Tune of the Day: Se tu m'ami
Though also a composer, the Italian Alessandro Parisotti is better known today as the editor of a collection of songs titled Arie antiche (“Antique Arias”), which was first published in Milan in 1885. In this collection, Parisotti attributed “Se tu m'ami” to the famed Baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi; however, owing to the fact that no early manuscripts of the song have been located, scholars now believe that Parisotti actually composed the piece himself.
If you love me, if you sigh
Only for me, kind shepherd,
I feel sorry for your misfortune,
I delight in your love.
But if you think that only you
I must in return love,
Little shepherd, you are subject
To deceiving yourself easily.
A couple decades later, the song was featured in Igor Stravinsky's 1920 ballet Pulcinella, which was entirely based on music then believed to have been composed by Pergolesi.
More recently, in 2014, “Se tu m'ami” was sung by Jenny Matrix (Johanna Braddy) in the first episode of the third season of the popular web series Video Game High School.