Belve, se mai provaste

Like two other cantatas by Vinaccesi, Belve, se mai provaste contains three arias (rather than the more usual two), each of which is preceded by a recitative. The arias are attractively contrasted. The first, which dispenses with an introductory ritornello, adopts the fluid triple metre so characteristic of Seicento music. The second, the most substantial, employs a powerful ostinato figure in the bass. The third is light and popular in style, as if seeking a calmer mood after the impassioned outburst of the distraught lover.