Handel: Italian Cantatas

Handel was in his twenties when he traveled throughout Italy, producing some of the Baroque era’s most exciting, colorful music for his patrons. These cantatas—effectively mini-operas with one or two characters and performed in aristocratic homes—were only recently rediscovered, having remained unpublished for 300 years. They’re vintage Handel: *Aminta e Fillide*, telling of a shepherd’s love for a shepherdess, features some of his most skillful vocal writing, deftly and gracefully performed by Sabine Devieilhe and Lea Desandre. The star attraction, *Armida abbandonata*, explores the gamut of Handel’s genius and deserves a place among his greatest operas. Le Concert d’Astrée are in blistering form.