Hyperion Records

Infirmata vulnerata centres around a text on the common theme of unrequited love, but on this occasion optimism is allowed to creep in as the cantata progresses. Scarlatti’s manuscript dates the composition to October 1702 and, accompanied by two violins, takes a mournful angle at the opening. The first aria is set over a walking bass, above which the violins alternate lachrymose suspensions with more conversational dialogue, whilst the voice rarely rises above despair. ‘Vulnera percute’ is as rich in its harmony as its sentiments are tormented, and leads without an intervening recitative into a curious ground bass, seven bars in length. The last aria is upbeat, with shorter phrases passed between singer and instrumentalists: our lover sees hope triumphing.

from notes by Robert King © 1996