Giovanni Bononcini: San Nicola di Bari [Import]

Giovanni Batista Bononcini was born in Modena, Italy in 1670. His father, Giovanni Maria Bononcini (1642-78), was a violinist and a composer, and his younger brother, Antonio Maria Bononcini, also became a successful composer. Giovanni Battista studied the cello in Bologna, then served as maestro di cappella at San Giovanni in Monte. His most successful and productive years were spent in and around Rome, under the patronage of the powerful Cardinal Pamphili and Filippo Colonna. In 1696 he was admitted to full membership in the aristocratic Accademia dell'Arcadia. From 1720 to 1732 Bononcini worked in London, competing with George Frideric Handel for a share of the limited opera audience. It was partly a political `culture war'; the Tories favored Handel, while the Whigs favored Bononcini. Their competition inspired the epigram by John Byrom that made the phrase "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" famous. Handel steadily gained the ascendancy, and Bononcini became a pensioner of the duchess of Marlborough, who had led his admirers. Bononcini left London in protest at charges of plagiarism. He remained for several years in France, and in 1748 was summoned to Vienna to compose music in honour of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. He then went to Venice as a composer of operas. He died in Vienna, leaving behind a wife and 4 children. Bononcini published his first music for the cello in 1685 in Bologna. His works include some twenty operas, masses, and a funeral anthem for the Duke of Marlborough. One of his operas, Xerse, parodied material in an earlier setting of that opera by Francesco Cavalli. This included the aria Ombra mai fu. Bononcini's Xerse was in turn later adapted by Handel with a third (and best known) version of Ombra mai fu. The famous London rivalry between Bononcini and Handel, which neither composer profited from, has probably obscured appreciation for Bononcini's genius, especially among English-speakers. There's not a single CD of a full Bononcini opera on the market, let alone a DVD. Fortunately there are enough very fine recordings of his smaller works - serenatas, cantatas, instrumental sonatas, and one curious oratorio - to suggest that a Bononcini revival has been gathering force, especially since all the recordings have been performed by musicians of the highest standards.

Bononcini's 1693 "San Nicola di Bari" is the only known oratorio of the entire Baroque repertoire portraying an incident in the life of "Good Saint Nick". That incident is the departure of the boy Nicola for school, when he is lectured morally by his father and mother; he then passes that moral encouragement to a pleasure-loving companion, Clizio, who is converted by his words to a life of virtue. This small miracle is a presage of the Saint's future. I doubt that the libretto will appeal to modern listeners; it's all sanctimonious platitudes. The music, nevertheless, is far more dramatic than the story, particularly the `second act' debate over sensual love between Nicola and Clizio. Both boyish roles were undoubtedly sung by castrati in 1693 and are sung by women on this CD. Soprano Livinia Bertotti sings Nicola, alto Gabriella Martelacci sings Clizio, while Nicola's parents are sung by soprano Elena Cecchi Fedi and basso Furio Zanasi. This all-Italian cast of excellent singers is supported by an all-string ensemble chiefly of Belgians. "Les Muffatti" is a relatively new ensemble composed of musicians trained as specialists in "historically informed performance" and conducted by singer/recorderist/musicologist Peter Van Heyghen. The group could hardly be more polished.

Honestly, it would be hard to find a poor performance of Bononcini on CD. Plainly his music elicits the best from performers. Here are some glorious examples:
Giovanni Bononcini: La Nemica d'Amore fatta Amante
Bononcini: La Decollazione di S. Giovanni Battista
Giovanni Battista Bononcini-Amore Doppio
Bononcini: Amarilli ~ Cantatas for solo countertenor, Sonatas / Lesne, Il Seminario musicale

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