Handel’s Apollo e Dafne

Jacqueline Woodley, soprano
Tyler Duncan, baritone
Pacific Baroque Orchestra directed by Alexander Weimann

In Apollo e Dafne, Handel retells the ancient story of a boastful god’s frustrated love and a determined nymph’s unbending resistance. This dramatic cantata, completed after Handel’s return from Italy, exudes the fresh vitality and self-assurance of a newly famous composer at his homecoming and hints at the future glories of his opera career. Alongside this colourful early work, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra presents Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major (“La Notte”) featuring bassonist Nathan Helgeson and Handel’s Overture to Agrippina.

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Ouverture from Agrippina, HWV 6

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major (“La Notte”), RV 501
Largo – Andante molto
Presto (Fantasmi)
Presto
Gli Istromenti sempre pianissimo (Il Sonno)
Allegro (Sorge l’Aurora)

George Frideric Handel
Apollo e Dafne (La terra è liberata), HWV 122