Duration: 3 minutes

Description: Naples dominated Italian music in the eighteenth century, so it is not surprising that Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) composed this “Little Spanish Song” (“Canzonetta Spagnuola”) in that city, which once belonged to Spain. The text depicts a painter, filled with thoughts of his beloved and distracted from his work, tormented by his Muse, who exhorts him to paint a more spiritual subject. This edition by Michael Kaye includes two version of song. The first version, which is an exact transcription of an early edition published in Italy in 1921, clearly indicates that the Maggiore section is only to be sung a the third strophe of the song. It also confirms that the first line of the song is “En medio a mis colores,” as opposed to some variant lines in other sources. The second version follows the more usual practice of performing the refrain (Maggiore) after each verse.

• M389691 / 36-M389691 CANZONETTA SPAGNUOLA VS $4.95Buy Now