Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto Philippe Jaroussky, Julia Lezhneva, Jakub Józef Orliński, Bruno de Sá, Carlo Vistoli, David Hansen, Les Accents & Thibault Noally

• Johann Adolf Hasse (1699 - 1783): Serpentes ignei in deserto:
• 1 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Introduzione: I. Grave 01:08
• 2 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Introduzione: II. Fugue 01:56
• 3 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Introduzione: III. Adagio 00:20
• 4 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo. "Longo labore oppressi" (Eliab, Eleazar) 02:10
• 5 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Incerta vivendo" (Eliab) 06:16
• 6 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo accompagnato. "Ergo semper, ingrati!" (Moyses) 01:04
• 7 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Cœlo turbido et irato cadant fulmina" (Moyses) 05:18
• 8 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo. "Tandem cessent clamores" (Josue) 00:53
• 9 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Spera, o cor" (Josue) 08:36
• 10 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo accompagnato. "Magis semper protervus" (Angelus, Moyses) 03:29
• 11 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Cæli, audite, deplorate" (Angelus) 11:59
• 12 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo. "O portenta" (Nathanael) 01:08
• 13 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Furit grando procellosa" (Nathanael) 04:54
• 14 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo accompagnato. "Tu, qui a cœlo dilectus" (Eliab, Eleazar, Moyses) 03:04
• 15 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Dolore pleni" (Eleazar) 07:51
• 16 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo. "Tandem ultionis" (Angelus, Moyses) 01:36
• 17 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Aura beata, plaude jucunda" (Angelus) 05:49
• 18 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo. "Ecce placatum cœlum nobis levamen præbuit" (Josue, Eleazar) 00:50
• 19 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Duetto. "Moesto corde suspirantes" (Josue, Eleazar) 08:22
• 20 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo accompagnato. "Ecce Israel, tu vides omnipotentiam Dei" (Moyses) 01:16
• 21 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Aria. "Ara excelsa, ara pretiosa" (Moyses) 09:31
• 22 Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto: Recitativo accompagnato. "Ecce conversus Israel meruit peccati veniam" (Angelus) 03:36
• Total Runtime 01:31:06

Info for Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto

“This oratorio, Serpentes ignei in deserto, was written in the 1730s by Johann Adolf Hasse, who was probably one of the most famous composers of his time – as famous as Handel, or even more famous than Handel in some countries,” explains Thibault Noally.

Six virtuoso vocal soloists and the instrumentalists of Les Accents rise to the dramatic and expressive challenges of Serpentes ignei in deserto – ‘Fiery Serpents in the Desert’ – a biblical oratorio by Johann Adolf Hasse.

As the conductor and violinist Thibault Noally explains: “Hasse was probably one of the most famous composers of his time – as famous as Handel, or even more famous than Handel in some countries.” Born near Hamburg in 1699, Hasse studied in Italy and was active in such musical centres as Naples, Vienna, Dresden and Venice, where he composed Serpentes ignei in deserto.

The central role of Moses is taken by countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, who is joined by soprano Julia Lezhneva as an Angel, sopranist Bruno de Sá, and three further star countertenors – Jakub Józef Orliński, Carlo Vistoli and David Hansen.

“The score is demanding for all the singers,” continues Thibault Noally. “Every character is very different from the others and each of our soloists has a unique personality and a unique vocal timbre. The result is a huge variety of temperaments and colours.”

Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor
Julia Lezhneva, soprano
Jakub Jozef Orlinski, countertenor
Bruno de Sá, soprano
Carlo Vistoli, countertenor
David Hansen, countertenor
Les Accents
Thibault Noally, violin, direction

Philippe Jaroussky
has become one of the most important singers in the international music world. This has been confirmed by numerous awards, including the French Victoires de la Musique in 2004, 2007 and 2010 and the Echo Klassik Awards in 2008, 2009 and 2016, followed by the Victoire d’honneur in 2020.

