Hyperion Records

The Soirées musicales begins with three short, formally simple, song-like arias that Rossini called ‘canzonettas’: La promessa, a song in which the lover swears eternal love and loyalty to his beloved, which begins as a gentle barcarolle and develops into a more impassioned central section; Il rimprovero, another declaration of love in which the jilted man berates the woman for causing him such pain; and La partenza, which describes the pain of separation, with the pianist’s right hand echoing the vocal line. L’orgia celebrates the joys of wine and love in a lively brindisi, while L’invito, to a poem by Count Pepoli, is a delightful bolero in which Eloisa tells her Ruggiero that she cannot live without him. In La pastorella dell’Alpi the shepherdess’s anguish sounds strangely lighthearted, but chords interrupt the catchy tune and express grief at Aminta’s faithlessness. La danza is a celebrated bravura piece for tenor—an intoxicating, breathless tarantella. La gita in gondola sets Pepoli’s poem to a charming barcarolle in rolling 12/8 time; La pesca, subtitled ‘notturno’ by the composer, is an Andante grazioso in 3/8 time, and sets a Metastasio poem in which the fisherman bids his sweetheart join him on the beach to enjoy the evening air. La serenata is a charming duet in which tenor and soprano first alternate and then sing together; La regata veneziana is a lively duet in Venetian dialect for two sopranos who describe how Tonio and Beppe encourage one another as they take part in a regatta.

from notes by Richard Stokes © 2008