Sudden Charms: The Progress of an Aria

Abstract

The first part of the paper involves a consideration of one of Handel's most famous arias, 'Dove sei, amato bene' from Act I of Rodelinda, paying particular attention to certain changes that the composer made to the opening of the aria. The second part then examines a particular moment in the aria's twentieth-century reception, Kathleen Ferrier's famous recording of 'Art Thou Troubled?', one in which Handel's text, both musical and poetic, is boldly changed. While Handel scholarship has tended to take a negative view of such operatic migrations, the present paper suggests some ways in which both 'original' and 'transcription' might coexist fruitfully, perhaps even casting interpretive light on each other.


(SA J Musicology: 2001 21: 47-58)