Concert Aria
Encyclopedia
A concert aria is normally a free-standing aria
or opera-like scene (scena) composed for singer and orchestra, written specifically for performance in concert rather than as part of an opera
. Concert arias have usually been composed for particular singers, the composer always bearing that singer's voice and skill in mind when composing the work.
Apart from only denoting loose arias for singer and orchestra, the term is also used to indicate arias which were specifically composed for insertion into already-existing operas, either as additions to the score or as substitutions for other arias. These are sometimes performed in concerts because they are no longer required for their original purpose, though they were not, strictly speaking, composed for performance in concert.
The concert arias which are most commonly performed today were written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
, but there are many examples by other composers, such as:
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
or opera-like scene (scena) composed for singer and orchestra, written specifically for performance in concert rather than as part of an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
. Concert arias have usually been composed for particular singers, the composer always bearing that singer's voice and skill in mind when composing the work.
Apart from only denoting loose arias for singer and orchestra, the term is also used to indicate arias which were specifically composed for insertion into already-existing operas, either as additions to the score or as substitutions for other arias. These are sometimes performed in concerts because they are no longer required for their original purpose, though they were not, strictly speaking, composed for performance in concert.
The concert arias which are most commonly performed today were written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, but there are many examples by other composers, such as:
- Ermina by Juan ArriagaJuan Crisóstomo ArriagaJuan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola was a Spanish composer. He was nicknamed the "Spanish Mozart" after he died, because, like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he was also a child prodigy and an accomplished composer who died young...
- Ah perfido! by Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
- Der Wein for sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
and orchestra by Alban BergAlban BergAlban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in... - PhaedraPhaedra (cantata)Phaedra Op. 93 is a cantata for mezzo-soprano and orchestra by Benjamin Britten. It was the composer's last vocal work, written in 1975 and first performed by Janet Baker at the Aldeburgh Festival on 16 June 1976. Britten assembled the libretto from parts of a translation of Racine's Phèdre by...
by Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
(written for Janet BakerJanet BakerDame Janet Abbott Baker, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.She was particularly closely associated with baroque and early Italian opera and the works of Benjamin Britten...
) - Scena di Berenice by Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
- Infelice! by Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
Mozart concert arias
Among the more well-known of Mozart's concert arias are:- Popoli di Tessaglia!, K. 316, for soprano, with its two famous G6's (i.e., the G above high C, or 1568 Hz by modern concert pitchConcert pitchConcert pitch refers to the pitch reference to which a group of musical instruments are tuned for a performance. Concert pitch may vary from ensemble to ensemble, and has varied widely over musical history...
- according to the Guinness Book of Records, the highest musical note ever scored for the human voice) that come shortly before the end. This aria was composed in order to be inserted into Gluck's opera, AlcesteAlceste (Gluck)Alceste is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck from 1767. The libretto was written by Ranieri de' Calzabigi and based on the play Alcestis by Euripides. The premiere took place in Vienna.-Preface and reforms:...
, and also specifically to showcase the superlative vocal skills of Mozart's sister-in-law, Aloysia WeberAloysia WeberMaria Aloysia Louise Antonia Weber was a German soprano, remembered primarily for her association with the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Biography:...
, who was only 18 at the time. However sopranos who are able to cope with the aria's demands have been few and far between, and the aria is usually omitted from performances of Alceste. It has been therefore redesignated a concert aria, to be presented in concerts by such rare singers as are able to deliver its fiendishly difficult coloratura. - Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gönner!, K. 383, for soprano,
- Ch'io mi scordi di te?Ch'io mi scordi di te?Ch'io mi scordi di te? ... Non temer, amato bene, K. 505, is a concert aria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for soprano, piano obbligato and orchestra, composed 1786 in Vienna; it is often considered to be one of his greatest compositions in this genre.-History:...
, K. 505, written for Nancy StoraceNancy StoraceNancy Storace , , was an English operatic soprano... - Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!, K. 418, written for Aloysia WeberAloysia WeberMaria Aloysia Louise Antonia Weber was a German soprano, remembered primarily for her association with the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Biography:...
- Bella mia fiamma, K. 528, written for Josepha DuschekJosepha DuschekJosepha Duschek was an outstanding soprano singer of the Classical era. She was a friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote a number of works for her to sing.Her name is most often given in its German version as above...
- Per questa bella mano, K. 612, for bassBass (voice type)A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
obbligato, and orchestra