The overture is mostly very bright, the first theme being really a Saltarello.
"Shakespeare and Music"
Christopher Wilson
It resembles a good deal the Saltarello of the Italian peasants in rhythm and character; and a young Irishman, servant of some friends of mine, covered himself with glory by the manner in which he joined a party of Neapolitan tarantella dancers, merely by dint of his proficiency in his own native jig.
"Records of a Girlhood"
Frances Ann Kemble
We felt like dancing a Saltarello, and perhaps might have done so if we had been in less princely presences.
"The Sunny Side of Diplomatic Life, 1875-1912"
Lillie DeHegermann-Lindencrone