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Aria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An aria ([ˈaːrja]; Italian: air; plural: arie [ˈaːrje], or arias in

common usage, diminutive form arietta [aˈrjetta] or ariette) in
music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not
always, performed by a singer. The term became used almost
exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice,
with or without orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a
larger work. The typical context for arias is opera, but vocal
arias also feature in oratorios and cantatas, sharing features of
the operatic arias of their periods.

Contents
1 Origins of the term
2 In opera The farewell aria of Sultan
2.1 Aria form in late 17th century French and Bazajet in Handel's opera
Italian opera Tamerlano. (Note the da capo
2.2 18th century instruction). First edition,
2.3 19th century London, 1719.
3 Concert arias
4 Instrumental music
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Origins of the term

The term, which derives from the Greek and Latin 'aer' (air) first appeared in relation to music in
the 14th century when it simply signified a manner or style of singing or playing. By the end of the
16th century, the term 'aria' refers to an instrumental form (cf. Santino Garsi da Parma lute works,
'Aria del Gran Duca' ). By the early 16th century it was in common use as meaning a simple setting
of strophic poetry; melodic madrigals, free of complex polyphony, were known as madrigale
arioso.[1]

In opera

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Aria form in late 17th century French and Italian opera

In the context of staged works and concert works, arias evolved from simple melodies into
structured forms. In such works, the sung, melodic, and structured aria became differentiated from
the more speech-like (parlando) recitative – broadly, the latter tended to carry the story-line, the
former carried more emotional freight and became an opportunity for singers to display their vocal
talent.

The aria evolved typically in one of two forms. Binary form arias were in two sections (A–B); arias
in ternary form (A–B–A) were known as da capo arias (literally 'from the head', i.e. with the
opening section repeated, often in a highly decorated manner).[2] In the da capo aria the 'B' episode
would typically be in a different key – the dominant or relative major key. Other variants of these
forms are found in the French operas of the late 17th century such as those of Jean-Baptiste Lully
which dominated the period of the French baroque; vocal solos in his operas (denominated of
course by the French term, airs) are frequently in extended binary form (ABB') or sometimes in
rondeau form (ABACA),[3] (a shape which is analogous to the instrumental rondo).

In the Italian school of composers of the late 17th and early 18th century, the da capo form of aria
came gradually to be associated with the ritornello (literally, 'little return'), a recurring instrumental
episode which was interspersed with the elements of the aria and eventually provided, in early
operas, the opportunity for dancing or entries of characters.[4] This version of aria form with
ritornelli became a dominant feature of European opera throughout the 18th century. It is thought
by some writers to be the origin of the instrumental forms of concerto and sonata form.[5] The
ritornelli became essential to the structure of the aria – "while the words determine the character of
a melody the ritornello instruments often decided in what terms it shall be presented."[6]

18th century

By the early 18th century, composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti had established the aria form,
and especially its da capo version with ritornelli, as the key element of opera seria. "It offered
balance and continuity, and yet gave scope for contrast. [...] The very regularity of its conventional
features enabled deviations from the normal to be exploited with telling effect."[7] In the early years
of the century, arias in the Italian style began to take over in French opera, giving rise eventually to
the French genre of ariette, normally in a relatively simple ternary form.[8]

Types of operatic aria became known by a variety of terms according to their character – e.g.aria
parlante ('speaking-style', narrative in nature),[9] aria di bravura (typically given to a heroine),[10]
aria buffa (aria of a comic type, typically given to a bass or bass-baritone),[11] and so on.

M. F. Robinson describes the standard aria in opera seria in the period 1720 to 1760 as follows:

The first section normally began with an orchestral ritornello after which the singer
entered and sang the words of the first stanza in their entirety. By the end of this first

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vocal paragraph the music, if it were in a major key as it usually was, had modulated to
the dominant. The orchestra then played a second ritornello usually shorter than the first.
The singer re-entered and sang the same words through a second time. The music of this
second paragraph was often slightly more elaborate than that of the first. There were
more repeats of words and perhaps more florid vocalisations. The key worked its way
back to the tonic for the final vocal cadence after which the orchestra rounded the
section off with a final ritornello.[12]

The nature and allocation of the arias to the different roles in opera
seria was highly formalized. According to the playwright and librettist
Carlo Goldoni, in his autobiography,

The three principal personages of the drama ought to sing

five arias each; two in the first act, two in the second, and
one in the third. The second actress and the second soprano
can only have three, and the inferior characters must be
satisfied with a single aria each, or two at the most. The
author of the words must [...] take care that two pathetic
[i.e. melancholy] arias do not succeed one another. He must Gluck in a 1775 portrait
distribute with the same precaution the bravura arias, the by Joseph Duplessis
arias of action, the inferior arias, and the minuets and
rondeaus. He must, above all things, avoid giving
impassioned arias, bravura arias, or rondeaus, to inferior
characters.[13]

By contrast, arias in opera buffa (comic opera) were often specific in character to the nature of the
character being portrayed (for example the cheeky servant-girl or the irascible elderly suitor or
guardian).[14]

By later in the century it was clear that these formats were becoming fossilized. Christoph Willibald
Gluck thought that both opera buffa and opera seria had strayed too far from what opera should
really be, and seemed unnatural. The jokes of opera buffa were threadbare and the repetition of the
same characters made them seem no more than stereotypes. In opera seria the singing was devoted
to superficial effects and the content was uninteresting and stale. As in opera buffa, the singers
were often masters of the stage and the music, decorating the vocal lines so floridly that audiences
could no longer recognise the original melody. Gluck wanted to return opera to its origins, focusing
on human drama and passions and making words and music of equal importance. The effects of
these Gluckist reforms were seen not only in his own operas but in the later works of Mozart; the
arias now become far more expressive of the individual emotions of the characters and are both
more firmly anchored in, and advance, the storyline. Richard Wagner was to praise Gluck's
innovations in his 1850 essay "Opera and Drama": " The musical composer revolted against the
wilfulness of the singer"; rather than "unfold[ing] the purely sensuous contents of the Aria to their

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highest, rankest, pitch", Gluck sought "to put shackles on Caprice's execution of that Aria, by
himself endeavouring to give the tune [...] an expression answering to the underlying
Word-text".[15] This attitude was to underlie Wagner's would-be deconstruction of aria in his
concept of Gesamtkunstwerk.

