Hasse: The Fiery Serpents in the Wilderness

Correas, Jerôme, Les Paladins

AMY 005

Nakład wyprzedany, ostatni egzemplarz

The Italians had already once admiringly given a German composer his nationality designation as a nickname: At the beginning of the 18th century Handel was praised as il caro sassone (the dear Saxon). 30 years later, another German succeeded in making the Sassone his trademark: Johann Adolph Hasse. 14 years younger than Handel and born in Bergedorf near Hamburg, he rose in 1730 in Venice as a star in the theatre sky. In addition to the numerous opera houses in Venice, the orphanages were a central element in the musical life of the lagoon city, where young musicians were trained. In the mid-1730s, three Venetian orphanages entrusted Hasse with the position of maestro di coro for five years. Hasse, who at the same time was courted by the courts in Vienna and Dresden, unfolded a creative firework display in his new office. • The oratorio Serpentes ignei in deserto was written in 1735 / 36 or 1739; following Venetian usage, it is relatively short; it demands musical abilities from its performers that are hardly inferior to those of an ambitious opera stage. So it is only too understandable that the work, whose original manuscript has been lost, has spread in performances as far as Berlin and Paris.

CD

12.08.2010

3760135100057