Giulio Cesare Essay, Research Paper

The aria: Aure, deh, per pieta from the opera Giulio Cesare is in many ways

typical of late 17th, early 18th century writing. First of all it is notated for

a small string ensemble and Bassi meaning cello plus harpsichord. The cello

plays the written line while the harpsichord plays the written line in the left

hand and improvises the right hand using the chords indicated by the figured

bass. The aria is also written in Italian despite the fact that Handel?s first

language was not Italian, this was very common for the time. This is a da capo

aria which was the main style of aria being composed at that time. It begins in

the key of F major for section A, then for section B it moves into the relative

minor which would be D minor, this also was very conventional in the late 17th

early 18th century. This aria originally would have been sung by a castrati.

However castrati are no longer used in opera and therefor the part was sung by a

woman. She adds trills and ornaments through out the piece, but especially

during the repeat of section A. For example during the repeat of A in measures

53 and 54 she retards slightly and adds several ornaments which was very popular

for the performance of the times. Also used is word painting, such as in measure

22 on the end of the word "dolor" which in English is best translated

as pain, Handel writes an F dotted eighth note and then a G, E-flat, D on

sixteenth notes which symbolizes a sigh to express the pain.