Two Arias from the Opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto

These arrangements for contralto (or mezzo-soprano) and string quartet of two arias from George Frideric Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Julius Caesar in Egypt, 1724) were commissioned by the mezzo-soprano Helena Mäntylä. Written in Tampere, Finland, in the spring of 2024, they were completed within a single week and are based closely on Handel’s original orchestration. Mäntylä was then adding the arias to her repertoire and wished to perform them with the more intimate accompaniment of a string quartet.

Giulio Cesare received its première at the King’s Theatre in London on 20 February 1724, presented by the Royal Academy of Music. It was an immediate success and was revived in London in 1725, 1730 and 1732, while productions elsewhere—including Hamburg and Braunschweig—soon demonstrated its wider appeal. Its richly varied score combines commanding dramatic writing with passages of great delicacy, colour and expressive insight.

The fast-moving and impassioned aria Al lampo dell’armi (‘At the Flash of Arms’) depicts Caesar preparing for battle. This arrangement preserves the virtuosity and excitement of Handel’s original, although the closing bars have been adapted slightly so that the aria’s fiery momentum is sustained until the final note.

In the celebrated Va tacito e nascosto (‘Silently and Stealthily’), Caesar compares his political manoeuvring to the watchful progress of a hunter stalking his prey. Handel gives the horn an unusually prominent and almost soloistic role, creating an ingenious dialogue with the voice rather than employing it merely to evoke a conventional hunting fanfare. In this arrangement, the substance of the horn part is woven into the string writing, retaining its distinctive character while allowing it to serve both as an integral part of the quartet texture and as a counterpoise to the singer.

Luukas HiltunenHelsinki, August 2026

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759): Two arias from the opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto for contralto, horn, string orchestra and harpsichord (9', 1724) was commissioned by mezzo-soprano Helena Mäntylä.

Front Cover Design features "Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon" (1875) by French artist Adolphe Yvon (1817-1893).