UN MOTO DI GIOJA
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
From the revival of The Marriage of Figaro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was an Austrian composer and one of the
most prominent personalities of the Classical era. He began composing as a child from
the age of five and toured all over Europe, playing for royalty and absorbing musical
styles from a range of sources that would later shape his compositional style. Mozart
was taught by his father, Leopold Mozart, who was an experienced composer and
teacher, and was most admired in the Italian opera tradition, particularly by Johann
Christian Bach and Christoph Willibald Gluck. His vocal compositional work is a precise
combination of lyrical beauty and expressiveness.
"Un Moto di Gioia" is one of the two arias composed by Mozart in 1789 for the role of
Susanna in the revival performance of The Marriage of Figaro. In recent times, this aria
has been used for independent concert work for soprano singers and orchestra. The
work was composed during the later stages of Mozart's professional career, a period
when he was economically strained but strong in artistic maturity. The name of the
piece is translated to "a movement of joy," and the text describes the exhilaration of
first love and joy. It has a sense of elegance and a whimsical quality that is common in
Mozart's soprano writing. “Un Moto di Gioia" is an aria that is typical of the Classical
period, which has been known for works composed in order to display the technical
skill and expressive qualities of a singer. Mozart's concert arias of this genre are widely
used now, valued for their musicality and challenge. This piece specifically has
conventions similar to Mozart’s other arias such as "Exsultate, Jubilate" and "Vorrei
Spiegarvi, oh Dio," which feature ornamental melodic lines, quick modulations, and
complex embellishments that demand precision and strong technique. One should
note the airy, dancing character from the beginning onwards, supported by light
rhythms and echoing accompaniment. The aria is composed in a form similar to a
sonata, with a bright quality to the tone and the words themselves.
“Un Moto di Gioja” “A Movement of Joy”
Un moto di gioja A movement of joy
Mi sento nel petto I feel in my chest
Che annunzia diletto That announces happiness
In mezzo il timor In the middle of fear
Speriam che in contento We hope that happiness
Finisca l’affano Will end the pain
Non sempre, non sempre è tiranno No longer, no longer sorrow
Il fato ed amor My fate turns to love
Il fato ed amor My fate turns to love
Un moto di gioja A movement of joy
Mi sento nel petto I feel in my chest
Che annunzia diletto That announces happiness
In mezzo il timor In the middle of fear
Speriam che in contento We hope that happiness
Finisca l’affano Will end the pain
Non sempre, non sempre è tiranno No longer, no longer sorrow
Non sempre è tiranno No longer sorrow
Il fato ed amor My fate turns to love
Il fato ed amor My fate turns to love
Il fato ed amor My fate turns to love
Il fato ed amor My fate turns to love
LOVE’S PHILOSOPHY
Composed by Roger Quilter (1877-1953)
Text by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Roger Quilter (1877-1953) is an English composer who is known for his art songs,
which capture the essence of early 20th century English song tradition. He was
educated at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where he studied with a group of
composers, including Percy Grainger and Cyril Scott, that became known as the
"Frankfurt Group.” With his lyrical works, Quilter combines poetic sensitivity with
refined technical melodies. His music shows the emotional depth typical of his
introspective personality.
"Love's Philosophy" was composed in 1905 and is Quilter's most well-known song.
The text is a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), a work of the Romantic
school of literature that honors nature, emotion, and passion. The lyrics use rich images
of nature to portray the character of human love, with streams that merge with rivers,
winds that merge with the sky, and the poet pleads with his beloved to take a leaf from
nature's book and be the one in love. Quilter's melody intertwines with the delicacy of
Shelley's words. For voice and piano, the song is a characteristic example of English
art song traditions, in which the text and music are closely bound together. While
continental composers preferred a more operatic style, this work is comparatively
restrained, letting the poetry stand out instead. This piece is one of the categories of
English art songs that flourished in the early 20th century, through composers such as
Quilter, Vaughan Williams, and Gurney. They all sought to reconcile the melodic
simplicity of English folk songs with the sophisticated expressiveness carried over from
the Romantic era. One should note the balance of the piece, with the accompaniment
tracing the imagery shown in Shelley's original poem and the vocals exuding emotion
while still following a sense of overall discipline.
“Love’s Philosophy”
The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of Heav’n mix for ever
With a sweet emotion.
Nothing in the world is single;
All things, by a law divine,
In one another’s being mingle,
Why not I with thine, not I with thine?
See, the mountains kiss high Heav’n,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiv’n
If it disdained its brother.
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea,
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou, if thou kiss not me?
FIOCCA LA NEVE
Composed by Pietro Cimara (1887-1967)
Text by Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912)
Pietro Cimara (1887-1967) was an Italian composer, conductor, and pianist that was
most known for his art songs and strong commitment to opera. Trained by Ottorino
Respighi, Cimara was taught in the late-Romantic Italian form, with harmonically rich,
lyrical, and emotionally direct melodies, and acquired a refined sense of connection
with his vocal music. Most of his professional life was spent singing at New York's
Metropolitan Opera, where he became known for his work with vocalists and deep
appreciation of classical Italian singing traditions.
"Fiocca la Neve" ("The Snow Falls") was a poem that was originally written by Giovanni
Pascoli (1855-1912), one of Italy's most renowned late 19th-century and early 20th-
century poets. He was famous for the musicality of his poetry, profound imagery, and
subtlety of balancing melancholy with a sense of wonder, with the title of this piece
directly translating to “the snow falls,” a simple and straightforward beginning to much
deeper, wistful words. His poems tend to draw upon subjects that include nature,
memory, and the fragility of humankind, which are characteristics that suit Cimara's
style of music perfectly. This piece is one of Cimara’s most haunting songs, composed
in the 20th century for voice and piano. It maintains the Romanza da Salotto Italian art
song tradition that focuses on emotion, expression, and simplicity by translating
Pascoli’s serene and wistful depiction of falling snow into sound, depicting the stillness
and solitude of winter over a delicate texture from the accompaniment. One should
note the way the piano melodies simulate a drift of snowflakes, while the vocal part
uses long and fluid phrasing to create vivid paintings of emotional calmness and
isolation represented by falling snow.
“Fiocca la Neve” “The Snow Falls”
Lenta la neve fiocca, fiocca, fiocca The snow is slowly falling, falling, falling
Senti, una zana dondola pian piano Listen, a cradle is rocking softly, softly
Un bimbo piange, il picciol dito on bocca A baby cries, his little finger in his mouth
Canta una vecchia, il mento sulla mano An old woman sings, her chin in her hand
La vecchia canta The old woman sings
Intorno al tuo lettino, c’è rose e gigli Inside your little bed, there are roses and
Come un bel giardino lilies
Come un bel giardino All like a beautiful garden
Nel bel giardino, il bimbo s’addormenta All like a beautiful garden
Fiocca la neve lenta, lenta, lenta In the beautiful garden the child goes to
Fiocca la neve sleep
Fiocca la neve The snow falls slowly, slowly, slowly
The snow falls
The snow falls