"" (
K. 23) is a
concert aria for
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
and orchestra by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
History
Mozart composed the aria in October 1765 while staying at
The Hague during the
family's British-European tour when he was nine years old. Both of the Mozart children, Wolfgang and his sister
Nannerl, were quite ill at the time. It was slightly revised in January 1766, possibly for a performance for
Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau. In his list of Wolfgang's works which he started in 1768 in Vienna, his father
Leopold entered this piece as no. 2 of ''15 Italian Arias, composed in London and The Hague'' (german: 15 Italiänische Arien theils in London, theils im Haag Componiert, links=no).
['' Neue Mozart-Ausgabe'', II/7/1: "Arien, Szenen, Ensembles und Chöre mit Orchester, vol. 1, pp. IX–XI ]
The
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...
(Case MS 6A, 48), Chicago, acquired the manuscript (6 sheets, 11 pages) through a bequest of the opera singer
Claire Dux
Claire Dux (2 August 1885 – 8 October 1967) was an operatic and concert soprano with a successful career in continental Europe, England, and the United States.
Early life
Clara Auguste Dux was born in the village Witkowo in the county of Gnes ...
(Mrs Charles H. Swift). It was previously owned by who gave the
autograph to Aloys Fuchs as a gift. Both Fuchs and
Maximilian Stadler confirmed its authenticity with their signatures on 7 December 1832. The ''
Neue Mozart-Ausgabe'' also mentions an autograph (4 sheets, 7 pages) at the
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
in its Malherbe collection.
Libretto
The text is taken from
Metastasio's
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
''
Artaserse'' which had been set to music by a number of composers, among them
Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach (September 5, 1735 – January 1, 1782) was a German composer of the Classical period (music), Classical era, the eighteenth child of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the youngest of his eleven sons. After living in Italy for ...
whom Mozart had met just a short time before in London. Other Mozart works based on Metastasio texts include his last opera, ''
La clemenza di Tito'', and the earlier ''
Il re pastore''.
The lyrics chosen by Mozart are the parting verses of Artaserse's sister, Mandane, in act 1, scene 1, as she bids farewell to her lover Arbace:
Conservati fedele;
Pensa ch'io resto, e peno,
E qualche volta almeno
Ricordati di me.
Ch'io per virtù d'amore,
Parlando col mio core,
Ragionerò con te.
Stay and remain faithful;
Think how I grieve alone here,
And sometimes at the least
Remember me.
While I by power of love
Talking to my own heart
Converse with thee.
The text of "" has also been set to music by
Leonardo Vinci (1690–1730) and
Hasse Hasse is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
* Clara H. Hasse (1880–1926), American botanist
* Helmut Hasse (1898–1979), German mathematician
* Henry Hasse (1913–1977), US writer of science fiction
...
(1699–1783) in their respective operas ''Artaserse'', by
Antonio Salieri and
Marianne von Martines
Marianna Martines, also Marianne von Martinez (4 May 1744 – 13 December 1812), was a composer, pianist, and singer of the classical period, based in Vienna, Austria who knew Mozart and Haydn.
Background
Marianna Martines's paternal gran ...
(1744–1812)
[Irving Godt: "Marianna in Italy: The International Reputation of Marianna Martines", in: '' The Journal of Musicology'', Vol. 13, No. 4 (Autumn, 1995), p. 558, University of California Press] as concert arias, twice by
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756–1792), by
Ferdinando Carulli
Ferdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli (9 February 1770 – 17 February 1841) was an Italian composer for classical guitar and the author of the influential ''Méthode complète pour guitare ou lyre'', op. 27 (1810), which co ...
(1770–1841) for voice and guitar, and by
Theodor von Schacht
Theodor von Schacht (1748 in Strasbourg – 20 June 1823 in Regensburg) was a German composer.
After his studies in Stuttgart and Wetzlar, von Schacht arrived in Regensburg as a knight (''Hofkavalier''). There he was appointed in 1773 director ...
(1748–1823) as a
canon for three equal voices accompanied by
cembalo and/or guitar.
Music
The work is scored for soprano, two
violins,
viola,
cello and
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
; the
tempo marking is ''Andante grazioso'', the
time signature is 2/4 time, the
key signature is
A major
A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...
. A typical performance would last for about 7 minutes.
It is composed as a ''
da capo aria'' (
bars 1–86) with a short middle section ("", bars 87–100) which has the tempo marking ''Allegretto'' and is in the
parallel key
In music theory, a major scale and a minor scale that have the same tonic note are called parallel keys and are said to be in a parallel relationship. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony'', p.9. 3rd edition. Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson. . "When ...
of
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.
The A natural minor scale is:
:
Changes ...
. The aria consists almost wholly of two-bar phrases.
Recordings
* 1981 –
Teresa Berganza (soprano),
Vienna Chamber Orchestra,
György Fischer
György Fischer (12 August 1935 – 25 October 2020) was a Hungarian pianist and conductor.
Life
Assistant to Herbert von Karajan at the Vienna Opera, he became a specialist in the works of Mozart, conducting operas in Cologne, Munich, and South ...
–
Decca
* 1983 –
Hanna Schwarz (soprano),
Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg,
Leopold Hager –
Philips
* 2010 –
Elizabeth Dobbin (soprano),
New Dutch Academy The New Dutch Academy (NDA) is an international Dutch Baroque orchestra based in The Hague, the Netherlands. It is composed of 40 international, early music, specialist musicians, who gather in The Hague to explore 18th-century music in all of its f ...
,
Simon Murphy –
Pentatone
* 2013 –
Miranda van Kralingen (soprano), European Sinfonietta,
Ed Spanjaard –
Brilliant Classics.
The 1983 recording was originally released on
Deutsche Grammophon, then reissued on Philips in 1991 for Volume 23 of
the Complete Mozart Edition.
Notes
References
Opera Glass: Mozart arias*
Cliff Eisen,
Simon P. Keefe
Simon Patrick Keefe (born 24 December 1968) is a musicologist, author, and Mozart expert. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, Boston University and Columbia University. After being awarded his PhD in 1997, he was appointed to a lectur ...
: ''The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia'',
Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 286,
*
Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
,
Neal Zaslaw: ''Mozart: The Early Years 1756–1781'',
Oxford University Press, 2006. p. 107–108,
*
External links
Recordinga
Mozart Archiv*
* ,
Hanna Schwarz,
Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg,
Leopold Hager
{{Authority control
Arias by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Soprano arias
Arias in Italian
1765 compositions
Compositions in A major