Fileno, caro amico

This cantata, from an important manuscript in Berlin containing 18 Albinoni cantatas for soprano and continuo, belongs in spirit to the subgenre known as the lezione amorosa, or 'lesson in love'. The singer represents a lover who, in a homily addressed to his friend Fileno, reproaches his beloved for her doubts about his fidelity, a quality that he then proceeds to extol. As usual, Albinoni does not allow the mood to grow too intense: this is, after all, civilised conversation, not moral philosophy!