Arcadian Affairs

Handel's years in Italy (ca. 1706-1710) were extremely creative. His chamber cantatas were performed by the most eminent singers and instrumentalists in Rome. Exploring the art of continuo playing in Handel's 'continuo cantatas', harpsichordist Christian Kjos releases an album with captivating interpretations, describing his project in these words: "Continuo playing can be rendered in various degrees of complexity, depending on the skill of the performer. The treatise Grosse General-Baß-Schule (Hamburg, 1731) by Johann Mattheson - Handel's friend from his Hamburg years - gave me the incentive to research this rarely heard approach and to try it out in Handel's equally rarely played continuo cantatas where the continuo part is so fundamental to the result." Christian has been a research fellow at the Norwegian Academy of Music since 2015 with the artistic research project 'Releasing the 'Loudie', harpsichord accompaniment in the G. F. Handel's continuo cantatas'.