Vivaldi: Cessate, omai cessate, RV 684 (2/2) - Lesne

High resolution and stereo sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfptcS-wVHc&fmt=18

Antonio Vivaldi
Cessate, omai cessate, RV 684
cantata for contralto voice, instruments and basso continuo


In this recording:

Gérard Lesne, countertenor
Il Seminario Musicale
Fabio Biondi


The cantata follows the typical scheme of Recitative--Aria--Recitative--Aria (RARA). There is a variant of this cantata (RV 684a), an earlier version without the first recitative and quite different from this one.

The only source of the text, by an unknown author, is the autograph score. One observation is that a similar text was used in an aria from Vivaldi's opera "L'incoronazione di Dario", at the opening of the second act. The text by Adriano Morselli is as follows:

Cessa tiranno amor
di tormentarmi più.
Già barbaro e crudel
quest'anima fedel
hai posta in servitù.

"... if one examines the content, one sees that in the first aria the aggrieved singer resolves to kill himself; in the following recitative he prepares to die; in the last aria he pictures himself as the "shade of a Bacchante" on the gloomy banks of Acheron, ready to take revenge. So we have a conventional, but complete plot.
...

As for the content, there is a mixture of ferocity and commiseration arising from the fact that the singer addresses two different objects: his "cruel memories" and his "wretched, injured and forsaken heart". Only in the last two verses does cruelty pertain no longer to the memories but to the beloved's "pitiless countenance" and "faithless soul", Dorilla's cruelty being emphasized, in the score, by a unison of all the instruments."
...

The first recitative makes the work more expressive and, by virtue of its double character, seems to have been given the function of introducing the cantata as a whole rather than just its first aria."

- Luigi Cataldi


Original text:

Recitativo

A voi dunque ricorro,
orridi spechi, taciturni orrori,
solitari ritiri ed ombre amiche;
tra voi porto il mio duolo,
perché spero da voi quella pietade
che Dorilla inumana non annida.
Vengo, spelonche amate,
vengo, spechi graditi,
alfine meco involto
in mio tormento in voi resti sepolto.

Aria

Nell'orrido albergo,
ricetto di pene,
potrò il mio tormento
sfogare contento,
potrò ad alta voce
chiamare spietata
Dorilla l'ingrata,
morire potrò.

Andrò d'Acheronte
su la nera sponda,
tingendo quest'onda
di sangue innocente,
gridando vendetta
ed ombra baccante
vendetta farò.


Translation (by Luigi Cataldi):

Recitativo

So it is to you,
gloomy places, silent horrors,
lonely caves and friendly shades,
that I come and bring my grief,
because I hope to obtain from you a pity
that is not to be found in ungrateful Dorilla.
Beloved caves, I come,
I come, welcoming places,
until finally, racked by my pains,
I will bury myself in you.

Aria

In this horrible refuge,
sheltering from my pains,
I shall be able to give vent
to my grief,
to call out:
'Dorilla heartless and ungrateful',
and to die.

I'll go to the gloomy banks of Acheron,
staining that stream
with my blameless blood,
crying for revenge
and, like the shade of a Bacchante,
I will take my revenge.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Antonio
• Vivaldi
• Cessate
• omai
• Gerard
• Lesne
• Seminario
• Musicale
• Fabio
• Biondi
• cantata
• countertenor

[deterrese]

yeah!

[jnamadeus]

@serenaluce

It is Cencic's that I mainly had in mind... I've also listened to Scholl and Stutzmann (vocal fulness itself!). I was referring to the total sound quality; it probably has to do mostly with the recording, and partly the instrumental forces as I mentioned, which seem smaller compared to other performances (e.g. Cencic) and thus create a more 'minimal' sound. I am absolutely ok with Lesne's timbre, I love it!

[serenaluce]

@jnamadeus Well, it's all very interesting indeed. Actually, I don't find the sound of Lesne's voice "thin" here. I like it very much. Perhaps a bit faster tempo would be better. But overall I find Lesne's interpretation more lyric and perhaps more beauty of the sound itself, while Cencic's version is definitely more dramatic and virtuosic. Have you heard Cencic's one? I think you would prefer him based on what you wrote here. But who knows? Sometimes magic happens, sometimes not...

[jnamadeus]

@jnamadeus

(2)...the tempo I'd choose would be slightly faster in the aria. Also, I find the overall sound a little "thin", and the voice calling for a little more power, so as to achieve a better "furioso" effect, which is a typical characteristic of Biondi's interpretations, although Lesne usually takes a rather restrained approach.

[jnamadeus]

@serenaluce

(1) Me too, regarding vocal works. I mainly concentrate on the voice.

And besides having said this, I often comment even on the "great" ones, not because I am better or anything, but because there are several differences and points of view. So it is usually not on their technical capability but on style, point of view, tempo, dynamics, phrasing and such choices.

Well, here I find the performance lacking a little bit in energy, probably because of smaller instrumental forces, and...

[serenaluce]

@jnamadeus OK, I can see your point of view:-). But I think it's never unnecessary to mention somebody's greatness, especially such a great countertenor as Gerard Lesne:-). As for me, first of all I concentrate on the voice and only then "hear" the instruments. If the voice is great but the orchestra isn't the best match for it, I try to "turn off " the instruments and listen to only the voice. But of course, it's not the case here:-)

[jnamadeus]

@serenaluce

What to comment on Lesne... :)

The same degree of greatness characterises Biondi of course.

[serenaluce]

@jnamadeus I wonder if you ever comment on the voice and not only the instruments:-)

[jnamadeus]

I like the improvisations of the intrsuments - typical of Biondi!

[serenaluce]

It's so, so beautiful! Though I didn't like very much his low notes on 3.02 and 3.04, overall it's awesome! Wonderful voice! Bravo! In the Nell'orrido albergo I prefer Cencic's embellishment. So, in my opinion these 2 versions - Lesne's and Cencic's are the best! Don't know which one to prefer. Accept both. Thanks for posting.