DANIELE: Il Daniele nel Lago de’Leoni. Armonico Consort; Christopher Monks, conductor. Signum Classics SIGCD881. Total time: 61:46.
DIGITAL REVIEW — Family get-togethers in the Scarlatti household must have been musical feasts. Prolific opera composer Alessandro and his keyboard-specialist son, Domenico, are well known. But there were other accomplished composers in that clan, including Alessandro’s younger brother, Francesco (1666-c.1741). The British ensemble Armonico Consort, conducted by Christopher Monks, has been trying to put Francesco on the late-Baroque map. In 2023, they released two skillfully crafted polyphonic sacred works — his Dixit Dominus and Mass — and now they offer the world-premiere recording of Francesco’s only surviving oratorio, Il Daniele nel lago de’ leoni (Daniel in the Lion’s Den), on Signum Records.
Francesco worked for his famous brother in the court of Naples before returning to their hometown of Palermo. For the last stage of his life, he moved to London, probably inspired by the success of fellow Europeans there such as Handel and Geminiani. Although Francesco never reached that level of stardom, he had enough important friends in the industry to throw him a musical benefit not long before he died.
The oratorio’s manuscript was found in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge University by musicologist Geoffrey Webber, who created the edition for this recording. It is not known where or when the first performance took place. The piece uses five solo singers, who join together as the chorus. The anonymous libretto is based on the Old Testament account in which the king of Medes sentences his Jewish friend Daniel to death for his beliefs. Before the lion can eat the faithful Daniel, the God of Israel spares him.
In Scarlatti’s version there is a fantastical aspect added — the demon/dragon whom King Darius worships — typical of the way Baroque opera brought spectacle and otherworldliness to ancient stories (think of the Sorceress and Enchantresses in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, which would have surprised the Roman poet Virgil). According to Webber’s booklet essay, the inspiration for this imaginative approach was chapters from the Book of Daniel that are considered apocryphal by some denominations.
Soprano Hannah Fraser-Mackenzie sings Daniele with a clarity that emphasizes his pure heart. Her flexible voice carries the full range of her character’s emotions, from the defiant “Non son per credere” (I am not prepared to believe), which Daniele sings to the demon/dragon, to the gentle “Misero, non cader” (Alas, poor wretched one), sung to his estranged friend, the king, in hopes of steering him toward the true deity. Music history buffs will delight in “Poco, poco è la morte” (Death is of no consequence) as a beautiful example of a Baroque echo aria: Sections of the orchestra mimic each other in the ritornello passages. Beyond its stylistic interest, the aria is delivered by Fraser-Mackenzie with wistful, heartfelt conviction.
An Angel, who rescues Daniele from the lion, is sung by soprano Billie Robson. She shows her melismatic skills in “Combattere per vincere” (Can a tender, gentle hand?), an aria that also allows the four violinists of the Armonico Consort to make a case for Scarlatti’s complex obbligato writing. As the Demon — called Bello here, but probably cognate with the god Baal — bass Alex Jones muses over the best way to be worshipped in “La sostanza vi lascio e i sapori” (I leave to you the tasty offerings) without overplaying the godly role. This is another example of Scarlatti’s skill in using instruments effectively to support and color the voice.
Countertenor William Towers’ Dario has kingly power to his voice, although it can get wobbly at times. There’s an exceptional trio, accompanied by natural trumpet, featuring Dario, Daniele, and the Demon that’s so solidly crafted that big brother Alessandro’s tutelage seems obvious. Tenor Graham Neal as Abaccuco the Prophet is mellifluous and expressive in his big aria, “Correre per soccorrere” (Hasten to give aid). Here the heavy influence on Scarlatti was surely Handel.
On this recording, the Armonico Consort instrumental forces comprise a small group of strings, plus organ and trumpet. They are led with sensitivity and keen dramatic purpose by founder and artistic director Monks. Organist George Herbert helps keep Scarlatti’s multifaceted musical universe glued together with his fine continuo playing.
