Of the forty-six secular canons, only one is written in Italian––Tre cose. The text (written by G.A. Federico)
comes from the opening of La serva padrona, where Uberto (an aristocrat) complains about having to wait for
Serpina (his maid). Haydn, who was likely very familiar with Pergolesi’s famous comic intermezzo, having
composed a few himself, seems to improve on Pergolesi’s setting of the impatient Uberto by re-writing the
scene as a canon––“the perfect musical device to depict aristocratic boredom.” Though this edition indicates
three repeats, the original gives no such indication––so each conductor and choir can indulge in as many or as
few repeats as needed for musical effect. Hear it, See it, Buy it on MusicSpoke. https://musicspoke.com/downloads/tre-cose
