In questa tomba oscura
In questa tomba oscura

Summary/Abstract: In 1807 Beethoven composed an arietta to the Italian poet, Giuseppe Carpani’s, poem In questa tomba oscura. It was done at the request of the Polish aristocrat, countess Aleksandra Franciszka Rzewuska née Lubomirska, who also commissioned sixty other composers to write similar ariettas based on the same poem. It is probable that Carpani’s poem reminded her of her childhood trauma (her mother died on the guillotine during the French Revolution). Carpani’s poem belongs to the group of literary works that expand on the motif of Lenore (T 365 in Stith Thompson’s index of folk literature motifs). A version of this motif can be found in the decisive for Polish romanticism ballad Romantism by Adam Mickiewicz. The author of this article claims that Beethoven’s arietta is one of the first songs of the romantism movement – both in its literary and musical layer – which is proven by an analysis of the poem and music. Due to the qualities of the piece, the arietta is still readily performed by the most distinguished singers.

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