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Diogenio Bigaglia (1678–1745) left only one chamber cantata scored for bass voice and continuo, but this work, Sudaste, alfin sudaste, is a masterpiece. Its poetic text takes the form of an imagined monologue by the crazed arsonist Herostratus, who has gone down in history as the person who burned down the famous Temple of Diana at Ephesus merely to gratify his eagerness for posthumous celebrity. Bigaglia captures brilliantly the demented exultation of Herostratus as he first lays his plan and then executes it. At the same time, this cantata reveals the great expressive power attainable by the bass voice when operating in the medium of the chamber cantata.
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Full score and parts
Music example (pdf)