From the Opera House to the Salon
Committed to uncovering the rich potential of baroque chamber music, the ensemble Laterna Magica continues, in this release, to further the intentions of one of the greatest composers of Italian opera, offering original arrangements of famous arias of Handel adapted for two recorders and basso continuo. Reworking matter from pre-existing works was a common practice among composers of the day: even more than Bach, Handel draws inspiration from his own repertoire, plagiarising, without scruple, themes or entire passages without introducing major changes, in order to give new life to earlier compositions, while fitting them out perfectly in a new guise, without any stylistic hiatus. Be it the parodic process of reusing the same music, merely by changing the lyrics, to move from the operatic stage to the church, or the larger-scale transcription and adaptation of a work, changing the medium from the voice to instruments, from the orchestra to the basso continuo, transplanting it from the theatre to the salon, the whole of this baroque repertoire, a little like jazz, lends itself wonderfully to multiple arrangements, often in mutually distant genres.
