Unsurprisingly, only a fraction of Caldara’s music has been revived, emphasis having been placed largely on his sacred music and oratorios, several examples of which have been reviewed by myself in these pages over the past 10 years. Rather less well known are the vocal and instrumental chamber works, although readers are reminded of Parnassi musici’s superlative disc of the op. 1 Trio Sonatas (cpo), and the inclusion of a disc of alto cantatas in Gerard Lesne’s outstanding four-CD set of cantatas reviewed in 27:6. Lesne’s disc includes one cantata in common with this new issue, Vicino a un rivoletto, which can be dated to June 3, 1729, according to the manuscript held in Paris, a source seemingly unknown to Michael Talbot, whose Gaudeamus note conjecturally assigns the cantata to one of the composer’s Roman sojourns. The remaining three cantatas on the new disc are much earlier, being taken from a collection published in 1699 as op. 3. They are modestly scaled works consisting of either three (aria-recitative-aria) or, in the case of L’anniversario, four (recitative-aria-recitative-aria) sections, with arias in brief ABA form rather than fully developed da capo structures. Il silentio and L’anniversario are both appealing, the latter not least because it is a rare example of a chamber cantata that maintains a joyous mood throughout. The tiny La fama is conventional.

Vicino a un rivoletto is a different matter, an expansive work whose two fully developed da capo arias testify to the changes that had taken place during the 30 years that separate it from the op. 3 cantatas. The arias both feature elaborate obbligato parts, the first a florid role for violin, the second a lyrical cantabile for cello. It is the playing of these that places the performance a notch or two below Lesne’s, both players suffering intonation lapses that mar the effect of Jennifer Lane’s expressive and finely nuanced singing. She’s very persuasive, too, in the earlier continuo cantatas, singing with a generous tonal warmth, absolute security of pitch and welcome lack of excessive vibrato. Additionally, Lane is highly responsive to texts, also ornamenting reprises with real style as well as being able to sing a genuine trill.

The trio sonatas, also published in 1699, are mostly da camera pieces consisting of just three or four short dance movements, only the F-Major departing from the format by opening with a two-part Preludio. Like the op. 1 group, they are conservative works indebted to Corelli, but the more serious mien of the da chiesa works in the earlier publication gives them a gravitas and substance here only evident in the finely developed Ciacona that concludes the publication. Although not equalling the outstanding playing of Parnassi musici in the op. 1 sonatas, the performances of these undemanding and unpretentious works well capture their spirit, with lively, buoyant playing in the correntes and gigas, and no small degree of elegance in the allemandas. If not without faults, the disc is certainly worth recommending, above all for the sensitive, musical singing of Jennifer Lane.

Brian Robins, FANFARE