Lascia ch'io pianga
Commentary & Notes
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[2] mia cruda sorte:
Some versions show la dura sorte instead. Handel's 1711 autograph score shows the former, but the 1711 booklet with the Hill translation contains the latter. Performances (to my knowledge) universally favor mia cruda sorte.
Some versions show la dura sorte instead. Handel's 1711 autograph score shows the former, but the 1711 booklet with the Hill translation contains the latter. Performances (to my knowledge) universally favor mia cruda sorte.
[3] twists:
ritorte. As in the twisted fibers of a rope or the twisted metal of a chain, from the verb ritorcere .
ritorte. As in the twisted fibers of a rope or the twisted metal of a chain, from the verb ritorcere .
[4] martyrdom:
martiri. Not a literal death for a cause. Poetic trope for intense suffering, originating with Petrarch.
martiri. Not a literal death for a cause. Poetic trope for intense suffering, originating with Petrarch.
[5] only out of pity:
sol per pietà. Let my pain, if only out of pity, break these chains of my martyrdom.
sol per pietà. Let my pain, if only out of pity, break these chains of my martyrdom.
Almirena (soprano), daughter of the First Crusade's leader, has been abducted by Armida (soprano), the queen of Damascus. She mourns her capitivity to Argante (bass), the king of Jerusalem.
Originally written in F major. Music is reused from Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (1707), Lascia la spina. This aria is a canonical example of the da capo form (A-B-A-C-A-B-A).
The 1711 Aaron Hill English translation is taken from the original printing of the libretto. It presumably includes the input of the librettist Giacomo Rossi.