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Welcome to Harmonia…I’m Angela Mariani.
This hour, a musical walk through the perfectly manicured flowers, well-trimmed hedges, sculptures, and water features in the backyard of the 17th century Hanover winter palace. The gardens at Herrenhausen Palace, commissioned by Sophia of Hanover in 1683, rivaled the opulence of those at Versailles. We’ll hear some of the favorite music of Sophia of Hanover and her daughter Sophia Charlotte—and then the journey jumps the space-time continuum and hops back to 14th century France and the longing, loss, and passion of Guillaume de Machaut’s poems and their musical settings, on our featured release The Lion of Nobility with The Orlando Consort.
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MUSIC TRACK
Ariosti: Six Lessons for Viola d'Amore and Contino
Mauro Righini, viola d'amore; Elena Bertuzzi, soprano; Ugo Nastrucci, theorbo; Danilo Costantini, organ & harpsichord
Brilliant Classics 2022 / Naxos BC95620
Attilio Ariosti
Tr. 16 Lezione No. 5 in E Minor, I. Vivace (2:19)
Tr. 17 Lezione No. 5 in E Minor, II. Largo (2:24)
Mauro Righini (viola d’amore), Ugo Nastrucci, (theorbo), and Danilo Costantini, (harpsichord) performed two movements from Lezione No. 5 by Attilio Ariosti.
We’ll hear more music commissioned by Sophia of Hanover and her daughter Sophia Charlotte coming up.
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As the Winter King and Queen of Bohemia looked at their newborn in the year 1630, they couldn’t come up with a name to honor relatives—she was their twelfth child. They settled on Sophia. After all, Sophia was surrounded by Sophias: she had three godmothers with that name. Though she never ascended any throne, Sophia was sandwiched between generations of power and wealth. She was the granddaughter of James I of England (and VI of Scotland) and mother of the later King George I of Great Britain.
Guitarist and composer Francesco Corbetta worked for Sophia and her husband Ernest Augustus. Let’s hear Caprice de chacone in C Major by Francesco Corbetta.
MUSIC TRACK
La Mascarade
Rolf Lislevand, Baroque guitar and theorbo
ECM Records 2016 / Naxos 00028948117185
Francesco Corbetta
Tr. 11 Caprice de chacone in C Major (4:37)
That was Caprice de chacone in C Major by Italian composer Francesco Corbetta. Rolf Lislevand played baroque guitar on that 2016 ECM Records release, La Mascarade.
Corbetta wasn’t the only person to benefit from Sophia’s patronage. Sophia was a close friend of philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, who is connected with the development of calculus along with Isaac Newton. Sophia and Leibniz had a long friendship and correspondence. Like Sophia, Leibniz was interested in music, and wrote his own theoretical dissertation on music: De arte combinatoria. Leibniz favored hymns over most other music. We’ll hear “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded), a hymn setting by Hans Leo Hassler.
MUSIC TRACK
Die helle Sonn leuchtet
Stimmwerck
CPO 2013 / Naxos 777792-2
Hans Leo Hassler
Tr. 6 O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (2:46)
Stimmwerck performed the Hymn setting “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” by Hans Leo Hassler.
Sophia of Hanover’s support of art, architecture, and philosophy were substantial. She commissioned the gardens at Herrenhausen Palace, which were crated in the style of the gardens at Versailles and included plants, fountains, and statues. Sophia arranged for several operas for the Gartentheater in Herrenhausen including a few by Italian composer Agostino Steffani. Let’s hear “Padre, s’se colpa in lui” and “Piu non v’ascondo” from Steffani’s opera Tassilone.
MUSIC TRACK
A Life for the Opera
Ensemble Castor / soloist?
Pan Classics 2021 / Naxos PC10423
Agostino Steffani
Tr. 17 Tassilone (excerpts), Padre, s’se colpa in lui (5:07)
Tr. 18 Tassilone (excerpts), Piu non v’ascondo (2:28)
We heard the arias “Padre, s’se colpa in lui” and “Piu non v’ascondo” from Agostino Steffani’s opera Tassilone. Silvia Frigato, soprano, performed with Ensemble Castor on the 2021 Pan Classics release, A Life for the Opera.
[Theme music begins: Theme Music Bed: Ensemble Alcatraz, Danse Royale, Elektra Nonesuch 79240-2 / B000005J0B, T.12: La Prime Estampie Royal]
Early music can mean a lot of things. What does it mean to you? Let us know your thoughts and ideas. Contact us at harmonia early music dot org, where you’ll also find playlists and an archive of past shows.
You’re listening to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.
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Mid Break
La Mascarade
Rolf Lislevand, Baroque guitar and theorbo
ECM Records 2016 / Naxos 00028948117185
Francesco Corbetta
Tr. 13 Folie (Excerpt of 1:56)
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Sophia of Hanover and Ernest Augustus had one daughter: Sophia Charlotte. Like her mother, Sophia Charlotte spoke several languages and was interested in the arts, philosophy, and theology. Two of her favorite musicians were Attilio Ariosti and Giovanni Bononcini. Here’s music for viola d’amore and continuo by Attilio Ariosti: the Adagio from Ariosti’s third sonata.
