Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, had begun to compose, and performed before European royalty.

The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form during the time it was written that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theatre, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, just two months before the composer's death. It was the last opera that Mozart composed. The opera was an outstanding success from its first performances, and remains a staple of the opera repertory to this day.

"Zittre Nicht, Mein Lieber Sohn!" (O Tremble Not, My Dear/Beloved Son) is a recitative and aria from the opera where the queen of the night is persuading Tamino to rescue her daughter who has been kidnapped by the evil Sarastro. There are five quatrains, of which the third is written in amphibrachic dimeter and the remaining ones in iambic tetrameter, which is the normal meter for The Magic Flute. Mozart repeats the words "ach helft!" ("Oh, help!") and "Du" ("you", three times), so the lines with these words are not iambic tetrameters as they are actually sung. The rhyme scheme is [AABB][CDCD][EEFF][GHGH][IJIJ].

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Flute).

Although originally composed for Chorus & Orchestra, I created this arrangement of the Recitative & Aria: "O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn" (K.620 Act I No. 4) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola, Cello & Bass).