L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato , HWV 55, is a pastoral ode by George Frideric Handel based on the poetry of John Milton.
History
Handel composed the work over the period of 19 January to 4 February 1740, and it was premiered on 27 February 1740 at the Royal Theatre of Lincoln's Inn Fields. At the urging of one of Handel's librettists, Charles Jennens, Milton's two poems, "L'Allegro" and "il Penseroso", were arranged by James Harris, interleaving them to create dramatic tension between the personified characters of Milton's poems. The first two movements consist of this dramatic dialog between Milton's poems. In an attempt to unite the two poems into a singular "moral design", at Handel's request, Jennens added a new poem, "il Moderato", to create a third movement. The popular concluding aria and chorus, "As Steals the Morn" is adapted from Shakespeare's The Tempest, V.i.65–68.Michael O'Connell and John Powell have published an analysis of Handel's setting of the text in his musical treatment.
Dramatis Personae
- Soprano I
- Soprano II
- Alto
- Tenor
- Bass
- Chorus