Adam Lehman

Music Theory III

John McGinn

3 May 2017

Fiore Ingrato

Emanuele dAstorga was born on March 20th, 1680, and there is little surviving

information about his life thats available. While he is primarily known for his Stabat

Mater, his other music is very notable, as well. In his de capo aria Fiore Ingrato, the

music seeks to illustrate the frustration and pain experienced by the character, using a

myriad of tools such as motivic development, harmony, and phrasing to do so.

In the beginning of the music, Astorga immediately begins to establish the

melancholic characteristics of the piece. It begins with a V-i cadence into its first motif,

which consists triplets moving contrary to each other, the right hand moving up and left

hand down in an iv-i-iv chord progression. The right hand then jumps down from a Bb

down an octave, adding a c#4 to create dissonance. This establishes within the ear several

different aspects of the music. First, it gives us the musical key of d minor, and it also

begins to lay down a motif that Astorga will return to. We see in the next three measures,

that Astorga repeats this motif before moving into A major, and then using a ii, i64, V

cadence to i in d minor.

In measure eight, we have the beginning of the vocal line. This is an elided

phrase, common in the Baroque style of music, where phrases tend to overlap and push

onto each other. This is particularly successful here, as Astorgas use of an irregular

seven bar phrase that elides into the next helps push the piece forward, characterizing the
emotional state and thought process of the character. In the vocal line, we learn that the

character is singing about an ungrateful flower, and then in measure twelve, begins to

ask why does this flower arm itself with severity and revenge on me?. As he sings

about the flower being armed with revenge in the elided phrase between fifteen and

nineteen, Astorga uses a sixteenth note runs that place the text on the fourth sixteenth

note of measure sixteen, and then the first and fourth notes of seventeen. This subtle

placement also frustrates the expectation of the listener, putting the stress of the text into

an unusual place on the run, illustrating more frustration thats apparent in the character.

Its very important to note that Astorga has built a vast majority of this aria by

creating motives and then developing them in different ways. He does this to help

emulate the mindset that many fall into while experiencing frustration where one fixates

on a specific idea (the motif), and then repeats it within their mind in different variations.

For example, the above motif of measure eight can be found again at measure thirty-

three, where it begins on a Bb eighth note, goes to a eighth note G, and then has a

sixteenth note fall from E to C. This isnt the only motif that Astorga places variations on.

In measure twelve, we also get another major motif, with the eighth note followed by a

dotted eighth not and sixteenth rhythm, which Astorga uses for three measures, filling out

a triad. He uses syncopation in this particular area to further frustrate the music, and

illustrate even more of the tension and uneven thought process that the character is

feeling. In measure twenty-two, we see Astorga use this motif again. He took the same

rhythm and text as before, but put it over an iii M7 chord. With the repetition of the same

text in a minor setting, it furthers the tension and strife thats felt, as the character is in

pain, asking why the flower arms itself with revenge. This same motif is again used in
measure thirty-seven. Astorga uses the same text and rhythm, but this time the line

descends. It begins on an A, moving down to a syncopated F and E, jumps from a D to a

Bb that moves down to a G stepwise. Finally, from that G, it moves down to an A major

chord. In measure twenty-five through twenty-nine, we see variations on measures fifteen

through nineteen, as Astorga places in an octave jump, and then a leading tone to g minor

while using the same text again. This leads into a variation on the opening melody line

from twenty-nine to measure thirty-three. Astorga is continually using the musical ideas

he has previously established, and putting variants on them to show the strife caused

between the flower and the singer.

In the legato section, we see that Astorga moves to a more legato and connected

kind of texture, with fewer jumps in the vocal line. Astorga will even use one of the

previous motifs from the A section (the syncopated rhythm from measure twelve). In this

section, Astorga speaks about the flower and how it was supposed to adorn his breast,

instead of giving him pain. Astorga takes great advantage of the Baroque traditions of

taking a single idea, and placing variations on it (be it a text, motif, melody, etc) and

then using that to articulate the immense frustration and pain that the character is feeling.

These repetitions and variants help to emote the idea that the character is fixated on how

theyve been hurt. This creates a sort of loop in their thinking process, which is what

Astorga intends to capture within the music. Finally, when returning to the previous A

section, it is performance practice to ornament or embellish the vocal line. This too

helps to serve Astorgas emotive purpose, as captures the original fixation on being in

pain, the thought process of the character, and the ornamentation helps show even greater

variations on their thoughts.

 Ultimately, this is a dynamic, and emotive piece that uses subtle shifts in motif

and melodic development, in addition to the customs of the Baroque period to capture the

thoughts of its character. This incredibly effective piece of music yields ample

opportunities for the performer to give an honest performance that highlights the

characters feelings.