Many of Kuhlau’s works in the Freedman Collection are rondos for keyboard based on opera themes, such as “Rondo over et Theme af Figaro, Op.56, No.1” (1823). This rondo is based on the aria “Non so più cosa son” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (1786).
In The Marriage of Figaro, the aria “Non so più cosa son” is sung by the character Cherubino (the count, Almaviva’s, young page). In the aria, Cherubino--who is traditionally played by a female singer dressed as a male--confesses his love for his “beautiful godmother”, who is the countess. The text of the aria signifies distress, being sung in short rapid phrases that resemble physical pain, as Cherubino expresses how women make him desire them in ways that cannot be restrained.
Original Text
Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio,
or di foco, ora sono di ghiaccio,
ogni donna cangiar di colore,
ogni donna mi fa palpitar.
Solo ai nomi d'amor, di diletto,
mi si turba, mi s'altera il petto
e a parlare mi sforza d'amore
un desio ch'io non posso spiegar.
Parlo d'amor vegliando,
parlo d'amor sognando,
all'acque, all'ombre, ai monti,
ai fiori, all'erbe, ai fonti,
all'eco, all'aria, ai venti,
che il suon de' vani accenti
portano via con sé.
E se non ho chi mi oda,
parlo d'amor con me.
English Translation
I no longer know what I am or what I'm doing,
Now I'm burning, now I'm made of ice ...
Every woman makes me change colour,
Every woman makes me tremble.
At the very word love or beloved
My heart leaps and pounds,
And to speak of it fills me
With a longing I can't explain!
I speak of love when I'm awake,
I speak ofit in my dreams,
To the stream, the shade, the mountains,
To the flowers, the grass, the fountains,
To the echo, the air, the breezes,
Which carry away with them
The sound of my fond words ...
And if I've none to hear me
I speak of love to myself.
Text and translation from opera-arias.com
At a glance, Mozart’s aria and Kuhlau’s rondo sound similar in the opening theme. Howeverm Kuhlau uses the main theme from “Non so Più cosa son” in a modified way. (A piano reduction of the aria is compared to Kuhlau’s rondo below).
The opening measure of Mozart's aria is characterized by two straight eighth notes followed by a quarter note in a descending pattern. This motif is used until measure 8 when this flow is interrupted by a dotted quarter-note. Kuhlau modifies the eighth notes to make them dotted eighths beamed to a sixteenth note. This creates a pleasant “swung” feel rather than a fast-paced, breathless flow of eighth notes.
The accompaniment in Mozart's aria features eighth notes that begin on the half beat. This is modified in Kuhlau’s rondo to triplets that are repeated throughout the piece. Kuhlau does not take large portions of material from the aria, but rather uses the motives from the first few measures and then appears to “copy and paste” them.
Kuhlau's arrangement is in rondo form (ABA’CA’’DA) and contains frequent modulations from the major to the minor modes. It opens with the theme in the A section presented in F-major and then gradually modulates to F-minor in the B section, which creates a contrasting mood before returning to the tonic key. There are many modulations within the “B” section, with a transition that contains a right-hand modulation (scalar, chromatic movement) to the key of C major for the A’ section. The main theme (dotted eighth and sixteenth figure) is repeated in the new key with tonal instability as the piece moves toward F-minor for the A’’ section. The main theme is fragmented in this section, creating another contrasting D section, where more tonal instability is present. The “D” section concludes with a descending chromatic scale back to F-major. The return of the main theme in the home key is like the original “A” section, but this time more chordal instead of single notes (this section would be A’’’). Kuhlau used a frequent procedure to prepare modulations with the right hand playing separately in a single chromatic line when a new key is to be introduced. The use of chromatic transitions into the new key creates a feeling of tonal instability, and the listener can always be engaged in the music not knowing exactly where it would be going to next. Despite numerous modulations, the piece comes to a close in the tonic key (F-major).
Common Issues: Fingering
The fingering Kuhlau uses in this rondo is different from modern performance practice, as most of the fingering indicated does not use comfortable hand positions that allow the fingers to be spread out. For example, below, in measure 16, the right hand has the thumb crossing under the index finger. This would be uncomfortable and cramped for a modern pianist, but according to scholars, fingering in the time of Mozart suggests that the thumb and the fifth finger were to avoid black keys. Not having the thumb on a black key can create problems when moving from one note to the next. The thumb serves as an anchor in modern practice, and having other fingers cross over the thumb would be easier.
