Mini Analysis: Handel (Phrasing)
Work: ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’ (from the opera Rinaldo)
Composers/Creators: George Frederic Handel
Performers: Voices of Music with Kirsten Blaise (soprano)
Live Performance: 2014
Listen to this excerpt and describe the character or mood of this performance.
As you listen, also consider the phrasing choices made by the performers.
In what way does the performers’ choice of phrasing impact the overall character or mood of each section of this excerpt?
Replay the video from the beginning a few times to listen again for the character of this excerpt and the phrasing chosen by the performers.
Continue watching as we unpack the character and phrasing of the excerpt and offer some possible answers.
| CHARACTER | MELODY | ACCOMPANIMENT |
| – peaceful – serene – calm | – phrases = two bars long to begin then often with a rest on beat 3, so distinct | – phrases = matches voice, sometimes plays a quaver on beat 3 to connect the phrases |
The measured, regular phrase lengths of two bars, which often rise and fall, give the excerpt a calm and serene feeling.
The occasional connection of the phrases by scalic quavers in the continuo accompaniment helps add to the peaceful feeling.