Philippe Jaroussky’s repertoire includes works from the Italian Renaissance to the present day. As tireless researcher, he has contributed to the rediscovery of music by composers such as Caldara, Porpora, Steffani, Telemann and J.C. Bach, bringing their works to platforms around the world with leading Baroque ensembles and conductors.

In 2002 Philippe Jaroussky founded Ensemble Artaserse and is its artistic director, appearing regularly on tour, as well as working with renowned singers such as Cecilia Bartoli, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Andreas Scholl and Emőke Baráth.

Ensemble Artaserse is a prominent feature of Philippe Jaroussky’s extensive discography. Following its first album in 2002, the Ensemble has released a number of benchmark recordings on the Warner Classics label, with whom Philippe Jaroussky is an exclusive artist. His recordings with the Ensemble include Vivaldi: Virtuoso Cantatas (2005), Beata Vergine (2010), Pietà – Sacred Works for Alto with music by Vivaldi (2014), The Handel Album (2017), Ombra mai fu with operatic arias by Cavalli (2019) and, most recently, La vanità del mondo (2020), featuring arias from various oratorios.

Philippe Jaroussky swapped the role of singer for that of conductor for the first time in March 2021, conducting Scarlatti’s oratorio Cain, overo Il primo omicidio with Sandrine Piau, Christophe Dumaux, Kresimir Spicer, Bruno de Sá, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian and Yannis François.

In February 2022 he will release his first CD as a conductor with a solo album by soprano Emőke Baráth, followed by an eight-concert tour, including performances at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Other conducting plans include Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Opéra national de Montpellier in May and June 2022.

Philippe Jaroussky and Ensemble Artaserse are supported by the Fondation Tissier-Grandpierre of the Institut de France.

Julia Lezhneva
Julia's international career began with a bang when she caused a sensation in 2010 at the Classical Brit Awards in London's Royal Albert Hall with Rossini's Fra il padre at the invitation of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Just a decade later, she is discovering a broad repertoire with various orchestras, conductors, operas and oratorios. She made her highly successful debuts with the Berliner Philharmoniker in October 2019 and at the Musikverein Vienna in December 2019. She returned to the Mozartwoche Salzburg in January 2020, this time under Sir András Schiff in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro; in January 2023 she sang in Don Giovanni. In June 2023, she appeared for the first time at La Scala in Milan in Porpora's Carlo il Calvo.

In December 2020, she made her celebrated debut with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Herbert Blomstedt. Her debuts with the LA Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony are on her calendar for the 2024/25 season.

Orchestras such as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB), the Orquestra Nacional de España, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Kaohsiung Philharmonic and the Seoul Philharmonic regularly invite Julia Lezhneva and she regularly works with renowned conductors such as Adam Fischer, Giovanni Antonini, Herbert Blomstedt, Emmanuelle Haïm, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski and Andrea Marcon.

Julia Lezhneva is a welcome guest at the Salzburg Festival, the Schwetzingen Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Dubrovnik Festival, the Festival de la Vézère, the Sion Festival, the Nordland Music Festival and at Bayreuth Baroque.

Julia Lezhneva's debut in Handel's Alcina (Morgana) at the Hamburg State Opera in September 2018 was celebrated to great acclaim and she was immediately invited back for Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and further performances of Alcina. In 2021, she sang the role of Poppea in a new production of Handel's Agrippina (stage director: by Barrie Kosky), in 2022 Zerlina in Don Giovanni and in May 2024 she will sing Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. Before that, she will make her debut at the Liceo in Barcelona in March 2024 in a staged performance of Handel's Messiah.

In winter 2019, she made her debut in Bach's Christmas Oratorio (conducted by Vladimir Jurowski); in the same season, she sang in Handel's Messiah and La Resurrezione, Vivaldi's Juditha triumphans; as well as Haydn's Creation and Mahler's Symphony No. 4. In October 2024, she will appear for the first time with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir in Handel's Esther.

