Herz's ‘Non piu mesta’ from Rossini’s La Cenerentola

Henri Herz (1803-1888) was born in Vienna, Austria, but stayed in France for most of his life. He was one of the most celebrated pianists of the 1830s and 1840s. He toured in many European countries as well as in the United States during the 1840s, where he gave a concert in San Francisco, and he wrote about his experiences in a book called Mes Voyages en Amerique.

While searching for information on this piece, I was surprised to learn that Chopin also wrote variations on ‘Non piu mesta’ from Rossini’s La Cenerentola but for the flute and the piano. This demonstrates that Rossini’s aria was not only popular but also charming. This set of variations by Herz includes a total of six variations as well as an introduction and a finale. The first includes triplet figurations, which make the aria more florid The second is marked by its galloping force with the use of one eighth note and two sixteenth notes. In the third, the left hand uses a perpetual scale motion while the right hand plays the main melody. The fourth consists mainly of chords and octaves. The fifth has rapid notes with several embellishments to the theme. The sixth is striking because of its lyrical sound and relative A minor key. The finale, similar to those of Alkan and Schumann, not only sounds triumphant but also includes a dotted rhythm.

Compared to those of Liszt and Alkan, these pieces are not as virtuosic, although they demand brilliant displays of finger dexterity from the pianist. As I listened to these variations, I could sense three different emotions being expressed throughout the works: 1. Light-hearted (e.g., variation 1); 2. Sarcastic (silly) (e.g., variation 5); and 3. Sad (e.g., variation 6).
These pieces are very easy to listen to.This is a popular music genre of salon music during the nineteenth century that paraphrases operatic ideas. Herz tried to express the emotions displayed by the heroine Cenerentola.

Two techniques that struck me most while listening:

• Persistent use of repeated notes (possibly due to the ‘double escapement’ mechanism from the Edrard piano since Herz was the one who had incorporated the rapid playing of repeated notes into grand pianos).

• Double-third passages alternate between both hands