’Rinaldo’: l’opera di Händel alla scuola primaria

Abstract

The course is addressed to the fourth and fifth grades of elementary school, and introduces pupils to several basic elements of 18th-century music drama. An examination of scenes VI and VII from Act I of Händel’s Rinaldo (1711) allows to address different ways of representing feelings in music, the difference between recitative and aria, the use of descriptive or naturalistic music formulas, and the da capo aria form. The activities offered also include the reading of the opera’s poetic text, which encourages a twofold approach to the language used in the libretto and the rules that govern versification. At the end of the course, testing activities and possible cross-disciplinary developments are suggested.