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≈ Painting ≈
"Rinaldo enchanted by Armida" by Giovanni Tiepolo can be found on PicasaWeb in a copy by Michel Semenov.
≈ History ≈
Grove Dict...
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≈ Painting ≈
"Rinaldo enchanted by Armida" by Giovanni Tiepolo can be found on PicasaWeb in a copy by Michel Semenov.
≈ History ≈
Grove Dictionary & Gramophone
The obscurity of German composer John Frederick Lampe (1703-51) can be at least partially attributed to the rather spare details of his life. Graduating from the University of Helmstedt in 1720 as a jurist, the young man arrived in London in 1725-26 in search of a career in music. Lampe initially earned his living playing the bassoon in Handel's orchestra (1). As a writer of music, the musician did not attract much public attention until 1733, when he joined the project of promoting English opera at the Haymarket Theatre. While Lampe's first three opera, cast in a serious mood, were not successful, the comic "The Opera of Operas", adapted from Fielding's "The Tragedy of Tragedies" as an operatic parody, was warmly received, thus, his subsequent efforts naturally took the shape of burlesques. "The Dragon of Wantley" followed in 1737 (enjoying a run of 69 performances, overtaking "The Beggar's Opera" and holding the stage until 1782) (2), "Orpheus and Euridice" - in 1740 (receiving 46 performances in the season) and, ultimately, "Pyramus and Thisbe" - in 1745 (his final major work). Lampe would continue to tour with his company until his death. In the present case, we will approach his last and, thus far, only recorded work.
(1): A double bassoon part was incorporated into "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato" seemingly with Lampe in mind.
(2): At around this time Lampe married his leading lady - Isabella Young - becoming the brother-in-law of Thomas Arne in the process.
≈ Narrative ≈
The plot of the opera closely follows the text of the lamentable play-within-a-play from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream": Pyramus (tenor) and Thisbe (soprano), tired of having to exchanging words of love through a crack in the Wall (tenor), arrange a meeting. The ill-fated presence of a Lion (bass) forces Thisbe to flee the rendezvous place. Pyramus, finding his lover's veil, kills himself. Thisbe follows suit. Minor variations of the bard's verses are introduced but only the framing device is drastically changed: the wedding feast is replaced by a rehearsal of a new opera by the composer Semibrief who is entertaining two gentlemen with distaste for "English entertainments".
≈ Text ≈
The complete version of Shakespeare's play can be found on Shakespeare.MIT.edu.
≈ Music ≈
The burlesque was a most unexpected but delightful surprise. Naturally, the primary source of inspiration comes from opera seria, thus, numerous influences of contemporaries - Rameau (a gallant essay in the stately French ouverture tradition at 4:31), Handel (literal roars and growling, recalling with the similarly conceived "Oh! ruddier than the cherry", in the Lion's aria at 5:11) and Hasse (a vocally demanding sketch of an Italian rage aria at 6:00) - can be detected in Lampe's deft, appealing, light parodies; however, the music is undeniably entrenched within the English tradition of Purcell (e.g. "The Fairy Queen") and Arne (e.g. "Alfred") in its extensive use of clear, vaguely rustic songs (consider Pyramus' elegant introductory cavatina with its extensive ornamental touches at 2:51 or Tisbe's ballade to the moon at 6:59 which recalls pastoral English oratorios) and direct, telling musical effects, less pronounced in the more formal Italian tradition (the almost patter-like phrases in the Moon's (tenor) aria at 9:03). What's even more notable is the composer's lightness of touch and quicksilver manner: thus, the Wall's minor-key number features both orchestral depictions of "groans" and "moans" and a humorous inflexion of the word "whispering" (2:08); while both Pyramus' and Tisbe's death scenes, obviously modeled on Dido's great Lament, stunningly poke fun at the repetitive nature of baroque musical forms (10:38). All in all, a parody of potency and immediacy, presenting the listener with a viable alternative to the more familiar "Beggar". The lively, elegantly structured Cuckoo Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (c. 1740) - the only surviving independent orchestral work of Lampe - forms a perfect complement to the main work.
≈ Score ≈
Sadly, no set of sheet music for the opera can be found in open access at the present moment.
≈ Recording ≈
The 1994 Hyperion premiere recording is exceptional in all respects from the inspired production (the opera's reconstructed dialogue/recitatives are as professionally performed as the music) by the Label and the Opera Restor'd Touring Company, directed by Jack Edwards and Peter Holman who also serves as conductor, to the high profile cast of singers.
Pyramus ~ Mark Padmore.
Thisbe ~ Susan Bisatt.
Wall ~ Michael Sanderson.
Moon ~ Arwel Treharne.
Lion & Prologue ~ Andrew Knight.
Semibrief ~ Peter Milne.
Gentlemen ~ Alan McHanon & Jack Edwards.
Hope you'll enjoy =).
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Ben je in NY geweest?
For the Love of Sound available NOW!
Mark
IngerHansen com
gonna upload the entire gig right now!
hugs
Mark
IngerHansen com
have a great weekend ahead!
PEACE ALWAYS from MR. PJ
(new Chicago singer, songwriter, author, artist)
PEACE from Mr. PJ (new Chicago singer/songwriter/author)
Have a lovely Valentine's day
For the Love of Sound
IngerHansen com
how are you?
Yesterday i uploaded a remake of "Still Don't Know"
Love to hear what you think of it... the soundtrack is the version which will appear on Inger's CD which will be released somewhere next month!
For the Love of Sound
Mark
IngerHansen com
PEACE from MoonwalkerPJ (Chicago singer/songwriter/author)