By early 19th century recitative becomes less fashionable opera composers like Rossini and Donizetti would have their assistants compose recitatives so they could focus their work on the arias and ensembles. By the middle of the 19th century secco recitative disappears. Secco Recitativo makes a comeback in 20th century operas by Stravinsky (The Rake’s Progress) and Britten (Rape of Lucretia) STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW Secco or Accompagnato Recitativo secco (“dry” recitative) accompanied by basso continuo Basso continuo (Bass line played by cello, violone, or bass with chordal accompaniment improvised by any combination of harpsichord, organ, fortepiano, lute, archlute, theorbo, guitar, harp, etc.) Figured bass symbols imply harmonies. Very little repetition of words, entirely syllabic Delivery: rhythmically free, closer to speech than arioso singing* *In a letter of November 1778 Mozart wrote “I think that most operatic recitatives should be treated [as spoken melodrama] and only sung occasionally, when the words can be perfectly expressed by the music.” Recitativo Accompagnato (accompanied by orchestra) More dramatic than secco recitative Often acts as a bridge between secco recitative Mostly syllabic Orchestra mirrors the affects felt by the character dotted rhythms = authority/severity/grandeur/majesty/extroverted running scales/tirades = fury Dissonant harmonies = shock softer dynamics = sadness/loneliness/introverted Delivery: rhythmically more precise than secco recitative and closer to arioso singing PERFORMANCE PRACTICE Notation One of the biggest difficulties of performing recitative is that the notation does not correspond to the performance. Appears rhythmically monotonous measures are place holders which indicate strong syllables and changes of harmony on strong beats (1 and 3). Everything on weak beats should flow and lead to the strong beats according to poetic feet and patterns of normal speech. Essential notes like appoggiature are missing Appoggiature should be added at the end of phrases or on an important words whose last two syllables are on the same note. Substitute with step or leap 4th. Most appoggiature are dissonant notes. To write dissonance on strong beats, although very expressive go against the rules of counterpoint. Singers were trained to add these dissonant notes so add expression and make the composer look good. Rhythm/Phrasing of language An overview of accenti Piano: (soft/feminine) emphasis on penultimate syllable, ‘gran-de, ‘bel-la, a-’mo-re, re-ci-‘ta-re Tronco: (shortened/masculine) emphasis on last syllable co-‘sì, sa-‘rà, fa-‘rò, ‘è also poetically shortened words (a-‘mor, ven-di-‘car, sa-‘per) most poetically shortened words do not appear in the dictionary. Italian verbs end in e. If you can’t find a word, add a final e and see if it appears. amor=amore parlar=parlare saper=sapere Sdrucciolo: (sliding) emphasis on third last syllable ‘sdruc-cio-lo, be-‘nis-si-mo, ‘es-se-re, Ra-pha-el,

• published: 23 Mar 2020
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