Although It Is a religious piece, It concentrates on the spiritual, contemplative aspect of the story of Bathetic;s siege and its liberation by the beautiful widow Judith who seduced and killed the commander of the Assyrian army – Holystones. Contrary to the rule of the three unities that limits opera, here, the composer switches action between Bathetic and the enemy’s camp. In his musical interpretation, the mixed use of traditional and innovative composed skills emphasize the text expression and makes La Jugulate one of the best oratorios of the Baroque era.
In La Glutted, Scarlatti brings to the oratorio a greater homogeneity in terms of aria forms. The dad capo aria dominates, though not exclusively; a new sense of instrumental virtuosity reflects the affect of the textual moment, and there is a limitation of contrapuntal sections to the conclusions of two parts. In this oratorio, orchestras are growing larger by adding two flutes and a trumpet to the strings with the basso continuo accompaniment. Accompanied only by a basso continuo, around half of the arias are till of the older type while shorter arias of various forms are replaced by dad capo arias of ABA form.
Moreover, recitatives with an orchestral accompaniment appear. Scarlatti innovative music characteristics let the music and text to be more tightly combined and make it easier for performers to express composer’s idea. The Stadium’s Aria Ma so Ben in Part I and Aria La tea desert and Recitative Ma, chew pip tardy In Part II are the best examples to explain Scarlatti innovative Ideas. Ma so Ben Is a dad capo aria In ABA form that begins with a routinely- the violin with basso unto.
In the key of D major, the soprano sings In a madrigal-Like way. Chromatics appears when Gaudiest sings “l know well what plan for great victory is concealed in my breast” and the word “designed” (my breast) is melodramatic since the composer wants to emphasize how hard the decision is in Stadium’s heart. When part A ends, part 8 begins with “l shall feign flattery and love. ” Part B is in a much complicated rhythm, showing syncopation and the use of form fixture. Then, with the same routinely melody, part A shows up again.
This use of ABA dad cap form Is only within the strophes and the aria as a whole is in the old strophic form. In the key of C major, aria La tea desert in Part II start with the alternative melody of violins, basso continuo and two new- adding flutes. Notes for Gaudiest are basically syllabic except the moment she sings “it may end our suffering”. This moment also leads to a key change from C major to a minor, showing the composers emphasis on the suffering of Betrothal’s people. Then the recitative Ma, chew plus tardy begins.
Like all recitatives, updated notes instead of leaps. This simple alternation of arias and recitative dominates the oratorio, showing Scarlatti idea that the free sequence of recitatives, arioso and arias give way to a regular alternation of recitative and arias. As for the texture, La Gaudiest is not tied down by the stage conventions of the opera. Judith (soprano), the Hebrew priest (bass), and Achier (tenor) present no problems, but Oasis’s part was written for a male soprano and Holystones’ for a male alto.