Musical Analysis:
From: Il Primo libro delle Musche a una due
voci
Aria: La pastorella mia
Aria: La pastorella mia is set for the harpsichord or theorbo continuo, solo soprano voice, and the violin or cornetto. This piece calls for other instruments besides the voice and continuo because of its instrumental ritornello in between the verses. Each of the four verses has a different melodic line, where as all the instrumental ritornellos have the same line. Having an instrumental ritornello between vocal lines was an innovative compositional technique for the time. There is no set key signature, but throughout the piece a few C#, F# and Bb's were added. One may assume that the 'tonic' is 'G' because both the piece begins and ends on a 'G'; each verse also ends on a 'G'. It is a strophic song with variations in a duple meter. Aria: La pastorella mia has a strophic form with variations and is in a duple meter.
Pictures of what Francesca Caccini's Original Scores looked like:
Aria: La pastorella mia