MUSIC TRACK
Ariosti: Six Lessons for Viola d'Amore and Contino
Mauro Righini, viola d'amore; Elena Bertuzzi, soprano; Ugo Nastrucci, theorbo; Danilo Costantini, organ & harpsichord
Brilliant Classics 2022 / Naxos BC95620
Attilio Ariosti
Tr. 10 Lezione No. 3 in E Minor, III. Adagio (3:56)
That was the Adagio from Lesson no 3 for Viola d’amore and continuo by Attilio Ariosti. We heard Mauro Righini (viola d'amore), Ugo Nastrucci (theorbo), and Danilo Costantini (harpsichord).
Sophia Charlotte was admired for her sharp intellect and patronage of the arts. In 1700, baroque master Arcangelo Corelli dedicated his Opus 5 sonatas for solo violin to Sophia Charlotte. We’ll hear two movements from Corelli’s Sonata in C Major from Opus 5.
MUSIC TRACK
Corelli's Band
Augusta McKay Lodge (baroque violin); Doug Balliett (violone); Ezra Seltzer (baroque cello); Adam Cockerham (theorbo, baroque guitar); Elliot Figg (harpsichord)
Naxos 2020 / Naxos 8.574239
Arcangelo Corelli
Tr. 10 Violin Sonata in C Major, Op. 5, No. 3, I. Adagio (2:47)
Tr. 13 Violin Sonata in C Major, Op. 5, No. 3, IV. Allegro – Adagio (1:00)
Music from Corelli’s Sonata in C Major, Opus 5, featuring violinist Augusta McKay Lodge from the 2020 Naxos release, Corelli’s Band.
Sophia Charlotte was herself an accomplished musician and lyricist. Philosopher John Toland said of Sophia Charlotte, [quote] “She plays to Perfection on the Harpsichord, which she practices every day.” Here is the vocal duet “Crudo Amor, morir mi sento”—words by Sophia Charlotte with music by Agostino Steffani.
MUSIC TRACK
A son très-humble service: Duets for Sophie Charlotte of Hanover
var. musicians dir. Jory Vinikour (see per track)
Musica Omnia 2020 / MO-0802
Agostino Steffani (Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, lyricist)
Disc 2, Tr 1. Crudo Amor, morir mi sento (8:58)
That was “Crudo Amor, morir mi sento” by Agostino Steffani with libretto by Sophia Charlotte. Harpsichordist Jory Vinikour led a chamber ensemble featuring soprano Andreanne Paquin and counter-tenor Reginald Mobley.
For our featured release, we go backwards in time now to France in the fourteenth century. Composer Guillaume de Machaut was known as a poet as well as a musician. On their 2021 Hyperion release, “The Lion of Nobility,” The Orlando Consort set about to show the whole spectrum of Machaut’s musical and poetic work. Let’s hear “Ma fin est mon commencement” (“My end is my beginning”).
MUSIC TRACK
The Lion of Nobility
The Orlando Consort
Hyperion 2021 68318 Hyperion CDA68318 Hyperion / Amazon ASIN B08LR57QGV
Guillaume Machaut
Tr. 9 Ma fin est mon commencement (6:03)
“Ma fin est mon commencement” (“My end is my beginning”) performed by The Orlando Consort, from their 2021 Hyperion release, The Lion of Nobility.
This “lion of nobility” may refer to King John II of France--and in fact, the CD Includes an 18-minute piece, “En demantant et lamentant,” that explores the defeat at the Battle of Poitiers during the 100 Years’ War. Since that is too long a piece for our remaining time this hour, we’ll hear instead a battle of a different kind—between a man’s spirit and nature. The man attempts to conquer nature by convincing his lady to negotiate a truce. Unfortunately, the lady’s heart is hard as marble, so the man’s spirit cannot find peace. This is Machaut’s Ballade 39 for three voices, “Mes esperis se combat.”
MUSIC TRACK
The Lion of Nobility
The Orlando Consort
Hyperion 2021 68318 Hyperion CDA68318 Hyperion / Amazon ASIN B08LR57QGV
Guillaume Machaut
Tr. 7 Mes esperis se combat (6:57)
“Mes esperis se combat,” a ballade by fourteenth-century French poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut, from our featured recording, Orlando Consort’s 2021 Hyperion release The Lion of Nobility.
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Harmonia is a production of WFIU and part of the educational mission of Indiana University.
Support comes from Early Music America: a national organization that advocates and supports the historical performance of music of the past, the community of artists who create it, and the listeners whose lives are enriched by it. On the web at EarlyMusicAmerica-dot-org.
Additional resources come from the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
We welcome your thoughts about any part of this program, or about early music in general. Contact us at harmonia early music dot org. You can follow us on Facebook by searching for Harmonia Early Music.
The writer for this edition of Harmonia was Sarah Huebsch Schilling.
Thanks to our studio engineer Michael Paskash, and our production team: LuAnn Johnson, Wendy Gillespie, Aaron Cain, and John Bailey. I’m Angela Mariani, inviting you to join us again for the next edition of Harmonia.
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