Credits:

Haydn / Bolton, Ivor / Mozarteum Orchester Salzb

Description:

Baroque and classical master Ivor Bolton unleashes a superb performance in Haydn's first oratorio. Ivor Bolton, who has recorded Fauré's works for the hand-picked Basel Symphony Orchestra and Sony Classical, will now release on CD the live recording of Haydn's oratorio "Tobias' Return" that he accomplished in his last season with the old Mozarteum Orchestra. In 1775, a quarter of a century before his famous oratorios "The Creation" and "The Four Seasons," Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) composed his first oratorio, "Tobias' Return," at the request of the Musikverein in Vienna. The libretto of "Tobia's Return" was written by Giovanni Gaston Boccherini, brother of composer Luigi Boccherini, based on an episode from the Book of Tobit, an extra-biblical book of the Old Testament, which describes the return of Tobia, believed to be dead, the healing of her blind father Tobit, and her thanks to the archangel Raphael. The oratorio was staged at the same time. The oratorio was staged because opera was banned during Lent, and Haydn and the librettist aimed to create an Italian opera seria-like work, with long recitative and technical arias by solo singers scattered throughout the entire work. (Haydn revised the work in 1784, shortening many arias and adding choruses.)However, the oratorio was forgotten and it was not until the latter half of the 20th century that the true value of this work, which contains a variety of music including arias and large choruses, was recognized again. Bolton and the Mozarteum Orchestra have produced two major Haydn oratorios, "The Creation" and "The Four Seasons," as well as several symphonies, and in "Tobia's Return," he has created a tight compositional structure that is typical of Haydn at his peak of maturity, colored by dramatic and diverse music. The orchestra is clear and eloquent with period style, and the soloists include tenor Mauro Peter as Tobia and soprano Lucy Crowe as the important Raphael. Sony Music

Tracklisting:

1.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Sinfonia
2.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 1. Coro: Pieta d'un infelice
3.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 2a Recitativo: Ne comparisce, oh Dio!
4.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 2b Aria: Sudo il guerriero
5.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 3a Recitativo: Deh modera il dolor
6.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 3b Aria: Ah tu m'ascolta
7.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 4a Recitativo: Non e quello Azaria
8.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 4b Aria: Anna, m'ascolta!
9.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 5a Recitativo: Che disse?
10.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 5b Aria: Ah gran Dio
11.Il Ritorno di Tobia~Parte Prima: 5c Coro: Ah gran Dio!