Handel

One of the most popular beginning tenor arias, and so of course all us voice majors need to have our say. I got back from rehearsal just now, so I’m going to do myself a favor and analyze the shortest piece available.

The piece is written in Bb Major in simple ternary form. The A section (to M. 19) is an asymmetrical, contrasting period. The first phrase ends on a HC at M. 7. The second phrase includes a nice cadenza, which seems to me like a sort of cadential extension from M. 12 to M. 16 when we finally reach an IAC. There is a three measure repetition of part of the first phrase, which ends in a PAC.

The B section is less tonally stable – it starts in g minor and ends in c minor. There aren’t many clear cadences in the B section, however I did notice that we hit a AC in M. 24, and interpolation is used to tack on another AC at M. 26.

The A section is repeated, exactly the same as the first time. Typical Da Capo aria. This piece is simple ternary form because the A sections do not have other binary or ternary forms within them.