Or che il dover – Tali e cotanti sono
Encyclopedia
"Or che il dover – Tali e cotanti sono", K. 36, is a concert aria
in D major
for tenor
and orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
.
when Mozart was ten years old. The author of the lyrics is unknown. It was the first composition by Mozart since his family's return to Salzburg, and was first performed on 21 December 1766 as part of an entertainment marking the anniversary of the consecration of Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach
.
s, two bassoon
s, two horns
, two trumpet
s, timpani
, strings
and tenor
.
Concert Aria
A concert aria is normally a free-standing aria or opera-like scene composed for singer and orchestra, written specifically for performance in concert rather than as part of an opera...
in D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
for tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and orchestra 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...
.
History
The aria was written in late 1766 in SalzburgSalzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
when Mozart was ten years old. The author of the lyrics is unknown. It was the first composition by Mozart since his family's return to Salzburg, and was first performed on 21 December 1766 as part of an entertainment marking the anniversary of the consecration of Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach
Sigismund von Schrattenbach
Sigismund Graf von Schrattenbach was the Archbishop of Salzburg from 1753 to 1771. He was the son of Otto Heinrich, Graf von Schrattenbach, and Maria Theresa, Countess of Wildenstein, widowed Baroness Gall von Gallenstein.After studying theology, he was ordained a priest in 1723...
.
Instrumentation
The work is scored for two oboeOboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, two horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, two trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
and tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
Libretto
In scelte e corte rime Grato mostrarmi a qual onor sublime, Di cui ci ricolmaste, o prence eccelso, Ne' miei pensieri immerso Ricerco un buon concetto. Rumino colla mente, Penso, ripenso, e poi non trovo niente. Febo e le Muse in mio soccorso imploro; Compariscono tutte a me dinanzi, Confuse in volto e colle cetre infrante. D'un simile scompiglio Le chiedo la ragion, tacer le miro, E dopo mille al più sospir cocenti Una così ripose: Riverendo pastor, t'accheta, e in simil Giorno non obbligarci a dire il nostro Scorno; sulle rive della Salza Salzach The Salzach is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Inn and is 225 kilometres in length.The river's name is derived from the German word Salz, meaning "salt". Until the 19th century shipping of salt down the river was an important part of the local economy... ogni Nostro potere, ogni saper fu crine Da quella luce onde il suo prence è cinto. Tali e contanti sono Di Sigismondo i merti, Che i nostri ingegni incerti, Non sanno qual riverendo cor. Se la pietà si canta; La giustizia non cede, Ch'ogni virtù, riverendo, Siede in trono suo cor. |
in select and brief verses, to show my gratitude for that eminent honour with which you have overwhelmed us, august prince, I delve deep into my thoughts for an inspiration. I rack my brains, consider, reflect, but find nothing I involve Phoebus and the muses to my aid; they all appear before me shamefaced and with broken lyres. I ask the reason for such confusion, and see them mute; and after a thousand or so bruning sighs one thus replies: Revered shepard, be appeased, and on such a day do not force us to confess our shame. On the banks of the Salzach, all our power, all our wisdom was as nothing to that light with which your prince is surrounded. So great and so many are Sigismund's merits that our paltry minds cannot know that illustrious heart. If this compassion is hymned, it is not at the expense of his justice, for every virtue, Excellency, is enthroned in your heart. |