Giulio Cesare
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.