Listening Companion 4: Dido and Aeneas, "Thy Hand Belinda/When I Am Laid In Earth" [Dido's Lament] (1689) - Henry Purcell
What are some words with melismatic emphasis?
"laid," "wrongs," and the wail-like "ah!"
How many times is the deciding bass heard in the course of the aria?
11 times
basso continuo
Baroque accompaniment which has a continuous base
The whole passage gradually descends within which octave?
C5 to C4
During this scene of Purcell's opera, what is happening?
Dido is choosing death in preference to life without Aeneas
What is the highest note in the aria?
G
What key is guided through the ground bass through a cadence after the descending tetrachord?
G minor
What is Dido asking for when she sings "Thy hand, Belinda"?
She's asking her servant to hold her hand as she slowly dies
What's the first line of Dido's Lament?
Thy hand, Belinda
Dido's Lament has much in common with which earlier aria?
a Ventian opera by Carlo Grossi (performed 1669)
Recitatives are usually supported by only what?
a basso continuo
What is played when Dido dies?
a chorus of singers perform "With Drooping Wings"
During an aria, what is usually employed?
a full orchestra
binary-form
a simple structure with two contrasting halves: an a section followed by a B section
An aria for one vocalist is sometimes called what?
a solo
During an aria, what has to be customarily established by the orchestra leader?
a steady tempo
The binary-form in Dido's Lament produces what type of pattern?
an AABB pattern
In the lament, Purcell sets the word "darkness" as what?
an extended melisma
The first 6 notes of Dido's Lament make what?
an uninterrupted chromatic descent from G to D
In Dido's Lament, Purcell is able to mix what features into the scene?
features of Italian opera and characteristics familiar to English listeners
descending tetrachord
four notes ordered in descending order
Melismas
groups of notes on one syllable
When is the highest note of the aria reached?
in the third statement of "Remember me!" in each B section
Where does the cadence in Dido's Lament conclude?
on a low G, which is an octave lower than the ostinato had begun
How does a recitative contrast to arias?
recitatives generally don't have a memorable tune or even a steady underlying pulse; they follow the the speed/style of the singer's delivery
What is Dido asking when she sings "When I am laid in earth"?
she's asking people to remember her but forget her sad demise
recitatives
speech-like, syllabic passages
The lyrical quality of this melody leads some analysts to prefer what?
the "arioso" label
What part of "Dido and Aeneas" is Dido's Lament part of?
the climax (not the end of the opera)
When Dido's Lament begins, what old device does Purcell use that was popular in England since Boleyn?
the ground bass
What instrument plays the basso continuo accompaniment in the recording?
the harpischord
What joins the harpsichord as Dido begins singing the aria?
the orchestra
What does Purcell do to the singing which parallels Italian opera houses?
the singing is made into more narrative, and speech-like passages, where the characters carry conversations
What is an "aria"?
the term for the latter "emotional" type of singing (often saturated with melismas)
