Handel: Largo (from Xerxes) for oboe and piano (arr. Colin Kirkpatrick) by G F Handel Sheet Music for Oboe and Piano at Sheet Music Direct

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This piece is probably Handels best-known melody, although it began life as an operatic aria. The opera was called Xerxes, sometimes written Serses and pronounced something like ZERT-sees. It was commissioned by The Kings Theatre in London and composed by Handel (who had become naturalized British and lived in London at the time) around 1737 and 1738. The opera is loosely based on the real historical figure King Xerxes, who ruled from around 522-486 BC and was the fourth king of the Achaemenid Empire, a vast region that covered most of the present-day Middle East including modern Turkey.

The melody is often known simply as Handels Largo (despite being marked Larghetto in the musical score) and is the opening aria in the opera. Known by its opening line Ombra mai fu the aria is sung by Xerxes to a plane tree: Tender and beautiful fronds of my beloved plane tree, let fate smile upon you...

Although the melody has survived over the years, the opera itself was a complete failure when it was first performed at the Kings Theatre in Londons Haymarket in 1738. The style of the opera was not appreciated by London opera-goers and it generally received poor reviews. The audience may have been confused by the innovative nature of the work because Handel introduced unexpected comic elements into the plot.

This arrangement for oboe and piano is in G major and uses the lower and middle register of the instrument. The lowest note is the D just below the treble staff and the highest note is the G just above the top line. The piano part has been kept as simple as possible. Being so well-known, this piece would make a suitable encore.

This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.

Handel: Largo (from Xerxes) for oboe and piano (arr. Colin Kirkpatrick)by G F Handel Oboe and Piano - Digital Sheet Music

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Handel: Largo (from Xerxes) for oboe and piano (arr. Colin Kirkpatrick)by G F Handel Oboe and Piano - Digital Sheet Music

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Official publisher PDF download (printable)

Access anywhere, including our free app

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