This 14-CD set showcases works from Handel's short but astonishingly productive time in Italy in his twenties, just before he settled in London. His travels around the country provided him with the opportunity to meet a number of influential contemporaries, and the results of this compositional flourishing are wide-ranging, from opera via instrumental music to secular cantatas. This release focuses particularly on the latter, affording the listener a fascinating glimpse into the first appearance of many melodic ideas which would later resurface in Handel's mature dramatic works.

Indeed, listeners might well feel as though they are listening to scenes from operas – cantatas were a means, at the time, of circumventing the ban on opera in Rome. The familiar theme of the joys and sorrows of love pervades much of the music, but the pieces are richly varied, particularly in their scoring: we hear flutes, recorders, oboes, bassoons, trumpets and the full contingent of strings, including viola da gamba, in numerous different combinations. Often, the orchestral forces for a particular piece are modest, but the emotional depth that Handel draws out is always striking.

A high-calibre, international roster of soloists and ensembles performs the works, with many of the compositions for soprano sung by Stefanie True, whose "vocal agility, accurate intonation and stylish ornamentation are spot-on in this repertoire" (Music Web International). Meanwhile, early music specialists Contrasto Armonico bring "soft and warm sonorities" to the set (Gramophone).

Apart from the cantatas, the set includes a selection of Italian duets, and the serenata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo.

Excellent performances in historically informed performance practice, by Contrasto Armonico, Musica Perduta and specialist vocal soloists.

Recorded between 1988 and 2014