The Italian cantata “Clori. Tirsi e Fileno” was written by Handel in 1707 in Rome under the umbrella of the Marchese Ruspoli, one of his...

The Italian cantata “Clori. Tirsi e Fileno” was written by Handel in 1707 in Rome under the umbrella of the Marchese Ruspoli, one of his most important patrons during his stay in Italy. Released by Glossa in 2008 as the 5th volume of the complete Italian cantatas series, this 75-minute work well deserves a second life in our Cabinet series – Roberta Invernizzi, Yetzabel Arias Fernandez and Romina Basso all excel in their roles, as does the instrumental support of Fabio Bonizzoni, with no less than Leila Schayegh as first solo violin. The subject of the cantata at hand is a pretty shepherdess who loves to young men, but loses both when they discover her fickleness. Believed lost for many years, the score is the source of arias in some of Handel’s later, more celebrated operas. Rudolf Ewerhart, in 1960, discovered the complete score in the Santini Collection at Munster, the only complete score in existence.