Henry Purcell; George Frideric Handel - If Love's A Sweet Passion (Arianna Savall; Petter Udland Johansen)

Information

Composer: Henry Purcell; George Frideric Handel

1. Purcell - The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: If love’s a sweet passion (Soprano, Tenor)
2. Purcell - King Arthur, Z. 628, Act II: How blest are shepherds (Shepherd)
3. Handel - Solomon, HWV 67, Act III: May peace in Salem ever dwell! (Queen of Sheba)
4. Handel - Solomon, HWV 67, Act III: Will the sun forget to streak (Queen of Sheba)
5. Handel - Esther, HWV 50, Act I: Tune your harps to cheerful strains (1st Israelite)
6. Handel - Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11, Act I: Il crudel m’abbandona (Melissa)
7. Handel - Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11, Act I: Ah! Spietato! (Melissa)
8. Handel - L' Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato, HWV 55, Act III: As steals the morn upon the night (Soprano, Tenor)
9. Handel - Terpsichore, HWV 8b: Chaconne
10. Handel - Giulio Cesare, HWV 17, Act II: Che sento? Oh Dio! (Cleopatra)
11. Handel - Giulio Cesare, HWV 17, Act II: Se pietà di me non senti (Cleopatra)
12. Handel - Semele, HWV 58, Act II: Where’er you walk (Jupiter)
13. Handel - Semele, HWV 58, Act II: I must with speed amuse her (Jupiter)
14. Handel - Acis and Galatea, HWV 49, Act I: Ye verdant plains and woody mountains (Galatea)
15. Handel - Acis and Galatea, HWV 49, Act I: O didst thou know the pains (Galatea)
16. Handel - Acis and Galatea, HWV 49, Act I: As when the dove laments her love (Galatea)
17. Handel - Acis and Galatea, HWV 49, Act II: ´Tis done, heart (Galatea)
18. Handel - Acis and Galatea, HWV 49, Act II: Heart, the seat of soft delight (Galatea)
19. Purcell - Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626, Act III: Thy hand, Belinda (Dido)
20. Purcell - Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626, Act III: When I am laid in earth ("Dido's Lament")
21. Purcell - King Arthur, Z. 628, Act V: How happy the lover (Soprano, Tenor)

Arianna Savall, soprano

Petter Udland Johansen, tenor

Die Freitagsakademie

Katharina Suske, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Prospero Classical

_____________________

If Love’s a Sweet Passion brings together soprano Arianna Savall, tenor Petter Udland Johansen, and the Freitagsakademie in a program devoted to the emotional worlds of Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel. The album explores love in its many dimensions, including devotion, longing, loss, and introspective melancholy, as expressed through selected arias and instrumental works from each composer’s stage and concert repertoire. Handel’s operatic and oratorio excerpts highlight dramatic breadth and expressive contrast, while Purcell contributes a distinctive poetic intensity, exemplified by works such as Dido and Aeneas and King Arthur. Performed on historical instruments, the recording emphasizes clarity, color, and intimacy, presenting Baroque music as a vivid and immediate emotional experience rather than a distant historical style.

Arianna Savall is a Swiss-born Catalan soprano, harpist, and composer known for her work in early and contemporary music. Born in 1972 in Basel into a prominent musical family—daughter of musicians Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras—she trained in voice and harp in Spain and later specialized in historically informed performance at institutions such as the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Her career includes collaborations with leading early music ensembles and extensive international touring. She has also co-founded the ensemble Hirundo Maris with Norwegian musician Petter Udland Johansen, blending medieval, folk, and contemporary influences. Savall is widely recognized for her expressive vocal style, her use of historical harps, and her contributions to bridging early music traditions with modern artistic approaches.

Petter Udland Johansen is a Norwegian tenor, composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans early music, folk traditions, classical repertoire, and contemporary songwriting. Known for his expressive vocal style and poetic musical sensibility, he is a co-founder of the ensemble Hirundo Maris alongside soprano and harpist Arianna Savall, with whom he explores musical connections between Mediterranean and Northern European traditions. The ensemble has appeared at major European festivals and released recordings on labels such as ECM Records. Johansen is also active as a conductor of vocal ensembles in Switzerland, a member of several collaborative music projects, and an educator focused on vocal expression and historical performance practice. His work consistently bridges historical repertoire with contemporary creativity and cross-genre storytelling.