JOHANN ADOLF HASSE (1699-1783)
La Contadina
Intermezzi in musica (Naples, 1728) – Libretto attributed to Bernardo Saddumene

1 Sinfonia: Overture from Astarto (1727)

Intermezzo primo
2 Cavatina: Alla vita, al portamento (Tabarano)
3 Recitativo: Tieni lo specchio in tasca? (Tabarano)
4 Aria: Sul verde praticello (Scintilla)
5 Recitativo: È qui Don Tabarano (Scintilla, Tabarano)
6 Aria: Più viver non voglio (Scintilla)
7 Recitativo: Eh! Va via, pesso d’asino (Tabarano, Scintilla)
8 Duetto: Vorrei, o Dio, ma vedo (Scintilla, Tabarano)

Intermezzo secondo
9 Recitativo: Ti dico che qui voglio (Tabarano)
10 Ballo da Turco
11 Recitativo: Cos’è? Vengono? Presto! (Tabarano, Scintilla)
12 Aria: Strappami il core, ô barbaro (Scintilla)
13 Recitativo: A poco amor scaccia lo sdegno (Tabarano, Scintilla)
14 Aria: Star allegra, brava, brava (Tabarano, Scintilla)
15 Recitativo: Decir: conoscer bene ti (Tabarano, Scintilla)
16 Duetto: Deh, ti placa (Scintilla, Tabarano)
17 Recitativo: Cos’è, Corbo? (Tabarano, Scintilla)
18 Tempo di minuetto
19 Ballo di Villano
20 Minuetto da capo

Michele Mascitti (1664-1760)
Concerto op. 7 nº 3 a sei stromenti (1727. G major)
21 Vivace
22 Largo
23 Allegro
24 Largo
25 Allegro

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About this CD

Johann Adolf Hasse was twenty-nine years old and on his first visit to Italy when he wrote La Contadina in Naples. The music of the intermezzo, which sparkles with wit and temperament, enjoyed such a great success that a total of thirty-eight productions in major European opera houses can be documented between 1728 and 1769. La Contadina was one of the hits of the eighteenth century.

It is hard to believe that this work was composed at the same time as Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas and passions. Its strengths include a spirited libretto full of humour and earthy eroticism, and, above all, extremely modern music that is already endowed with all the characteristics of the subsequent “Classical” style. The timeless vitality of the agile recitatives and individually fashioned arias also captivates today’s listeners.

At a time of a substantial reappraisal of the work of composers such as Porpora, Vinci, and Mancini, as well as Hasse himself, Glossa and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis are pleased to be able to reissue this splendid recording which, apart from featuring notable singers in Graciela Oddone and Lorenzo Regazzo, involves fine instrumental players such as Pablo Valetti, Amandine Beyer, Riccardo Minasi and Attilio Cremonesi.