Born in 1989 in a family of geophysicists on Sakhalin Island off the Pacific Coast of Russia, Ms. Lezhneva began playing piano and singing at the age of five. She graduated from the Gretchaninov Music School and continued her vocal and piano studies at the Moscow Conservatory Academic Music College. At 17 she came to international attention as the winner of the Elena Obraztsova Opera Singers Competition, and was invited to share the stage with Juan Diego Flórez at the opening of the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro in the following year. In 2009, she won first prize at the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition in Helsinki and the following year took first prize at the Paris International Opera Competition, as the youngest contestant in each competition’s history. Opernwelt magazine named her “Young Singer of the Year” in 2011 for her debut at La Monnaie in Brussels. The following year she performed at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in Paris.

Julia Lezhneva’s teachers and mentors include Dennis O’Neill, Yvonne Kenny, Elena Obraztsova, Alberto Zedda, Richard Bonynge and Thomas Quasthoff.

Jakub Józef Orliński
Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński has quickly emerged as one of the most vibrant performers on the international classical music scene, triumphing on stage, in concert, and on recording. An exclusive artist on the Warner/Erato label, his first recording Anima Sacra has garnered critical accolades and earned him the prestigious Opus Klassik award for Solo Vocal Recording. His sold-out concerts and recitals throughout Europe and the United States have attracted new followers to the art form, and his live performance of Vivaldi’s “Vedrò con mio diletto”, filmed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2017, has amassed more than four million online views. Television appearances, including the “Concert de Paris” at the Eiffel Tower and “Rebâtir Notre Dame de Paris”, both with the Orchestre National de France and Les Victoires de la Musique Classique awards concert accompanied by the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon, have been broadcast to millions worldwide. Last year he was the subject of a major profile in The New Yorker and featured in Polish Vogue. His second album release – entitled Facce d’amore featuring Baroque operatic arias written for romantic male characters – was released in November 2019 and toured throughout Europe with Il Pomo d’Oro. He is also featured on Warner recordings of Agrippina opposite Joyce di Donato and on a disc of selections with L’Arpeggiata with Christina Pluhar.

Jakub Józef Orliński graduated from the Juilliard School in 2017 and immediately began his international career as Orimeno in Cavalli’s Erismena in his debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. He followed this with his role debut in the title role of Handel’s Rinaldo at Oper Frankfurt in a stunning production by Ted Huffman. While still at Juilliard, he debuted with the Händel-Festspiele in Karlsruhe with music of Handel and Vivaldi; at Carnegie Hall in New York; as well as with the Houston Symphony. He also collaborated with Les Arts Florissants in Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater conducted by Paul Agnew; performed with Music of the Baroque in Chicago under Jane Glover; and on tour with the English Concert under Harry Bicket as Eustazio in Rinaldo with performances in London, Seville, Madrid, and New York. Another production of Rinaldo – again in the title role – served as his United Kingdom operatic debut at the Glyndebourne Festival. He performed Unulfo in Rodelinda in both Frankfurt and Lille (DVD with Emmanuelle Haïm), and has performed concerts with numerous groups throughout Europe and the U.S.

In the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Orliński joins Il Pomo d’Oro for concerts in Hamburg, Essen, Budapest, Trento, and Lyon, featuring selections from his critically acclaimed album Facce d’amore. He later rejoins the ensemble for additional performances, including at Vesailles, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Festival Castell de Peralada, and multiple cities across South America. Other concert engagments include a Baroque program with Il Giardino d’Amore in Barcelona, Bilbao, Castellón, and Madrid; a program entitled Pasticcio with Les Arts Florissants, alongside mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and led by music director William Christie; and a performance in Kraków, Poland, with Capella Cracoviensis featuring music by Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel. He also reunites with pianist Michał Biel for recitals in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Heidelberg, Germany. Previously scheduled engagements included his house and role debut at Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Farnace in a new production of Mitridate, re di Ponto; a repetition of Farnace with Les Musiciens du Louvre in cities including Paris, Barcelona, Valencia, and Moscow; a return to the Händel-Festspiele in Karlsruhe to reprise the title role in Handel’s Tolomeo; a tour of Handel’s Tamerlano with The English Concert traveling to Carnegie Hall, Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, the Barbican Centre, Théâtre Champs Élysées, Theater an der Wien, and other locations; and an additional recital with Michał Biel in Dijon, France.

