Già Il Sole Dal Gange

Già il sole dal Gange

Music: Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Words: Felice Parnasso

The words to this canzonetta celebrate the dethroning of the night by the glory of the sun, sparkling on the river Ganges. The opera from which this piece is derived is set in Algeria, in North Africa. John Glenn Paton observes that “dal Gange” is merely a figure of speech meaning the east. Scarlatti composed this opera (his second) at age nineteen. This is one of Scarlatti’s best known and most performed arias. Its strongly rhythmic, spirited melody is set in two strophes, which are tiny ABA forms.
**excerpt from Song, a guide to Art Song and Literature by Carol Kimball**

The opera this aria is from is entitled L’Honestà negli amori (Honesty in Love Affairs)(1680). The aria is sung by Saldino, a pageboy, standing alone on stage admiring the sunrise.

Alessandro Scarlatti is often credited as being the progenitor of Neapolitan Opera, however, research has shown that in reality he was a great synthesist of styles that had preceded him. He wrote around 85 operas! In his writing, the lyric beauty of the voice is paramount. Scarlatti had two sons that were also composers, Domenico and Pietro Filippo. Domenico composed over 600 harpsichord sonatas!

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Key of E Flat Major

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