We have access to some of the greatest collections of manuscripts in the world, both autograph copies of whole operas and excellent contemporary collections of arias by a vast range of composers. Take advantage of this and the music and articles available.

STOP PRESS!! The edition count has just reached 36 with the addition of James Sanderson's edition of Nicola Antonio Porpora's aria Parto, ti lascio, o cara for soprano, strings & continuo:

Arminio's wonderfully expressive aria from Act II of Germanico in Germania. Lyrical, heart-rending - an absolute showstopper! Witten by Porpora for his pupil Caffarelli - long phrases and extreme leaps in the vocal line, a kind of pain that, in spite of everything, is sweet.
MIDI Preview | Score Preview| Price: £ 3.95
Click here to purchase.

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OPERA
"...a drama set to music and made up of vocal pieces with orchestral accompaniment and with orchestral overtures and interludes..."*

BAROQUE
The term Baroque probably ultimately derived from the Italian word barocco, which was a term used by philosophers during the Middle Ages to describe an obstacle in schematic logic. Subsequently the word came to denote any contorted idea or involuted process of thought. Another possible source is the Portuguese word barroco (Spanish barrueco), used to describe an irregular or imperfectly shaped pearl, and this usage still survives in the jeweller's term baroque pearl. In art criticism the word Baroque came to be used to describe anything irregular, bizarre, or otherwise departing from established rules and proportions.*

ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA