Conversazioni I: Cantatas from a Cardinal's Court

"Countertenor Andrew Radley is both swoonsome and stately, depending on the material: the somewhat melancholy progress of Albinoni's Senza il core del mio bene, for instance, befitting a love plaint of such wretched torment, while a more playful involvement suits Handel's Vedendo Amor, with its tortuous tale of mythic enslavement by Cupid."

"Andrew Radley's career has developed fast since he left the Royal Academy of Music in 2004. There's a seductive tonal warmth (sometimes too seductive) to his voice. The countertenor does let loose the cutting edge necessary to project the dramatic angst of Handel's Mi palpita il cor ('My heart throbs'). He also interacts as a fully engaged chamber musician with Sounds Baroque and its impressive director and harpsichordist Julian Perkins. It's heartening to discover yet another group of young musicians, fuelled by intellectual curiosity and a corporate commitment to excellence, with enterprise and genuine flair. Roll on Conversazioni II."
"This cleverly constructed programme is based around the very grand Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740), whose Roman court was a centre for music-making, poetry and all the visual arts. He was a practitioner as well as a patron, writing librettos for operas and cantatas for composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti. Ottoboni collected artworks and promising composers with equal avarice and lived well beyond his very considerable means. His tastes in other directions were also far from ascetic: the booklet notes for this disc tell us that he was reported to have sired over 60 children and to have decorated his bedroom with paintings of his mistresses posing as saints...

The programme is a refreshing mix of chamber cantatas and solo keyboard works. It is instructive to hear harpsichord pieces of Domenico Scarlatti and Handel alongside each other in light of their mutual respect and even some stylistic influence on each other. I also find Scarlatti sonatas easier to absorb when heard in small doses rather than en bloc, as is usually the case. Harpsichordist Julian Perkins is a very congenial performer who conveys an air of effortless virtuosity to this handful of well-chosen works. He plays two rich but contrasting instruments, which are both modern copies of Italian instruments: one from around 1600 and the other after Grimaldi c.1700.

Handel's cantatas owed a great deal to Domenico's (hated) father Alessandro, as do those of his contemporaries Albinoni and Caldara. So again, it is clever programming to hear similar works on similar themes by each of these composers. The Sounds Baroque ensemble, which Perkins directs, takes some small liberties with the scoring in one or two works, to suit its make-up of flute, oboe, cello, lute and harpsichord. These, admirably, are acknowledged in the notes and are probably consistent with the liberty contemporary performers would have allowed themselves. All the cantatas are fine examples of the Arcadian style, in which the loves and losses of shepherds and shepherdesses are depicted with graceful - sometimes slightly ironic - charm and ingratiating melodies... Perkins again shows great quality here and he is very ably partnered by lutenist Andrew Maginley and cellist Jonathan Byers (who soars in Handel's continuo-only Vedendo Amor).

The 'pastoral' qualities of the Baroque oboe and transverse flute are well suited here and the various composers often give them delicious melodies and harmonies. Oboist Joel Raymond plays an instrument he made himself modelled on a Thomas Stanesby instrument from around 1720. It has a wonderfully warm tone and Raymond's sensitive phrasing and gift for apt ornamentation are very impressive... The two woodwinds blend beautifully in Caldara's Clori, mia bella Clori...

Of course, a CD consisting largely of solo cantatas will stand or fall by the quality of the soloist. Happily, English countertenor Andrew Radley is a fine singer and vocal dramatist. ...he uses it [the voice] with great intelligence and stylistic awareness, including some really delightful embellishment... ...I was very impressed with him and indeed with the whole ensemble. I look forward eagerly eagerly to the promised 'Conversazioni II'.''
"... beautifully illustrated.. "
"Handel's Vedendo amor does have a clear Italian-period provenance; Andrew Radley demonstrates tender story-telling skills during the soft Camminando lei pian piano. The majority of cantatas are accompanied elegantly by only a basso continuo trio but Caldara's Clori, mia bella Clori also has flute and oboe – an attractive mixture of timbres, even if I imagine that their parts may have been envisaged for two violins. In gentle arias Radley's singing has affectionate intimacy and delicacy (such as Caldara's lovely last aria, Parto mio ben costante). I look forward to Volume 2. "

"Andrew Radley's warm, nimble countertenor invariably crafts a shapely vocal line... With delightfully expressive woodwind 'conversations' topping and tailing the disc, classy continuo, and deftly imaginative programming, Sounds Baroque proves a stylish ornament to the most discerning Cardinal's Court. Roll on Conversazioni Vol. 2!"

''The debut CD from Sounds Baroque, this disc is a selection of music from the fabled Conversazioni held in Rome by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, who used his power and wealth to act as one of the greatest patrons of his age. Counter-tenor Andrew Radley, for whom this is also a first recording, is superb.  While the cantatas on this disc tend to wallow in lovesickness, Radley finds a myriad of different colours and vocal moods, playing swooning and discarded as well as he does springing and agitated. But this is an excellent all-round performance from Sounds Baroque: there are some lovely obbligati from oboist Joel Raymond and flautist Georgia Browne, and Julian Perkins contributes a number of expertly gauged keyboard works by Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, a nod to their famous duel.''



Click here for solo recordings by Julian Perkins.