The light, tuneful opening to this song sets a mood which is far less

fiery and more naive than the title, "The Burning Desire, " suggests.

Bellini wrote this piece as a charming trifle for the Countess Sofia

Voina, and it displays the basic tools he used in a far more complex

and masterful way in his major works. Like a bel canot scena, it

is written in three parts, though the resemblance to the

recitative-aria-cabaletta structure is only hinted at.

The first part is delicately melodic, and then the piano introduces a

rather Mozart-like "march" that underlies the second theme, which

in turn gives way to a third section, brought in by a rather ingenous

"ah, " reminiscent of the far more prolonged "ah"s Bellini wrote in

his operas. This work is certainly not substantial, but admirably

meets the composer's goal, to produce a pleasant token to an admirer.

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