On this week's Ether Game Weekly Music Quiz Podcast, the Brain Trust is rummaging through the tool box. We're looking at musical forms and formulas in classical music, in a show we're calling "Building Blocks." Can you name this formulaic tune? (The answer is below) Don't forget to tune into the full show on Tuesday, November 13th at 8:00pm for a chance to win a prize!
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) GIULIO CESARE: 'Da tempeste il legno infranto'
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Renée Fleming, soprano
Almost all of Handel's arias follow the da capo form, named for the Italian phrase "da capo" which appears at the end of the piece, and tells the singer to return to the beginning and repeat the first section. Da capo arias are classified as a specific type of ternary form or ABA form in music theory; the composer creates two sections of music and the performer repeats the first section a second time after completing the second section. The ‘B" section of a da capo aria is often set in a contrasting emotion from the "A" section. It's a chance for the composer to give the opera character more depth, a reality check of sorts -a reminder that these aren't just characters in a story but human beings with complex and often conflicting thoughts and urges.
