Se tu della mia morte

"Se tu della mia morte" ("Wouldst thou the boast of ending")[1] is an aria in G minor from act 3 of Alessandro Scarlatti's 1697 opera La caduta de' decemviri[2] (The fall of the decemviri) to a libretto by Silvio Stampiglia.[3]

The da capo aria is accompanied only by a basso continuo. Its time signature is 12/8 to a tempo of andante and it is 24 bars long. The vocal range for a castrato soprano is from D4 to F5.[4]

The aria gained popularity as a concert aria when it appeared in 1886 in the collection Arie antiche by Alessandro Parisotti, published by Casa Ricordi in Milan.[5]

Lyrics

Appio Claudio has just attempted suicide, but Valeria, who loves him despite his rejection, has prevented it. "If I cannot die by my own hand, may your eyes kill me."[2]

Se tu della mia morte
a questa destra forte
la gloria non vuoi dar,
dalla a'tuoi lumi.

E il dardo
del tuo sguardo
sia quello che m'uccida
e mi consumi.

If you do not wish
to give the glory of my death
to this strong right arm,
give it to your eyes,

and let the arrow
of your glance be that
which kills
and consumes me.

References
  1. Anthology of Italian Songs of the 17th and 18th Centuries). 1 (Italian, English Language ed.). Kalmus / Alfred Music. 29 November 1999. p. 35. ISBN 9781457488351.
  2. Monelle, Raymond (2006). The Musical Topic: Hunt, Military and Pastoral. Indiana University Press. p. 217. ISBN 9780253112361.
  3. Caduta de' decemviri, La, roles and details (in Italian)
  4. "Se tu della mia morte" (p. 173) in La caduta de' decemviri, series The Operas of Alessandro Scarlatti, Donald Jay Grout, General Editor, vol. VI, ed. Hermine Weigel Williams, Harvard University Press (1980) ISBN 9780674640320
  5. Murata, Margaret (2009). Damien Colas (ed.). D'une scène à l'autre, l'opéra italien en Europe: Les pérégrinations d'un genre. Mardaga. p. 288. ISBN 9782870099926.
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