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Reviewer:
David Vickers
Following Heinichen’s death his duties for the Dresden royal chapel were carried out by the Bohemian-born Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745), who had been employed at the court as a violone player since about 1710. His hopes to succeed Heinichen officially led to a petition to the new elector Friedrich August II in November 1733, only a few weeks after he had composed a collection of eight Italian arias. Dedicated to the new elector, these were probably designed to demonstrate that Zelenka was capable of writing operatic-style arias despite having very little experience setting the Italian language to music. In the event, the post was given instead to Hasse, whereas the long-serving Zelenka was promoted merely to the rank of Hofkomponist.
The clever
fusion of contrapuntal fourpart strings and vocal virtuosity in these lengthy
arias reveals his customarily quirky imagination. The plangent qualities of Hana
BlaΩíková are beguiling in the lion’s share of the arias: the melancholic
melodiousness of ‘Povera fede sei pur mal spesa’ shows Zelenka’s style to be
close to the Venetians of 20 years previously, the arching phrases of ‘Se ha per
guida la costanza’ were modelled directly on an old opera aria by the Viennese
Kapellmeister Fux, and there is livelier florid passagework aplenty in ‘Senti ti
voglio ancor’. Markéta Cukrová’s unforced alto voice shines in two rapturous
arias, such as the softly lyrical ‘Non só se piů vi rivedrň’. The final aria
‘Son da piů venti’ is sung suavely by bass Tomá≈ Šelc. The six instrumentalists
of Ensemble Tourbillon, directed by gambist Petr Wagner, support the singers
with finesse. These eight arias are probably not the most accomplished music
Zelenka wrote but they provide another glimpse into the rich musical culture of
Dresden’s golden age.
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