This arrangement was modified in its edition and violin indications. A very clean piano part was written. Very good edition of the entire score.

The M�ditation is an instrumental entr'acte performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera Tha�s. In the first scene of Act II, Athana�l, a Cenobite monk, confronts Tha�s, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devot�e of Venus, and attempts to persuade her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure and find salvation through God. It is during a time of reflection following the encounter that the M�ditation is played by the orchestra. In the second scene of Act II, following the M�ditation, Tha�s tells Athana�l that she will follow him to the desert.

The piece is in D major and is approximately five minutes long (although there are a number of interpretations that stretch the piece to over six minutes). Massenet may also have written the piece with religious intentions; the tempo marking is Andante religioso, signifying his intention that it should be played religiously (which could mean either strictly in the tempo or literally with religiously-founded emotion) and at walking tempo, or around 60 BPM. The piece opens with a short introduction, with the solo violin quickly entering with the motif. After the violin plays the melody twice, the piece goes into a section marked animato, gradually becoming more and more passionate (Massenet wrote poco a poco appassionato). The climax is reached at a place marked poco piu appassionato (a little more passion) and is then followed by a short cadenza-like passage from the soloist and returns to the main theme. After the theme is played twice, the soloist joins the piano while playing harmonics on the upper register as the piano quietly play below the solo line.

Duration: 4:55, Score: 6 pages, Solo part: 1 page, piano part: 2 pages. A very famous aria (Ombra mai fu) from "Xerxes"
Suitable for any venue requiring meditative music. Excellent choice for a recital encore.

Xerxes
Xerxes is, in fact, an opera seria in three acts by Handel. Moreover, Handel conducted the premiere performance in London in 1738. Handel casts the opera in Persia in 470 BC. The part of Xerxes was indeed originally sung by a soprano castrato. Nowadays, the part is generally sung by a mezzo-soprano or conversely a counter-tenor. In the first place, Xerxes sings an opening aria, Ombra mai fu to a plane tree. Handel sets this aria to one of his most truly famous melodies. Although many refer to it traditionally as Handel?s ?Largo,? Handel has, on the contrary, clearly marked "Larghetto" in the score.

Handel Background
George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759) was born in Germany, but eventually became a British citizen. Nonetheless, he was a famous Baroque composer. In fact, he became famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel studied music and, by and large, worked as a composer in Germany and Italy before moving to London. On the whole, Handel was very familiar with the contemporary music of Italy and Germany.

Career in England
It is important to realize that Italian opera was all the rage in England at the time. Moreover, Handel was really good at writing them. Therefore, he started not one but three opera companies in England. Alexander's Feast was a huge success in 1736, but Handel nevertheless began composing English choral works. After success with the Messiah in 1742) he certainly never again wrote an Italian opera. Consequently, he died in 1759, a treasured genius. Accordingly, the English government gave him full state honors at his funeral. Hence, he is buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

Legacy
Music historians agree that Handel was in general one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era. To demonstrate, his works such as the Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks remain consistently popular up to the present time. He especially composed the coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest for the coronation of George II. Nevertheless, it has specifically been performed at every succeeding British coronation since. His oratorio Solomon has by all means also continued to be prevalent. As a matter of fact, the Sinfonia from act 3 was featured the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. Handel was particularly prolific. To enumerate, he wrote over forty operas. Since the late 1960s, we have expressly experienced a revival of baroque music. Similarly, we have especially seen a pique of interest in historically informed musical performance. Since his death in 1779, interest in Handel's music has, all in all, expanded.



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