Bellini, Vincenzo, (1801-1835)

SIGNED, INSCRIBED AND DATED BY BELLINI, presenting the Duchessa with the arietta that she had asked him to set to music  ("Parigi 30: Aprile 34, Mia cara Duchessa--Ecco l’arietta che avete voluto che io metta in musica....Bellini compose espressamente e dedicò alla Sig^ra Duchessa di Cannizzaro, Parigi 30: Aprile 1834"), notated in black ink on hand-drawn staves, three systems per page, each of three staves, sixty-six bars music in all

4 pages, 8vo (18.2 x 11.3cm), pink writing-paper, Paris, 30 April 1834, some wear at folds affecting the text on the last page

Vincenzo Bellini, Musica vocale da camera, ed. C. Steffan (2012), no.X, pp.XXVII and 50-52; see also: G. Seminara, Vincenzo Bellini, Carteggi (2017), no.279, p.343; C. Neri, Nuovo epistolario (2005) no, 251, p.286 (correctly identifying the addressee);  L. Cambi, Bellini, Epistolario, pp.397-398; The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, (2001), 'Bellini', iii, 209 ("Cavatina, Milan, for the album of Duchess Litta"), under "lost" works; H. Weinstock, Bellini (1972), p.143 & p.379 ("Cavatina, unspecified, for the album of a duchessa Litta")

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A BELLINI DISCOVERY: this manuscript is unknown to scholars and was not used directly for the publication of the arietta in the Complete Edition (2012), which was prepared originally from a defective transcription of the manuscript and lacks some passages and many of Bellini’s performance markings.

From a letter dated merely "30 April", Bellini was long supposed to have written an arietta for an unidentified duchess (presumed to be Duchessa Litta, but in fact Duchessa Cannizzaro); neither the title nor the music were known and the song was presumed lost (see TNG, Weinstock et al below). The present manuscript was evidently enclosed with that letter, where Bellini tells her that the arietta was composed for her alone, asking her to keep it within her "Album particolare". The song was published in a defective edition by Carl Fischer of New York in 1946, evidently from the present manuscript, and this was the source for the critical edition of Bellini's vocal works by Carlida Steffan in 2012. Although Steffan quietly corrected some of the more egregious errors, both publications lack eight bars of piano interludes and many of the composer's markings.

The poem is by Pietro Metastasio, a quatrain from his libretto Issipile, Act 3 scene 6, in which the heroine’s confidante sings "The shepherdess detests the rose, as much as once she desired it, since, on drawing closer, she found therein a snake".  

Odia la pastorella
quanto bramò la rosa
Poiché vicina a quella
La serpe ritrovò

The arietta is in F minor, with a striking use of the low soprano notes D flat and C for the words "la serpe ritrovò", accompanied by tremolos in the piano accompaniment. The last two lines are used for a codetta in F major marked "a mezza voce", where the voice fades away on a monotone (marked “morendo”). 'Odia la pastorella' stands out among Bellini’s ariette for its dramatic, almost operatic setting of the text.  The dedicatee, Sophia, Duchessa di Cannizzaro, was one of the many aristocrats who patronized Italian musicians both in Paris and in London: Donizetti’s Nuits d’été à Pausilippe (1836) was also dedicated to her.