In this work, Tosi includes an entire chapter "On
Recitative," which is often noted for its identification of three main musical styles: church, theater, and chamber.
He said, 'Studying the opera is a challenge because I did some parts of it before, but now we will add
recitatives. Mozart's work sounds easy, but if you work and perform it, it has big, big obstacles for a singer when it comes to technique and endurance.'
A tenor
recitative accompanied by strings is followed by a da capo duet for soprano and bass, and two arias, the first for bass, the second for alto.
The tenor was Stuart Jackson, intensely rhetorical in his opening "Comfort ye"
recitative and capable throughout of unleashing monuments of drama, such as his aggressive enunciation of key words such as "break" and "dash" in his final air, "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron".
'The Flash Girl'--sung verses framed by
recitative passages - is particularly worthwhile.
Recitative, 2009-10, hung at the Pace Gallery, offers a strangely to-the-point yet endlessly expansive exercise in mark-making and peripatetic viewing.
Following a short
recitative, the entire chorus is repeated!
But can O'Reilly be expected to tell a
recitative from a motet when he doesn't know his loofah from his falafel?
Part I of Messiah foretells the coming of the Lord; from the opening
recitative "Comfort ye my people...Every valley shall be exalted", to the promise of the opening chorus: "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed," a picture is given of a world in darkness waiting for the coming of a light.
The monotone liturgical
recitative is a release from normal social relations; there is no need to think of one's next remark, no need to conceal one's true nature, no need to smile.
In November 1999, she gave the world premiere of a newly-discovered Mozart
recitative, televised by Channel 4.
The long
recitative passages, although beautifully sung by golden-throated City Opera principals, slow the pace.
And even in this setting of 1787 the alterations are slight, and occur only in the second part of the oratorio, where one aria has been cut (Pietro's `Se a librarsi'), another has been recast to include chorus with the soloist (Giovanni's `Dovunque il guardo giro'), and two lines of new
recitative have been inserted into a third aria by way of a dramatic contrast before the final reprise of the first stanza of text (Maddalena's `Ai passi eranti').(26)
And in contrast to Krieger's soaring tunes (beautifully orchestrated by veteran Harold Wheeler), Russell's predictable rhymes and earthbound
recitative have a blandly sincere, Up With People quality to them.
Many of them deal with the context, style, and theories of early opera, monody, and
recitative; others consider issues such as musica reservata and mannerism.
