Vespres d'Arnadí

Sunhae Im, soprano (Beauty)| Núria Rial, soprano (Pleasure) | Xavier Sabata, countertenor (Disillusion) | Juan Sancho, tenor (Time)

Dani Espasa, musical direction

PROGRAMME

Georg Friedrich Händel: Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, HWV 46a

Written by Händel in 1707 at the age of 22, Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno is the first oratorio written by the composer, who used a libretto by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, which he later revised on two occasions, in 1737 and 1757. Beauty (soprano) lives under the enchantment of Pleasure (soprano) until Time (tenor) and Disillusion (alto) convince her to embark on a new path of penance and devout austerity. Composed of two parts, this oratorio includes some of the most beautiful songs written by Händel, such as Lascia la Spina, which years later was recycled in the aria Lascia ch'io pianga for the opera Rinaldo; virtuoso passages for the organ that Händel wrote to perform them himself, and for the first violin, Arcangelo Corelli, who conducted the premiere. Händel used numerous fragments of this oratorio in other works throughout his career.