Green Man Press Scarlatti A. - Three Cantatas With Recorders

Summary of This Score

Three Cantatas with Recorder brings together three Italian cantatas where the soprano voice and recorders respond to each other with constant inventiveness. Designed for a compact Baroque ensemble (soprano, two recorders, and basso continuo), this collection highlights both the vocal line and the art of accompaniment and counterpoint, with instrumental interventions sometimes echoing, sometimes commenting, and sometimes completely independent.

Augellin, vago e canoro (D minor) is built around three da capo arias, all in triple meter, separated by recitatives. The recorders introduce or reflect the voice in the first aria, then reappear to conclude the second (which itself proceeds without recorders). In the last aria, they weave an autonomous accompaniment, creating rhythmic and expressive relief. The syncopations in the second and third arias bring an element of surprise, perfectly matching the capricious character evoked by the text.

Filli, tu sai s'io t'amo (C major) follows an inverse logic: two da capo arias are framed by three very brief recitatives. In the arias, the two recorders alternate with the solo voice, frequently playing in thirds in a surprisingly modern trio style, and punctuating certain passages marked unisoni. The vocal discourse, both graceful and insistent, reproaches Phyllis for not understanding what it means to love, offering the soprano an ideal palette of nuances to work on declamation and intention.

Mentre Clori la bella (C minor) is distinguished by the marked absence of a da capo form. The cantata presents a Cloris determined to break with Fileno, while revealing an inner hesitation. The three-part structure clarifies this dilemma: an opening recitative, an aria repeated with recorders (then instrumental ritornello), a long recitative followed by an aria fully repeated without recorders (then ritornello), then a short recitative leading to a final aria with recorders, without repetition, whose four lines are nevertheless set to music twice. The harmonic writing emphasizes dramatic words, notably through the use of the Neapolitan sixth, reinforcing the theatrical intensity of the whole.

Technical specifications

Musical Genre

Classical

Publication

Sheet music

Arranger	Barbara Sachs	Genre	classical score (Baroque cantatas)
Instrumentation	soprano (d' to a''), two recorders, and basso continuo (bc)	Language	Italian