About this release
Händel composed Lucrezia during his years in Italy — he was barely twenty. Il suol che preme is the opening aria of the cantata, in which Lucretia's voice emerges from silence for the first time. This single was released on 24 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
"Singing Lucrezia today. In a present where violence is exhibited and documented through pictures, interviews, public commentary and public courts, we hereby voice Lucrezia's solitary despair. We tell of an intimate and lonely grief that reveals a Roman Lucrezia who opts for death to retain her honour after having endured the violence of Sextus Tarquinius. We are not witnessing a sheer suicide, but rather a murder, first perpetrated by rape, then by that sense of dishonour which causes her to perceive herself not as a victim, but as a culprit. As I lent Lucrezia my voice, the dreadful timeliness of her despair flowed through me. My hope is that through the beauty of Händel's music, we may find a hidden chance for solace." — Gemma Bertagnolli
