Ode 4 – Ground Bass and sung by a male counter-tenor.

Listen to  Ode 4:  “Here the Dieties approve”.  This is an example of   basso ostinato or ground bass:

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The lower part  performed by the cello. Note that the cello melody  is being repeated  throughout the entire  selection.  It is six measures long. You can count them. A beautiful expressive melody is  executed  over this repeated melody (ground bass)  by the singer. In addition, note that the phrases the singer is singing do not always conform in length to the six measure ground bass, yet the parts fit together beautifully. The harmony here is provided by the The “metallic”  sounding notes of the harpsichord.
Basso continuo style though it does not have to be  presented as  a  ground bass. . Two opposing characteristics of the baroque (extravagance and discipline) are demonstrated here. The expressive emotional song of the singer  (extravagance)  is structured to the constraints of the repeated  ground bass or basso ostinato (discipline) . The singer in this excerpt  is a male  conter-tenor who has developed his high falsetto vocal quality  extending  his vocal  register into the  female register. It has its own very distinctive quality. The first half of the selection is sung the latter half  is performed by the strings of the orchestra.

Dido  and Aeneas  Recitative and  Aria:  Thy Hand Belinda
In this aria you first hear hear a short introduction. Then  the ground bass which is  five measures long is  repeated 11 times, begins and characterized by a series  descending pitches. This aria is a lament and the ground bass of a lament  has descending notes as exhibited here. IN the opera, Dido and NAbneas,   Aneas have become shipwrecked  on the Island of Carthage.   Dido, queen of Carthage, has fallen in love with him. However Aeneas  must continue on his voyage at the request of the gods. The grieving Dido prepares to mount the funeral pyer as she sings this very emotional and expressive lament. aria.

Dido and Aeneas  – Come Away Fellow Sailors

This chorus and  aria sung by the sailors as they prepare to depart Carthage on their voyage. This  festive song is in the style of a horn pipe which is  an Irish dance.

“Come away, fellow Sailors, come away your anchors be weighing,
Time and tide will admit no delaying.
Take a boozy short leave of your nymphs on the shore,
And silence their mourning,
With vows of returning,
But never intending to visit them more.
No never intending to visit them more.
No never, no never, intending to visit them more.”