47 ([return])
[ Meyer II. Schroder. I., p. 368 speaks of his nasal tones in the high notes.]
48 ([return])
[ These are the beautiful air, "Per pietä non ricercate" 420 K.. part Si; the air written in 1785 for the oratorio "Davide Penitente " (469 K.. 61. "A te fra tanti attanni" and a grand air belonging to 1783 (431 K. part 3.) which is one of the most beautiful. It supposes a faithful lover awaking to find himself in prison, and expressing his surprise and anger in an agitated recitative, "Misero! O sogno!" In the andante, "Aura che intomo spin," his thoughts turn to his beloved one, for whom he is suffering; a simple and dignified cantilene, full of warm, deep feeling. The allegro, expressive of his horror at his position, is full of wild excitement and anguish. The whole song is simple and full of manly dignity without bravura, which seems to have been Adam-berger's peculiar style. The musical treatment is rich in interesting detail; the wind instruments—flutes, bassoons, and horns—are employed to give individual colouring.]
49 ([return])
[ This air was considerably abbreviated by Mozart. In the adagio there was originally a distinct middle movement following the second occurrence of the subject; it passed into the key of E flat major, and at the seventeenth bar closed in D minor, whereupon the first subject recurred. The allegro was also shortened.]
50 ([return])
[ This air also was considerably altered by Mozart.]
51 ([return])
[ The same may almost be said of the air "Tra le oscure ombre funeste," which Mozart composed in 1785 for Mdlle. Cavalieri in the oratorio, "Davide Penitente" (469 K., 8). The first movement is expressive of earnest feeling; the second has more of bravura.]