Listening Companion 4: Dido and Aeneas, "Thy Hand Belinda/When I Am Laid In Earth" [Dido's Lament] (1689) - Henry Purcell

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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)


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