Stradella, Alessandro - "Aria di Chiesa" (Preghiera) for Viola & Harp Viola and Harp |
Composer : | Stradella, Alessandro (1639 - 1682) | ||||
Instrumentation : | Viola and Harp | ||||
Style : | Romantic | ||||
Arranger : | MAGATAGAN, MICHAEL (1960 - ) | ||||
Publisher : | MAGATAGAN, MICHAEL | ||||
Date : | 1840 | ||||
Copyright : | Public Domain | ||||
Added by magataganm, 22 Feb 2015 Alessandro Stradella was an Italian composer born in Rome (1644-1682). He spent most of his career in Rome, where he lived independently but composed many works to commissions from Queen Christina of Sweden, the Colonna family and others. Most of his stage works there were prologues and intermezzos, notably for operas by Cavalli and Cesti revived at the new Tordinona Theatre in 1671-2. His life included many scandals and amorous adventures. He left Rome in 1677 after a dispute, and went by way of Venice and Turin (escaping an attempt on his life) to Genoa (1678). His only comic opera, Il Trespolo tutore, was given there in c 1677; later he presented several other operas, including Il Corispero. He was killed there in 1682, again a consequence of an amorous intrigue. Stradella was one of the leading composers in Italy in his day and one of the most versatile. His music was widely admired, even as far afield as England. Most of it is clearly tonal, and counterpoint features prominently. His vocal output includes c 30 stage works, several oratorios and Latin church works and some 200 cantatas (most for solo voice). In his operas the orchestra consists of two violin parts and continuo, but some other works, such as the oratorio S Giovanni Battista (1675, Rome), follow the Roman principal of concerto grosso instrumentation. There is a clear differentiation between aria and recitative (which sometimes includes arioso writing), but their succession is still fluid; various aria forms are used. Stradella's 27 surviving instrumental works are mostly of the sonata da chiesa type. The scoring and textures of a Sonata di viole of his make it the earliest known concerto grosso; it was apparently a model for Corelli's concertos op.6. "Aria di Chiesa" is a powerful and moving work, dramatic in its restraint. Research has also shown that it was probably written by Fetis, rather than Stradella. It's not completely unheard of for composers to write compositions themselves and then claim that it's the work of another composer--a kind of reverse plagiarism--Parisotti and Kreisler are among the list of composers who have done this. Some seem to do it as a prank, others to get attention work that they feel would be ignored otherwise, and there are probably still more reasons. In any case, this is not the first of such works, and doubtless won't be the last. The heavy mood of the piece is set by a fairly lengthy instrumental introduction, and then the voice enters with short, subdued phrases, which eventually pick up momentum and intensity. The lines vary in length, but always contribute to the sense of a highly structured piece. When done with a high level of musicianship and artistic communication, this can be a deeply effective work, equal in intensity to even the most dramatic opera arias or lieder. Although originally written for Opera, I created this arrangement for Viola & Concert (Pedal) Harp. Sheet central : | Pietà Signor (Aria di Chiesa) (9 sheet music) | |
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