Nel cor più non mi sento

"Nel cor più non mi sento" is a duet from Giovanni Paisiello's 1788 opera L'amor contrastato, ossia La molinara, usually known as La molinara (The Miller-Woman).^[1] The duet is sung twice in the opera's second act, first by the miller-woman Rachelina (soprano) and Calloandro (tenor) and then by Rachelina and the notary Pistofolo (baritone).^[2] The duet is notable as its theme has been used many times as a basis for other musical works, and due to its inclusion in Alessandro Parisotti's 1885 collection Arie Antiche, the song has secured a place in classical vocal pedagogy.

Music

The duet is written in the key of G major with a 6
8 time signature. The voices are accompanied by violins, viola and continuo. There is an 8 measure instrumental introduction followed by 20 measures of Rachelina singing the theme. Callorando repeats these 20 measures with new text before Rachelina joins him for 12 more that repeat half of the theme. The orchestra then concludes the piece with 4 measures. After some recitative, Callorando leaves the stage and Pistofolo appears. The duet is repeated entirely as before, but this time with Pistofolo (who sings an entirely new set of words) rather than Collandro. Without ornamentation, the range for each singer covers the interval of a minor seventh (from F#₄ to E₅ for Rachelina and F#₃ to E₄ for Callorandro and Pistofolo). The duet would have been ornamented by singers according to the custom of the day.^[2]

Influence

Beethoven composed six variations in G major for piano, WoO 70, in 1795. Other composers that have used the theme include Paganini ("Introduction and variations in G major" for violin, Op. 38, MS 44, 1827), Fernando Sor (Fantasie, Op. 16 for guitar 1823), Friedrich Silcher (flute and piano), Mauro Giuliani (guitar and keyboard), Giovanni Bottesini (for double bass), Nicola Antonio Manfroce, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and Johann Baptist Wanhal.

Lyrics

Rachelina: Nel cor più non mi sento Brillar la gioventù. Cagion del mio tormento, Amor, ci hai colpa tu. Mi stuzzichi, mi mastichi, mi pungichi, mi pizzichi; Che cosa è questo ahimè? Pietà, pietà, pietà! Amore è un certo che, Che delrar mi fa! Collandro: Ti sento, si ti sento, bel fior di gioventù. Cagion del mio tormento, Anima mia sei tu. Mi stuzzichi, mi mastichi, mi pungichi, mi pizzichi; Che cosa è questo ahimè? Pietà, pietà, pietà! Quel viso è un certo che, che delirar mi fa. Il Notaro (Pistofolo): Bandiera d'ogni vento, Conosco che sei tu Da uno sino a cento Burli la gioventù. Tu stuzzichi, tu pizzichi, Tu pungichi, tu mastichi ; Che ognuno strilla : oime! pieta pieta pieta la donna e un certo che, che abbrustolir mi fa.

In my heart I no more feel The sparkle of youth. The cause of my torment Love is the guilty one. You tease me, you bite me. You prick me, you pinch me. What is this thing, alas! Pity! Love is a certain something Which makes me delirious. I hear you, yes I hear you, beautiful flower of youth. The cause of my torment My soul, it is you. You tease me, you bite me. You prick me, you pinch me. What is this thing, alas! Pity! That face is one which makes me delirious. Flag of every wind I know it's you: The one in a hundred sparkle of youth. You tease me, you pinch me, you prick me, you bite me. That everyone cries: alas! Pity! That woman is the one That burns us.

Arie Antiche

When Alessandro Parisotti included this work in his collection of Arie Antiche (1885), he created a solo version by including only the first 28 measures of the duet. He also changed the key to F major and added ornaments without preserving the original melody.^[3] The song was later included in G. Schirmer's Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias. It is in this form that the duet has become familiar to modern audiences. In concert, it is typically repeated with the repeat being more heavily ornamented.

References

Notes

1. "Molinara, La (L'amor contrastato, ossia La molinara) (Doubtful Love, or The Maid of the Mill)" by Gordana Lazarevich, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Grove Music Online. (subscription required)
2. Glenn Paton, John. "26 Italian Songs and Arias: An Authoritative Edition Based on Authentic Sources". Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing, 1991.
3. Parisotti, Alessandro. Arie Antiche, Vol. 1. Milan: Ricordi, 1885.

Sources

• Paisiello, Giovanni. L'amor contrastato, oissia La molinara. Manuscript, n.d. (ca. 1813). Ricasoli Collection at the University of Louisville Music Library, Louisville. International Music Score Library Project.
• Paisiello, Giovanni. Giuseppe Palomba (libretto), Antonio Landini (Jolanda, ballet). "La molinara; ossia, L'amor contrastato; dramma giocoso per musica, in due atti, da rappresentarsi nel R.o Teatro alla Scala, la primavera dell'anno 1810". Book, 1810[?]. Milano, Dalla Società Tipografica de' Classici Italiani. Thomas Fischer Rare Book Library, University of Toronto.
• Paisiello, Giovanni. Giuseppe Palomba (libretto). "La Molinara: a comic opera in two acts as represented at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket for the first time, on Saturday, March 8, 1817". Book, 1817[?]. London: W. Winchester and Son.

External links

• Arie Antiche: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Six variations on "Nel cor più non mi sento" by Beethoven: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Seven variations on "Nel cor più non mi sento" by Paganini: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

Interpretations

• "Nel cor più non mi sento" on YouTube sung by Renata Tebaldi, with orchestra, 1973
• "Nel cor più non mi sento" on YouTube sung by Eglise Gutiérrez, with piano accompaniment
• Six variations by Beethoven on YouTube played by Wilhelm Kempff in 1962
• Seven variations by Paganini on YouTube played by Julio Zoppi