A “Centaur” in Music and Genre: G. F. Handel's Parnasso in festa for Princess Anne's Wedding

Parnasso in festa (HWV 73, 1734), George Frideric Handel's festa teatrale, composed for the wedding festivities of his royal pupil Princess Anne, is a neglected piece within his oeuvre, mostly because of its hybrid nature. The fact that a considerable portion of the work was adapted from the Oxford oratorio Athalia ought not to cloud our appreciation of the newly-composed parts, since this appropriation is best understood as an act of Athalia's “repatriation” to its patrons. As a musical “centaur,” Parnasso shows intriguing multi-layered ambiguities. Was the Janus-faced Handel (Apollo/Orpheus) lamenting the departure of his favorite, or was this a bitter-sweet celebration of an unwanted marriage? Dramatically, the focus falls on Apollo's and Orpheus's loss of their loved ones, but how does this fit together with the massive vocal domain of Carestini (Apollo) and Strada (Clio)? On the vocal side, Carestini was given the most virtuosic numbers, resulting in the musical polarization of the main roles. Anna Maria Strada, as a Muse, represented the pastoral side, while Carlo Scalzi (Orfeo) added plaintive pathetic arias to the palette. Nevertheless, harmonizing points both in Carestini's and Strada's musical style and vocal tone formed a “thread” that helped sew the diverse parts of the Parnasso-centaur together.