New work for voice and ensemble Piangeró la sorte mia

Last summer was the time to sit down and write some sad music. My composition for mezzo-soprano and six instruments, Piangeró la sorte mia, like the aria of the same name for Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1723) by Georg Friedrich Handel, is based on a text from Nicola Francesco Hamm. Direct and unpretentious, the music is intended to be a vehicle for the singer‘s expression and virtuosity, as the tradition is. Without quoting a note of his music, I follow the ductus and form of Handel‘s aria: A-B-A‘, slow-fast-slow. If some listeners hear a bit of Handel while listening to my Piangeró, that would be an unintended but acceptable additive, and certainly better than thinking of their tax return or if the babysitter is doing the dishes. Written for the singer Anne-May Krüger and the Basel ensemble neuVerband, Piangeró la sorte mia is dedicated to persons who find themselves in a „worry-don‘t-be-happy“ moment in their lives. I would like to say to them, go ahead and cry, wail, be full of despair (part A). Sooner or later there will be a sliver of hope, even if it is in the disguise of revenge (part B). And if you still feel the urge to worry and whine, then have a second portion (part A’). 

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6BUI_OaTOQ

 

Piangerò la sorte mia, 

sì crudele e tanto ria, 

finché vita in petto avrò. 

 

Ma poi morta, d'ogn'intorno 

il tiranno e notte e giorno 

fatta spettro agiterò. 

 

 

I will lament my destiny,

so cruel and so unfortunate,

as long as my heart beats.

 

But when I am dead, 

from all sides my ghost will haunt 

the tyrant both night and day.

(translation Anna Maria Pherson)