Over het album

Nine German Arias (HWV 202–210) are somewhat out of the ordinary flowers in Händel’s lush compositional bouquet. Firstly, the collection is a rare example of him composing to lyrics in his mother tongue. (Italian, Latin and English otherwise completely dominate his vocal music.) Secondly, the arias are composed with unusual poetic akkuratesse or precision, with a consummate balance between words and tones. Thirdly, the composer never looks to arouse overwhelming emotions in the listener, as is often the aim of other baroque music. He appeals as much to our reason as to our emotions. The collection consists of nine individual arias for vocalist, obligato melody instrument and basso continuo. They rank among his most thorough and delicate vocal compositions. Stylistically they are genuinely modern for their time, as they meet all the requirements for the naturalness, the close relationship between music and text, as well as their elegance