Sheet Music: Ach! so fromm, ach! so traut

TitleAch! so fromm, ach! so traut
from Martha
Alternate titlesM'appari tutt'amor
ComposerFriedrich von Flotow (1818–1883)
InstrumentationFlute and Piano
KeyF major
RangeF4–Bb5
Time signature2/4
Tempo76 BPM
Performance time2:35
Difficulty levelintermediate
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (132 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (2.2 MB)
Play-along accompanimentMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (2.2 MB)
Date added2009-10-22
Last updated2009-10-22
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 1.0 (average)
Categories
Arias, Opera excerpts, Romantic

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Thursday 22 October 2009

Tune of the Day: Ach! so fromm, ach! so traut

Aria from Flotow's opera “Martha”

Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond (Martha, or The Market at Richmond) is a “romantic comic” opera in four acts by German composer Friedrich von Flotow. It was first performed in Vienna in 1847.

The opera is set in 18th-century England, during the reign of Queen Anne, and the story is that of a beauty of high rank, Lady Harriet, who disguises herself as a peasant, calls herself Martha, and, with her maid Nancy, similarly disguised, joins a crowd of girls going to the hiring fair at Richmond. Two young farmers, Plunkett and Lyonel, engage Martha and her companion for twelve months. The two ladies however do not like their situation, and escape the same night. The two farmers, on the other hand, had fallen desperately in love with the girls.

The aria “Ach! so fromm” is taken from Act three, where Lyonel sees “Martha” again with the ladies-in-waiting for Queen Anne. He is struck again by her beauty, and grieves that he will probably never be with her again.

Despite being the most famous original aria from the opera, this aria was not originally written for Martha, but for Flotow's L'âme en peine. It was first interpolated into Martha in 1865, at the first Paris production. It is also often sung in its Italian translation “M'appari tutt'amor” (“She appeared to me full of love”).