Per Abbattere il Mio Core From the Opera Partenope by Neapolitan Composer Domenico Sarro (1679-1744): A Critical Edition

Authors

Keywords:

trumpet, aria da capo, obbligato, Faustina Bordoni

Abstract

This study examines the trumpet's evolving role as a solo and obbligato instrument in 18th-century vocal music, focusing on Domenico Sarro's aria Per abbattere il mio core from the opera Partenope (1722). Through historical and musicological analysis, the research corrects the work's prior misattribution to Alessandro Scarlatti while situating Sarro as a crucial transitional figure between late Baroque and early Classical styles. The paper provides: (1) a biographical sketch of Sarro's career in Naples, highlighting his institutional roles and compositional output; (2) a reception history of Partenope, tracing performances and textual variants across 1722–1739; and (3) a critical edition of the aria based on manuscript analysis, with editorial solutions for modern performance. Performance practice recommendations address ornamentation in the da capo section, reflecting the virtuosic traditions of soprano Faustina Bordoni, the aria's original interpreter.

Author Biography

  • Luis Miguel Araya, Universidad de Costa Rica and Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica

    Luis Miguel Araya, winner of the Ellsworth Smith International Solo Competition 2004, has been a member of the Costa Rica National Symphony Orchestra since 1997, participating in its tours to Germany, Spain, and Japan. He is also on the Universidad Nacional and the Universidad de Costa Rica faculties.

    Born in Alajuela, Costa Rica, in May 1974, Araya started his musical training at the “Conservatorio Castella” Arts High School with professors Edwin Amador and Jorge Duarte. After graduation, he entered the University of Costa Rica’s School of Music, studying with Professor Ricardo Vargas. Additional study was with Gilbert Johnson (former principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra), Josef Pomberger of the Vienna Philharmonic, Rod Franks of the London Symphony Orchestra, the Empire Brass, and Ronald Romm long-time member of the renowned Canadian Brass.

    Known as a very versatile player, Araya has played a wide range of musical styles, from Classical music to popular and Latin music, including collaborations with Rubén Blades, Armando Manzanero, Gilberto Santarosa, Juan Gabriel, Tito Rojas, Mercedes Sosa, and numerous Costa Rican Salsa bands. As a soloist, Araya has played three times with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, two with the renowned conductor Irwin Hoffman (concertos of Haydn and Hummel), and the third on a season concert at the National Theater under the baton of Ferenc Gabor (2006), playing Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat. Other solo performances include appearances with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Uppsala Chamber Orchestra (Sweden) as part of the Credomatic Music Festival, Loyola University Chamber Orchestra (New Orleans, USA, after winning the Concerto/Aria Competition), Heredia Municipal Symphony Orchestra (Costa Rica), National Institute of Music’s Chamber Orchestra and Wind Ensemble (Costa Rica), and the National Wind Symphony of Costa Rica, among others.

    In 1999, Araya spent a season as guest principal trumpet of the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra. Other orchestral experiences have been with the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (while finishing his Master’s degree at Loyola University), Youth Orchestra of the Americas (Pablo Casals Festival’s educational program), and the Pacific Music Festival orchestra in Japan under the batons of Christof Eschenbach and Myung Gung Chung. Other festivals attended by Araya include the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute (Denver, Colorado), the First Chamber Music Festival of Central America (Nicaragua), the Brass Festival of the Costa Rican Trombone Quartet, and a solo recital at the International Trumpet Guild Conference 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand.

    In 2006, Araya collaborated with Russian organist and musicologist Elena Keylina in a series of concerts at the “Las Mercedes” Church in the town of Grecia (Costa Rica). He also presented a master class at Ithaca College (USA) in February 2006, and in April 2007 returned to his alma mater, Loyola University, to play as a soloist with the Wind Ensemble and present master classes. In March 2009, he

    performed Giuseppe Tartini’s Trumpet Concerto with the Arizona State University Chamber Orchestra after winning the Concert of Soloists competition. Other recent activities include a master class and concert with the Washburn University Wind Ensemble (May 2009). Araya has enjoyed a very active chamber music career as a member of many ensembles, including The Dallas Brass, Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, Brass Band of Central Florida, the Sonoran Brass Quintet, and solo cornet with the Salt River Brass conducted by Patrick Sheridan and Samuel Pilafian.

    Araya holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the National Institute of Music (Costa Rica) and a Master of Music degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. During his DMA degree at Arizona State University, Dr. Araya studied with Regents’ Professor of Trumpet, David R. Hickman (2008-2011). Araya plays instruments fabricated by the renowned maker B&S of the Buffet Group and plays Warburton mouthpieces and mutes.

     

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Published

2026/01/11

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2025): Embodied Practice and Digital Futures: Contemporary Trumpet Research Perspectives

Section

Papers