Output details

Mozart: Apollo et Hyacinthus

Research content/process:

The aim of this AHRC-funded project was to reinstate the cello as a fully chordal instrument in the accompaniment of eighteenth-century operatic recitative. Modern productions of classical opera, even those given by 'period instrument' orchestras, adhere to an ahistorical and, in many ways, impractical performance tradition: the recitative-accompanying cellist plays either not at all or else in a role supporting, in single bass notes, the presiding keyboard continuo. This research-led performance project set out to perform recitatives in the way set out by Baumgartner (1744) in order to investigate what effect this radically different cello technique could have on the sound-world of the accompaniment as a whole, on the support enjoyed by the singers and on the communication of text and drama to live and radio audiences. The starting points were Baumgartner’s instructions, harmonic exercises and a 25-bar example of how a recitative might be accompanied in practice. From that base the performance was shaped by rehearsals in collaboration with director and singers. The context for the research includes a much broader and growing body of evidence for cellists using similar techniques in Classical opera houses across Europe.. Preparatory and complementary projects included a commercial recording and live performances of Thomas Arne Artaxerxes, performances at the London Handel Festival of Hasse Cajo Fabricio and Lucio Papirio Dittatore, and a performance of Haydn Creation at the Perth Festival, Australia. The Barbican performance was preceded by a pre-concert talk in which Crouch, with the keyboard player Richard Egarr, explained and contextualised the techniques used. The performance of Mozart's Finta giardiniera at the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées was broadcast by France Musique, and is submitted here on CD as the formal output for the project.