Highlights of past seasons include his Carnegie Hall solo concert debut featuring members of New York Baroque Incorporated; his American operatic debut at San Francisco Opera as Armindo in Partenope; his house and role debut at Opernhaus Zürich singing Cyrus in Belshazzar under the baton of Laurence Cummings; his debut in Russia with sold-out concerts during the inaugural season of Zaryadye Hall in Moscow; and debuts with the Warsaw Philharmonic in Handel’s Messiah and with the Montreal Bach Festival. He has performed critically-lauded solo recitals at Wigmore Hall, Verbier Festival, and throughout Spain, Belgium, Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Mr. Orliński has triumphed in multiple vocal competitions, winning first place at the Oratorio Society of New York’s 2016 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, second prize in the International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, the first and second annual International Early Music Vocal Competitions in Poland, where he received “Special Mention” and “Special Prize”, respectively, first prize at Rudolf Petrák’s Singing Competition in Slovakia, third place at the Debut Competition in Igersheim, Germany, Special Mention at the Eighth Annual Mazovian Golden Voices Competition in Poland, and third place at Le Grand Prix de l’Opera in Bucharest, Romania. Mr. Orliński’s star rose rapidly following major competition wins on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2016 and the Marcella Sembrich International Vocal Competition in 2015.

While completing his Master’s degree in vocal performance studying with Anna Radziejewska at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, he participated in the prestigious young artist program Opera Academy in Teatr Wielki-Opera Narodowa, where he studied with Eytan Pessen and Matthias Rexroth. Mr. Orliński earned his Graduate Diploma at The Juilliard School, studying with Edith Wiens. He was also a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship in the years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.

In his spare time, Mr. Orliński enjoys breakdancing, in addition to other styles of dance. His achievements in this arena include prizes in many dance competitions: fourth place at the Red Bull BC One Poland Cypher competition, second place on the Stylish Strike – Top Rock Contest and second place at The Style Control competition, among others. He has also been featured in a commercial for the street wear company CROPP, as well as featured as a dancer, model, and acrobat in campaigns for Levi’s, Nike, Turbokolor, Samsung, Mercedes-Benz, MAC Cosmetics, Dannon, and Algida.

Thibault Noally
Born in 1982, Thibault Noally began his musical studies with Maurice Talvat, Yuko Mori and Irina Medvedeva. In 2000 he entered the class of Lydia Mordkovitch at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also studied ancient music and began to perform with Margaret Faultless, Micaëla Comberti and Sir Trevor Pinnock.

He has worked with the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Concerto Köln, Ensemble Matheus, Orfeo 55 and Opus 5, amongst other ensembles.

Since 2006, he has been concertmaster with Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble under Marc Minkowski. He also works with cellist Ophélie Gaillard and the ensemble Pulcinella, and guests as concertmaster with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra.

Thibault Noally performs regularly with renowned singers such as Cecilia Bartoli, Anne Sofie von Otter, Jennifer Larmore and Philippe Jaroussky, and appears as a soloist at prestig- ious international venues (Paris Salle Pleyel, Madrid Auditorio Nacional, Vienna Staatsoper, Berlin Staatsoper, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Shanghai Concert Hall, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Salzburg Mozartwoche, etc.).

At the Salzburg Mozartwoche in January 2011, he conducted Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble in a programme with the countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.

Thibault Noally’s projects include various recitals with the harpsichordist Francesco Corti. In January 2013, during the Salzburg Mozartwoche, they began a concert cycle played on Mozart’s original instruments.

He has taken part in various recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and Naïve.

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