Hyperion Records

Amongst a huge compositional output there are at least thirteen settings of the Salve regina attributed to Hasse. The most famous of these is in A major and was published in London in 1740, but this is a later, unpublished version dated 1744. Its style is distinctly operatic, mixing an attractive simplicity of melody with florid instrumental and vocal lines which are always eminently suited to the voice. Gesture too is often to the fore, and the score is liberally sprinkled with changes of dynamics, often pianos interspersed with sudden fortes. The first movement is elegantly melodic, with expressive, melismatic vocal phrases set over an attractive orchestral accompaniment which is reminiscent of Pergolesi. Equally effective is ‘Ad te clamamus’ where detailed string figurations are overseen by a glorious vocal line. The more forthright Allegro setting of ‘Eia ergo advocata’ tests the soloist’s virtuosity with rapid runs. The final movement, ‘Et Jesum, benedictum’, returns to the cantabile vocal style and demonstrates why the diarist Burney described Hasse as ‘the most natural, elegant, and judicious composer of vocal music’.

from notes by Robert King © 1996