A serenade, as its name implies (‘la sera’ is Italian for the evening), was originally a song in praise of a loved one sung in the evening. It gradually morphed into orchestral versions still retaining a hint to the original praise and its object as well as a vocal piece. Below are 10 plus 1 examples of the serenade. I use a very loose definition of serenade. My choices are based on nothing more than personal preference.
I’ll start with Ave Maria. They are all in praise of the Virgin Mary and can be thought of as a serenade to Mary. The last of the three below is also a plea for help and mercy. Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ was composed in 1825. It was originally a setting of an excerpt from Walter Scott’s narrative poem The Lady of the Lake, in a German translation by Adam Storck. The opening words of the original text were ‘Ave Maria’. This led to setting Schubert’s melody to the Latin text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer ‘Ave Maria’. It is this version that is almost universally performed. The tenor on this recording is Richard Crooks.
Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria’ a melody that he superimposed over a very slightly changed version of Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C major from Book I of his The Well-Tempered Clavier. The 1853 publication has French text, but it is the 1859 version with the Latin ‘Ave Maria’ which became popular. It was originally meant for violin or cello and piano. The Latin version quickly became as popular as Schubert’s setting. It’s been performed and recorded by battalions of singers. It’s presented here in its original form with Yo-Yo Ma playing the cello.
Verdi’s ‘Ave Maria’ occurs in Act IV of Otello. Desdemona knows she’s about to be murdered by her husband, though she has no idea what she has done to evoke such a monstrous fate. She’s praying for the salvation of her soul. The soprano is Zinka Milanov.
Manrico in Act 1 of Verdi’s Il Trovatore (The Troubadour) sings a true serenade to Leonora. While he’s singing the baritone who also covets Leonora observes his performance with jealousy. Leonora gets a bit confused and rushes to the baritone before realizing her error. This opera is about confusion to the max set to the greatest profusion of melodies in the entire operatic repertory. ‘Deserto sulla terra’ is the title of the brief serenade. Jussi Björling is Manrico. Leonard Warren is the jealous baritone who briefly comments.
In the first scene of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville Lindoro, the Count Almaviva disguised as a poor student, serenades Rosina to no effect. ‘Ecco ridente’ is sung by Feruccio Tagliavini.
Next two serenades by Pietro Mascagni. In the middle of the prelude to Cavalleria Rusticana Turiddu a young Sicilian just returned from military service sings an off-stage serenade to his former fiancée Lola who has married the teamster Alfio during his absence. He resumes his affair with Lola which leads to a fatal duel with Alfio. Giuseppe Di Stefano is the tenor.
Cavalleria Rusticana was a tremendous success from its first performance and still is. Mascagni was never able to compose another opera that came close to the popularity of Cav. In 1896 he premiered his opera Iris. It features opera’s most repellent tenor Osaka who tries to seduce the innocent Japanese maiden Iris. He ends up having her thrown into a sewer. The opera’s best known number is ‘Apri la tua finestra!’ (Open your window). Osaka serenades Iris in Act 1. Tenors frequently include the aria on recordings or in recital. The opera is almost never performed outside of Italy and rarely inside the country. Placido Domingo is the singer.
Two by Tchaikovsky. The first is a song appropriately called Serenade. Anna Netrebko sing the song.
Tchaikovsky Sérénade mélancolique is for violin and orchestra. It was written in 1875 for the violinist Leopold Auer who did not give its first performance. Adolph Brodsky was the soloist at the work’s premiere. Pinchas Zukerman is the violinist. Zubin Mehta conducts the Israel Philharmonic.
Mario Lanza withdrew from the film version of Romberg’s The Student Prince. But he did record the music for the film. The ‘Serenade’ from the score is below.
Berlioz’s Harold in Italy was described by its composer as a symphony with viola obbligato. It’s third movement is titled Serenade of an Abruzzo mountaineer‘. Charles Munch conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
