Sister Mathilde DeLucy
Doctor Gloria Thurmond
MUAP 2233-BB
October 10, 2014
“An Emotion of Joy”

Mozart’s “Un Moto di Gioja,” taken from his great work The Marriage of Figaro, is a classical piece relatable to anyone who has felt simultaneously the feelings of nervousness, happiness, and expectation in one fell swoop. The composer, who was born on January 27th 1756, was prompted by his father to become someone great. Mozart is famously known for his genius beginnings at the early age of five. A child prodigy, Mozart, was already performing before the royals of Europe by six years of age. As he was just barely reaching the cusp of adulthood, at the age of seventeen, he was employed in Salzburg. In only a few years, the restless heart of …show more content…
Through the dynamic markings, which were not included within the piece during the classical period, the modern day performer is able to see with ease the tone with which the music calls to be expressed. The allegretto moderato promptings at the very beginning of the piece seems to echo the fluttering heart of the character or in this case the singer identifying with the character, as she prepares to enter into marriage. As the piece gradually develops it continues to show the attempted containment Suzanna is striving for. At the same time the music reveals the slips of uncontrolled nervousness the singer relates to. This is evidenced in the vocal dynamic of the words “Speriam che in contento Finisca l'affanno,” or “let us hope that the worry will end in contentment” which is sung in a mezzo piano, which is rapidly interrupted by sforzando piano on the words, “Non sempre è tiranno, il fato ed amor” or “it is not always a tyrant, the fate of love.” Interestingly, looking at the lyrics in line with the musical composition from a psychological standpoint, there is a definite subconscious cycle that the music in line with the lyrics portrays. When the mind faces feelings of uncertainty that it wishes to ignore in the face of what is generally acknowledged as a happy time, it continues to pop up, in bursts stronger than our conscious would …show more content…
Syncopation throughout the work adds flair to the quirky girlishness and excitement of Suzanna in the lyrical expression. The fermata and mezza di voce indicated in the later dynamic denotations of the piece also add to the dramatics of the worry clearly highlighted in the text. They lend themselves in effect by slowing down the nervous rhythmic pattern that the eighth and sixteenth notes lend themselves to. By again repeating similar rhythmic patterns after these faint moments of ritardando, the musical editing is clearly helping to elaborate the excessive flightiness going on inside of