Handel Arias - Love & Madness

Johannette Zomer (soprano) & Bart Schneemann (oboe)

Handel, a child of his time, was fascinated by the poignant human dramas and emotions exemplified by Greek and Roman classical myths, dramas, and poetry. A theatre composer to his very bones, he devoted himself to the portrayal of human psychology. He had a special interest in those moments when the human psyche is at its most vulnerable: moments of indecision, struggle, despair, fury, abandonment, betrayal, unhappy love, conflict with friends, enemies, and fate, or longing for the oblivion of death.

The oboe was an instrument especially beloved by Händel. It is the unifying element in the anthology of arias and cantatas recorded here.

Bart Schneemann: Handel, that master creator of goosebumps, can juggle emotions with the greatest of ease; he can make you happy, melancholy, resigned, exuberant. A composer who can make two completely different beings, an oboe and a soprano, fall in love, is one of the great ones.

Johannette Zomer: After my first collaboration with Bart (Blake Songs by Vaughan Williams, ccs 18598 ), what struck me was the way our two instruments, oboe and voice, completely fused together. Bart’s way of making music is so pure, so honest, that making music with him in these dialogue-arias raises my singing to a whole new level.

Handel:
 Ah! spietato (from Amadigi di Gaula)
 Amadigi di Gaula
 Ariodante
 Berenice, regina d'Egitto, HWV 38
 Caro, vieni a me (from Riccardo Primo)
 Chi t'intende? (from Berenice)
 Concerto a quattro in D minor
 Dolce riposo (from Teseo)
 Il delirio amoroso, HWV 99
 Il trionfo del Tempo: Io sperai
 Languia di bocca lusinghiera, HWV123
 Lascia ch'io pianga (from Rinaldo)
 Mi palpita il cor - Cantata HWV132
 Morirò (from Teseo)
 Oboe Concerto No. 3 in G minor, HWV 287
 Riccardo Primo
 Rinaldo
 Scherza, infida (from Ariodante)
 Teseo

"It is refreshing to hear Zomer's less 'operatic' voice, with plenty of early music expertise, tackling arias with emotional affinity and stylish eloquence. Schneemann's oboe-playing is an ideally lyrical partner in Berenice's showpiece...Zomer's recital offers plenty to enjoy." 
Gramophone Magazine - April 2010

"Sinds Johannette Zomer haar carrière als microbiologisch analiste verruilde voor het podium, is ze vooral in de oude muziek uitgegroeid tot één van de meest geliefde sopranen van deze tijd. Een paar jaar geleden maakte ze met de ‘Blake Songs’ van Vaughan-Williams op de CD ‘It Takes Two’ van hoboïst Bart Schneemann een uitstapje naar recentere muziek. De meesterlijke samenwerking tussen deze twee rasmusici krijgt nu een droomvervolg met heerlijke aria’s van Handel."
Klassieke Zaken Magazine