Functional role of the cello in Handel's solo cantatas

Abstract

The article considers the functional role of the cello in the vocal-instrumental musical works of the Baroque period and attempts to shift the problem from the practical-performing background into the field of professional musicological discourse. Two Italian solo cantatas by G. F. Handel were chosen for analysis, in which the composer clearly structured and used instrumental accompaniment according to the stylistic norms of the instrumental and vocal ensemble of the 17th–18th centuries — as a dialogue of two voices accompanied by others. Emphasis is placed on the differences between the basso continuo and obliggato parts, which reveal the main directions of the functional purpose of the instrument and prove the importance of the cello in the ensemble performance of the Baroque period. It is revealed that the problem of manifestation of performing individuality and interpretation of Baroque works in the concert practice of today is the subject of a separate musicological study and requires more detailed research. In this discourse, Baroque musical literature is a vast field for research, rightly playing a dominant role in contemporary performing arts.