Handel: Largo (from Xerxes) for alto sax and piano

This piece is probably Handel's 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 King's Theater 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 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. The melody is often known simply as Handel's Largo (despite being marked "Larghetto" in the musical score) and is the opening aria in the opera. The aria, known by its opening line Ombra mai fu is sung by Xerxes to a plane tree: "Tender and beautiful fronds of my beloved plane tree, let fate smile upon you..." Although this lovely melody has survived over the years, the opera itself was a complete failure when it was first performed in London in 1738. This arrangement is in E flat major concert (alto sax in C major) and the top note is the C above the treble clef and the piece generally requires the use of a long and sustained tone quality. The piano part has been kept as simple as possible.