With some 20 oratorios by Alessandro Scarlatti to choose from, and only two others at present in the catalogue, it is perhaps a pity now to have one that has previously been recorded (by Europa Galante for Opus 111 in 1992); but it is nevertheless welcome, for it is a remarkable work, startling from the very outset (where the vigorous overture is preceded by a solo violin), and this performance is stunning. To be precise, the work was classified at the time not as an oratorio but as a trattenimento sacro (“sacred entertainment”), which suggests that its first performance, in 1707 in Venice (to which Scarlatti, normally based in Rome, had for once been lured by commissions for two operas), took place in a private palace rather than a church. But Scarlatti brought to the work, besides his seemingly inexhaustible invention, all the dramatic instinct that had made him famous as a composer of operas (of which he had already written about 40).
Anyone charged with extracting a ‘highlights’ selection from this would find himself in a quandary, since almost every number could be considered a highlight. How could he omit, for example, the brilliant opening aria (with violin interpolations) for Adam, two remorseful arias, with affecting chromaticisms, for Eve, two contrasting D minor arias in succession for the brothers out in the fields, one feeling Nature sinister, the other peaceful, the jealous Cain floridly swearing vengeance at being slighted or movingly bidding farewell to his parents, Lucifer (with excited violins) tempting Cain, Adam and Eve grieving over the absence of their sons, Abel in Heaven sending consolation, and so on and so on?
Rene Jacobs has assembled an absolutely outstanding cast whose technical accomplishment, dramatic commitment and stylish ornamentation could scarcely be bettered. Most of them are artists familiar to, and admired by, us, but Graciela Oddone (whom I had not encountered before and who, incidentally, possesses a fine trill) is a real asset to be welcomed; and mention must certainly be made of some first-class instrumental playing (with notable bassoon and cello soloists). Most enthusiastically recommended.'