19th century

Despite the ideals of Gluck, and the trend to organise libretti so that arias had a more organic part in
the drama rather than merely interrupting its flow, in the operas of the early 19th century, (for
example those of Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti), bravura arias remained focal
attractions, and they continued to play a major role in grand opera, and in Italian opera through the
19th century.

A favoured form of aria in the first half of the 19th century in Italian opera was the cabaletta, in
which a songlike cantabile section is followed by a more animated section, the cabaletta proper,
repeated in whole or in part. Typically such arias would be preceded by recitative, the whole
sequence being termed a scena. There might also be opportunities for participation by orchestra or
chorus. An example is Casta diva from the opera Norma of Vincenzo Bellini.[16]

After around 1850, aria forms in Italian opera began to show more variety – many of the operas of
Giuseppe Verdi offer extended narrative arias for leading roles that enable, in their scope,
intensification of drama and characterisation. Examples include Rigoletto's condemnation of the
court, "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata!" (1851).[16]

Later in the century, the post-1850 operas of Wagner were through-composed, with fewer elements
being readily identifiable as self-contained arias;[17] whilst the Italian genre of verismo opera also
sought to integrate arioso elements although still allowing some 'show-pieces'.[16]

Concert arias
Concert arias, which are not part of any larger work, (or were sometimes written to replace or insert
arias in their own operas or operas of other composers) were written by composers to provide the
opportunity for vocal display for concert singers;[18] examples are Ah! perfido, Op. 65, by
Beethoven, and a number of concert arias by Mozart, including Conservati fedele.

Instrumental music
The term 'aria' was frequently used in the 17th and 18th centuries for instrumental music used for
dancing or variation, and modelled on vocal music.[19] For example, J. S. Bach's so-called
"Goldberg Variations" were titled at their 1741 publication "Clavier Ubung bestehend in einer
ARIA mit verschiedenen Verænderungen" ("Keyboard exercise, consisting of one ARIA with
diverse variations.")

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The word is sometimes used in contemporary music as a title

for instrumental pieces, e.g. Robin Holloway's 1980 'Aria' for
chamber ensemble.[20]

See also
See Category:Arias for notable arias which have articles
on Wikipedia.

References
Notes

1. Westrup et al. (n.d.), 1: Derivation

2. Westrup et al. (n.d.), 2: Seventeenth century vocal music Title page of the Goldberg
3. Anthony (1991), 202–205. Variations (first edition, 1741)
4. Talbot (n.d.); Solie (1977), 54–5
5. Solie (1977), 31. See also e.g. Rosen (1988)
6. Lewis (1959), 97.
7. Lewis (1959), 96
8. Anthony (1991) 213–5.
9. Merriam-Webster dictionary online (http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/aria%20parlante) accessed 21 March
2013.
10. Moore, John Weeks (1880) [1854]. "Aria di bravura".
Complete Encyclopaedia of Music. New York: C. H. Ditson &
Company.
11. "Aria buffa" (http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition
/Aria%20buffa) in Webster's 1913 Dictionary
12. Robinson (1962) 34–5.
13. Cited in Robinson (1962) 33. (Translation slightly adapted).
14. Platoff (1990) 99–100.
15. Wagner (1995) 26–7.
16. Westrup (n.d), §5.1.
17. Westrup (n.d), §5.2.
18. The Oxford Companion to Music, "Concert aria"
19. Westrup et al. (n.d.), Introduction
20. Boosey and Hawkes (http://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Robin-
Holloway-Aria/3924) website, accessed 21 March 2013

Sources

Anthony, James R. (1991), "Air and Aria added to French Opera from the Death of Lully to
1720", in Révue de Musicologie, vol.77/2, pp. 201–219.

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Lewis, Anthony (1959), "Handel and the Aria", in Proceedings of the Royal Musical
Association, vol. 85, pp. 95–107.
Platoff, John (1990), "The Buffa Aria in Mozart's Vienna", in Cambridge Opera Journal,
vol.2 no.2, pp. 99–120
Robinson, M. F. (1962), "The Aria in Opera Seria, 1725–1780", in Proceedings of the Royal
Musical Association, vol. 88, pp. 31–43.
Rosen, Charles (1988), Sonata Forms, New York: Norton ISBN 9780393302196
Solie, John F. (1977), "Aria Structure and Ritornello Form in the Music of Albinoni", in The
Musical Quarterly, vol.63 no. 1, pp. 31–47
Talbot, Michael (n.d.), "Ritornello", in Grove Music Online (subscription only), accessed 22
March 2013.
Wagner, Richard (1995), tr. W. Ashton Ellis, Opera and Drama, Lincoln and London:
University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803297654.
Westrup, Jack, et al. (n.d.), "Aria", in Grove Music Online (subscription only), accessed 20
March 2013.

External links
Dictionary definition of aria and arietta at Wiktionary Wikisource has the text
The Aria Database (http://www.aria-database.com/) of the 1911
Encyclopædia
Britannica article Aria.
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