Here is Vallon sonore (Echoing valley), from Berlioz’ Les Troyens (The Trojans). High up in the crows’ nest, the homesick sailor Hylas sings of his fatherland, which, unbeknownst to him, he will never see again.
Here is Robert Johnson’s lute song ‘Have you seen but the white lily grow?’, performed by soprano Julianne Baird and lutenist Ronn McFarlane. The song is in three verses, and in each verse Miss Baird’s added embellishments increase in floridity and emotion, until by the end of the song their bittersweet, affecting quality will break your heart.
Here is La fille aux cheveux de lin (The girl with the flaxen hair), the eighth prelude from the first book of preludes by Claude Debussy. The artist is Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.
Here is a scene from The Magic Flute, Mozart’s final opera. The wicked Queen of Night is enraged that her daughter shows signs of wanting to join the peace-loving community led by the wise Sarastro. Beside herself with fury, she threatens to disown the girl should Sarastro not die at her hands. The artist is Diana Damrau.
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