mantiene il mio amor Antonio Cesti

se stesso" (1651)
from "Alessandro, vincitor di [antonjo t/gsti
se stes:so]
[ales:sandro vint fitor di (Arezzo, 1623 - Florence, 1669)
To
del mio bene
ke
del mio bene
si mant jene 5 Che
beloved
1 Si so-that to-be-happy
J
about my
Itself keeps-alive Gos To
pens jero
nem: men p2s:so kol
mio amor men posso col
pensiero.
6 Ne
2 Il mio amor
nor less I-can with-the thought.
the my love bar sand Goss

amo pur seb:bgn non spero

di dolor se ben non spero.
7 Amo pur,
3 Di dolor, well not I-hope.
I-love indeed, if
with grief,
e pene
pene,
e

with-anxieties and pains

does not claim the beautiful Cam- this aria demonstrates some of
Poetic idea
them. Minor mode signifies both
"My love brings me nothing but paspe for himself, but gives her in
marriage to a man whom she loves. passion and sadness. The bass part
sadness, but loving any-
go on
is a "ground," a short melody that
way." The singer is Efestione, a
Background is repeated many times while other
general in the army of Alexander
the Great. The scene is Babylon in The earliest operas were royal melodic lines develop freely above
entertainments, lavish festivities it.The downward scale tones of
331 B.C.E.*, where Alexander
this ground symbolize
sadness,
resides after defeating Darius III, or invited audiences. In 1637 Ven-
King of Persia. ice became the first city where repetition 13 times shows that the
Efestione is in love with public opera theaters would admit sadness is persistent and hopeless
Campaspe, a famous beauty who any person who was able to pay for Although there is not even
was taken as a prisoner of war and ticket. Backed financially by change of key to relieve the feeling
keeps
given to Efestione to be his ser- wealthy subscribers, Venetian op- of depression, the composer
changing
vant. He wants to marry her, but era was a popular entertainment the aria interesting with De-
he is already committed to marry and sometimes a profitable busi- harmonies and with contrast
Cina, the sister of Alexander. ness, similar in many ways to the
two violins
tween the voice and the
Efestione is afraid to offend the it. The
phrase
Broadway musical theater of the that accompany
sister of his powerful friend and present. lengths are also irregular and
king. variety
Cesti was baptized as Pietro, unpredictable, so that with
The story ends happily when it but took the name Antonio when the vocal phrasing contrasls
the bas
is revealed that Campaspe is Efe-
stione's natural sister. When she
he became a
Franciscan priest. the consistent phrasing in
(He was never Marc' Antonio as part.
was
born, an astrologer predicted some books call him.) Although he
that her brother would fall in love was
a priest, Cesti sang and toured Sources scor
with her; to prevent this her father
(1) Alessandro, manuscript
operatic tenor. His successes
as an
sent
her away to grow up in anoth- onstage and in love affairs caused of the opera, Biblioteca
Apostol
frequent reprimands from his reli- ca Vaticana,Rome, Chigi Q.V.0
cr country. Efestione embraces
his
new-found sister and happily re-
turns to
his former affection for
gious superiors, and he was re- Act II,scene I1. For voice (soptil
leased from his vows in 1659. clef), two violins (probably)mine
Alessandro, Cesti's first opera, key: D
The opera IS
called Alexander, was
composed for the
continuo.Original
Conqueror of Himself, because of Carnival ste
(no signature). e
season in di
(2) Alessandro,vincitor
the self-control that Alexander Venice. Please
Universily,
read
more about Cesti in the notes to
shows at the end of the opera: he so, libretto, copy
"ntornoallidol mio"(page49). gut
*Before Common Era Manykindsofmusicalsymbol: This aria has
not been
appearin Baroque music, and
Ism
lished previously.
44 Italian Arias of the
Baroque and Classical Eras