The scintillating aria “Sento Brillar,” from Handel’s “Il Pastor Fido,” Christopher Lowrey, countertenor. Live, 4K ultra HD video from the Voices of Music “Art of the Countertenor” concert, March, 2016.
A virtuoso opera singer in the time of Handel would have exploited the form of the Da Capo aria to the fullest extent possible by adding brilliant and original ornaments to the repeat of the first “A” section. When paired with the imagination of the best singers in Europe, the Da Capo aria proved to be one of the most popular and enduring forms of the baroque. This important composition of Handel is now available for the first time in 4K, ultra-high definition video.
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Special thanks to Peter Jones for help with the musical score!
Sento brillar nel sen
Sento brillar nel sen
un novo lieto ardor,
che mi consola.
Ah! che la sola speme
del caro amato bene
al duol m’invola
—Giacomo Rossi, based on Giovanni Guarini
I feel a glimmer in my breast
A new happy burning
That consoles me
Ah! May the hope alone, merely the hope,
of my dear well-beloved
take me away from grief.
—Translation by Cynthia Craig Simon
The Musicians and their Instruments
Voices of Music performs on original instruments: hear the music played on instruments from the time of the composer.
Lisa Grodin, baroque viola by Mathias Eberl, Salzburg, Austria, 1680
Kati Kyme, baroque violin by Johann Gottlob Pfretzschner, Mittenwald, 1791
Carla Moore, baroque violin by Johann Georg Thir, Vienna, Austria, 1754
Maxine Nemerovski, baroque violin by Joseph Gaffino, Paris, 1769
Elisabeth Reed, baroque cello, anonymous, 1673
Farley Pearce, violone by George Stoppani, Manchester, 1985, after Amati, 1560
David Tayler, archlute by Andreas von Holst, Munich, 2012, after Tieffenbrucker, c1610
Hanneke van Proosdij, Italian single manual harpsichord by Johannes Klinkhamer, Amsterdam, 2000, after Cristofori, Florence, c1725
Gabrielle Wunsch, baroque violin by Lorenzo Carcassi, Florence, Italy, 1765
DARWIN'S TREE 