"En medio a mis colores" or, more commomnly called la Canzonetta spagnuola, is a delightful piece which has been recorded numerous times over the years, most famously by Marylin Horne and Cecilia Bartoli. Narratively speaking the song is a bit of a contrast to the extremely bouncy music style: a slightly depressed painter accounts his inability to paint a worthy picture of "fair Nice". The torments of the hero are presented in a very simple piece, consisting of three strophes ending with the same couplet. The song is basically a prolonged crescendo of sound as the artist is becoming more and more agitated. In the present recording Joyce DiDonato takes the whole thing to a whole new level: while the singer is following precisely the crescendo indications, the piece is actually sped up with each couplet, starting somewhere near a snail's stroll and finishing with a dangerously fast allegro. Enjoy :)!

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