James Edward Hughes
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Travel
  • Essays
    • Science >
      • Science Essays
      • Underwater World >
        • Essays
      • The Lithopaedion's Lair
    • History >
      • History Essays
    • Book Reviews
    • Music >
      • Music Essays
      • CD Reviews
      • Concert Reviews
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Henry Parker

G.F. Handel - Se pietà di me non senti, Tatiana Troyanos

3/30/2010

0 Comments

 
Sometimes there are pieces of music which, from the first time you hear them, touch your soul in a way that holds you trapped in the flow of the music from beginning to end. Add to that a performer that not only interprets, but actually embodies the piece, and you have something really special. This happened for me when I first heard Tatiana Troyanos sing 'Se pietà di me non senti' from Handel's Giulio Cesare.

This Da Capo aria (A-B-A format) expresses the anguish of a woman who thinks (in the tradition of good opera) that she has lost her lover. The aria comes in the second act of the opera, when Cleopatra (to whom the aria is ascribed) realises, after trying to seduce Caesar disguised as her own maid 'Lydia', that she truly loves him.

The libretto, roughly translated, is as follows:

If you don't feel pity for me,
Oh, Heaven, I will die

You need to give peace to my torment,
Or this soul will cry


As Tolomeo's men approach to assassinate Caesar, Cleopatra reveals her true identity, and begs him to flee. He refuses, instead opting to fight. Cleopatra later hears that her love has died trying to escape. This turns out to be false of course, but the sorrow in the aria shows her affection, and her loss, to be real.

The aria is in the key of F# minor which, according to Hugo Leichtentritt in "Handel's Harmonic Art" from the Musical Quarterly, Vol 21, No. 2, is the key which "denotes tragedy" and indeed, the tragic nature of the libretto is acutely realised by the score (other examples of a similar use of this key by Handel are 'Ma Chi Punir' from Flavio and 'With Darkness Deep' from Theodora).

The scoring of repeated quavers in the continuo section mimics the scoring in Caesar's powerful warning to Tolomeo (Va Tacito e Nascosto) where Caesar's magnificence and power are beyond question, though at a much slower pace. The stark cries of the violin, with it's three-semiquaver movement following a semiquaver rest, ending usually on an emphasised crotchet, coupled wit the continuo give the impression of a funeral march with lamenting mourners.

The chromatic ascent in the vocal line from bar 12 to bar 14 in the 'A' section on the words 'io moriro' (I will die) adds a sense of desperation, while the extended orniment on the last 'io moriro' of the 'A' section, and the ornament on the 'alma spirero' in the 'B' section (bars 36 - 38) are like a desperate cry to heaven for understanding and relief.

Most impressive of all though in this performance is the interpretation by Tatiana Troyanos. The emotion and sincerity shown in the aria are very moving: even without seeing her face, you can feel the depth of her pain. 

For me, the second airing of the 'A' section is the most powerful.
0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2013
    November 2011
    May 2011
    March 2011
    March 2010

    Categories

    All
    Bogdan Mihai
    Countertenor
    Franco Fagioli
    Giulio Cesare
    Haydn's Cello Concerto In C Major
    Joseph Weigl
    Prince Paul Anton Esterházy
    Riccardo Novaro
    Se Pietà Di Me Non Senti
    Tatiana Troyanos

    RSS Feed

MOST VIEWED POSTS

QUEEN CATHERINE DE MEDICI
Picture
The "Maggot from Italy's Tomb?" The "Black Widow" of St Bartholomew? Or one of the finest examples of power politics and survival ever seen? Well, I would have to say yes to all of the above, and more! Catherine was one of the most complex characters in a time of massive internal strife in France, with enemies both within (Guise, D'Albret) and abroad (Philip II of Spain).

MARK OLIPHANT
Picture
Born in Kent Town, Adelaide, Australia, Mark Oliphant was a Physicist, who received the prestigious Hughes Medal (other recipients include Alexander Graham Bell, Enrico Fermi, Stephen Hawking, and Andre Geim). He was also a life-long vegetarian after seeing a pig slaughtered at a farm as a child.

HAYDN'S CELLO CONCERTO IN C MAJOR
Picture
The third movement of Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major is one of my favourite pieces of music. It is a truly joyous piece, and one which I find uplifting. The first performance I heard was by 13-year-old Han-na Chang, who took my breath away with her skill, musicianship and dynamism.

ETTORE MAJORANA & THE MAJORANA FERMION
Picture
New research from Dutch scientists has revitalised the search for the elusive  Majorana Fermion. The Majorana Fermion was first predicted about 75 years  ago by Italian scientist Ettore Majorana, one of the Via Paspernera Boys - a group of scientists named after the street where their lab was located.

LIQUID CRYSTALLINE WATER
Picture
Water. Without it, we would not exist. Covering nearly 71% of the world’s surface, it is one of the key building blocks of life on Earth. We think we know all about it, how it works, and what it does. But Gerald Pollack, Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Seattle, is sure we don’t!

FRANCO FAGIOLI: COUNTERTENOR ASSOLUTO
Picture
Franco Fagioli is an Argentinian Countertenor "who seems to redefine the capabilities of the countertenor voice." He has won great acclaim for his performance in the role of Arbace in the recent all-male production of Vinci's Artaserse, and will soon be releasing an album celebrating the star castrato Caffarelli.

© James Edward Hughes 2013
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Travel
  • Essays
    • Science >
      • Science Essays
      • Underwater World >
        • Essays
      • The Lithopaedion's Lair
    • History >
      • History Essays
    • Book Reviews
    • Music >
      • Music Essays
      • CD Reviews
      • Concert Reviews
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Henry Parker