Clori nel ciel d'amor

This cantata, from an important manuscript in Berlin containing 18 Albinoni cantatas for soprano and continuo, takes the form of a lover's plea to Clori, who is proving 'hard to get'. He begs her finally to yield to his love. Even if she does not reciprocate it, she should at least soothe his pain temporarily by glancing in his direction. As so often in Baroque cantatas, the exaggerated emotion seems to be ironised to some extent: Albinoni and his poet simultaneously express and critically observe the lover's feelings. The two arias are nicely contrasted, the first containing a large amount of written-in vocal ornamentation and the second, in contrast, conveying a bluff breeziness.