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Reviewer: Iain Fenlon Nicola Porpora arrived in London in the 1730s to participate in the launch of the Opera of the Nobility, a new theatrical company intended to dislodge Handel’s domination of the scene. Encouraged by Frederick, Prince of Wales (a keen musician and promoter of the arts), the aim was to introduce audiences to the latest Italian vocal styles performed by famed Italian singers including the legendary castrato Farinelli. Porpora’s collection of 12 cantatas on Arcadian themes was published shortly afterwards in a deluxe edition aimed at a moneyed clientele, but despite this restricted market they became highly regarded and widely distributed. Designed for highly competent amateurs, they call upon cello-playing which at times expands into lyrical solo melody (Prince Frederick, to whom the publication is dedicated, was an accomplished cellist), and vocal dexterity crucially combined with a command of a fundamental alliance between words and a constantly shifting nuanced musical language. The harpsichord accompaniment goes far beyond mere underpinning of the texture and at times flowers into its most prominent element. All this is here intelligently and persuasively handled by Stile Galante, a young ensemble already well known for their admirable emphasis on both research and performance, with the full collection divided between two altos and two sopranos and the instrumental lines beautifully moulded into the texture. Spanning a wide emotional range and delivered with faultless technique, these elegant performances convincingly demonstrate both why these cantatas were so admired in their own time and how Porpora’s music came to rival that of Handel. This is music to savour at length.
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