS
Come, fly, sweet concent,
ADONIS
May peace descend again in the hearts
(TOGETHER)
Turn into joy the torments I feel
into delight sorrow and pain.
THE END
Alessandro Stradella Consort

- 24-
 ALESSANDRO STRADELLA CONSORT
ESTEVAN VELARDI
gia pubblicati:
ANTONIO VIVALDI: GIUSTINO
Manuela Custer, Gianluca Belfiori Doro, Silvia Bossa, Linda Campanella
GB 2307/10-2 (4 CDs X 3)
ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI: SEDECIA RE 01 GERUSALEMME
Lilia Perez , Alessandra Capici , Rosi ta Frisan i, Mario Cecchetti , Marco Vinco
GB 2278/79-2
ANTONIO VIVALDI: L'ESTRO ARMONICO
FABRIZIO CIPRIANI, violino solo
GB 5597/98-2
ALESSANDRO STRADELLA: MORO PER AMORE
Marco Beasley, Marco Lazzara, Riccardo Ri stori , Roberta Invernizzi, Silvia Piccolio
GB 2153/55-2
ALESSANDRO STRADELLA: ESULE DALLE SFERE
Roberta Invern izzi, Marco Lazzara , Riccardo Ristori,
Silvia Picco llo, Mario Nuvoli , Carlo Lepore
GB 2165-2
ALESSANDRO STRADELLA: VOLA, VOLA IN ALTRI PETTI - LASCIATE CH'IO RESPIRI
Rosita Frisan i, Anna Chierichetti, Gianluca Belfiori Doro , Riccardo Ristori
GB 2326-2
ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI: LA GIUDITTA
Marco Lazzara, Mari o Nuvoli , Rosita Frisani
GB 2197-2
NICOLA PORPORA: DORINDO DORMI ANCOR? Cantata per la notte di Natale 1732
Rosita Frisan i, Marco Lazzara, Roberta In vernizzi
GB 2181/82-2
www.bongiovanni70.com
www.alessandrostradellaconsort.com
Estevan Velardi