Sei cantate a voce sola con violini

Besetzung: Voice (soprano), Vl. I, Vl. II, Basso continuo

With the exception of Ecco, Dorinda, il giorno these beautiful pastoral soprano-cantatas are unique copies and are previously unpublished. They seem to have been composed in Rome around 1715 and follow the conventional form of the “cantata da camera”, which by the end of the 17th century had been established as a succession of recitative sections alternating with arias.

While the last cantata in the series, Vago augelletto, begins exceptionally with an aria followed by a recitative and a concluding aria, the remaining five cantatas all begin with an instrumental introduction followed either by two recitatives (including some remarkable “accompagnati”), alternating with two arias, or, in the case of Ecco Dorinda il giorno and Pastor come diverso, a succession of three recitatives and arias.