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Wikipedia

Da capo aria

February 13, 2023

The da capo aria (Italian pronunciation: [da (k)ˈkaːpo ˈaːrja]) is a musical form for arias that was prevalent in the Baroque era. It is sung by a soloist with the accompaniment of instruments, often a small orchestra. The da capo aria is very common in the musical genres of opera and oratorio. According to Randel, a number of Baroque composers (he lists Scarlatti, Hasse, Handel, Porpora, Leo, and Vinci) composed more than a thousand da capo arias during their careers.[1]

Form

A da capo aria is in ternary form, meaning it is composed of three sections. The first section is a complete song with accompaniment, ending in the tonic key, and could in principle be sung by itself. The second section contrasts with the first in its musical key, texture, mood,[1] and sometimes also tempo. The third section was usually not written out by the composer, who would instead simply note the instruction "da capo" (Italian for "from the head") - meaning from the beginning, i.e., the first section is to be repeated.

The text for a da capo aria was typically a poem or other verse sequence written in two strophes, the first for the A section (hence repeated later) and the second for B. Each strophe consisted of from three to six lines, and terminated in a line containing a masculine ending.

Improvisation

The singer was often expected to improvise variations and ornaments during the third section, to keep it from being a mere repetition of the first.[1] This was especially so for da capo arias written in slower tempos, where the opportunity to improvise, as well as the risk of dullness, were greater. The ability to improvise variations and ornaments was a skill learned by, and expected of, all solo singers. The decline in this ability following the Baroque era is perhaps the reason why the da capo aria ultimately acquired a reputation as a musically dull form. The authentic performance movement, starting in the mid twentieth century, restored improvisation to the performance of da capo arias, although the practice has yet to become universal even among authentic performance artists.

Famous examples

Handel's oratorio Messiah (1742) includes two well-known da capo arias, "He Was Despised" (for alto voice) and "The Trumpet Shall Sound" (for bass). J. S. Bach's cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 (1730) begins with a flamboyant da capo aria for soprano, trumpet soloist, and strings.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Randel (2003:54)

References

  • Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I. Seventh Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0.
  • Randel, Don Michael, ed. (2003) "Aria," in The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Author: "CG".)

Further reading

External links

  • Grove Music Online - Aria

February 13, 2023
capo, aria, capo, aria, italian, pronunciation, ˈkaːpo, ˈaːrja, musical, form, arias, that, prevalent, baroque, sung, soloist, with, accompaniment, instruments, often, small, orchestra, capo, aria, very, common, musical, genres, opera, oratorio, according, ran. The da capo aria Italian pronunciation da k ˈkaːpo ˈaːrja is a musical form for arias that was prevalent in the Baroque era It is sung by a soloist with the accompaniment of instruments often a small orchestra The da capo aria is very common in the musical genres of opera and oratorio According to Randel a number of Baroque composers he lists Scarlatti Hasse Handel Porpora Leo and Vinci composed more than a thousand da capo arias during their careers 1 Contents 1 Form 2 Improvisation 3 Famous examples 4 Notes 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksForm EditA da capo aria is in ternary form meaning it is composed of three sections The first section is a complete song with accompaniment ending in the tonic key and could in principle be sung by itself The second section contrasts with the first in its musical key texture mood 1 and sometimes also tempo The third section was usually not written out by the composer who would instead simply note the instruction da capo Italian for from the head meaning from the beginning i e the first section is to be repeated The text for a da capo aria was typically a poem or other verse sequence written in two strophes the first for the A section hence repeated later and the second for B Each strophe consisted of from three to six lines and terminated in a line containing a masculine ending Improvisation EditThe singer was often expected to improvise variations and ornaments during the third section to keep it from being a mere repetition of the first 1 This was especially so for da capo arias written in slower tempos where the opportunity to improvise as well as the risk of dullness were greater The ability to improvise variations and ornaments was a skill learned by and expected of all solo singers The decline in this ability following the Baroque era is perhaps the reason why the da capo aria ultimately acquired a reputation as a musically dull form The authentic performance movement starting in the mid twentieth century restored improvisation to the performance of da capo arias although the practice has yet to become universal even among authentic performance artists Famous examples EditHandel s oratorio Messiah 1742 includes two well known da capo arias He Was Despised for alto voice and The Trumpet Shall Sound for bass J S Bach s cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen BWV 51 1730 begins with a flamboyant da capo aria for soprano trumpet soloist and strings Notes Edit a b c Randel 2003 54 References EditBenward amp Saker 2003 Music In Theory and Practice Vol I Seventh Edition McGraw Hill Higher Education ISBN 978 0 07 294262 0 Randel Don Michael ed 2003 Aria in The Harvard Dictionary of Music Cambridge MA Harvard University Press Author CG Further reading EditJack Westrup et al Aria Grove Music Online Oxford Music Online Oxford University Press accessed July 13 2016 http www oxfordmusiconline com subscriber article grove music 43315 External links EditGrove Music Online Aria Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Da capo aria amp oldid 1114231473, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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