Alexander Levin: Hide Not They Face From Me
VOCES8
I’ve frequently enjoyed the group VOCES8. They are now saying goodbye to one of their own: Emily Dickens solos in this version of the work, and I assume it may be her final recording with them.
VOCES8: Underneath the Stars
Very cool to hear this!
Strains of Puccini and Verdi Fill the Halls of Silicon Valley Tech Firms
I’m not really one for Marian hymnody but, well … this is so beautiful I’m sort of letting that go for the moment.
Diego Ortiz, Alma Redemptoris Mater a 6 voci, Cantar Lontano, Marco Mencoboni
Pavel Chesnokov: Milost mira (The Mercy of the World)
Kiev Frescoes Choir
And it can be from the comfort of your own home? I’m a fan of Christina Pluhar and L’Arpeggiata, with many thanks to a friend for introducing me (Thanks Edie!) I was happy to land here today:
Goncharov: Krestu Tvoyemu (We Bow Down Before Your Cross)
Illumni Men’s Chorale
Philippe Jaroussky with L’Arpeggiata and Christina Pluhar: Monteverdi “Si dolce”
So sweet is the torment
that lies in my heart,
that I live happily
because of its cruel beauty.
May beauty’s fury
grow wide in the sky
without compassion;
for my devotion shall hold
like a rock against
pride’s unrelenting wave.
False hope,
keep me wandering!
let no peace
nor pleasure befall me!
Evil woman, whom I adore,
deny me the rest
that compassion would give;
amidst infinite pain,
amidst broken hopes
shall survive my devotion.
There is no rest for me
in the warmth or the cold.
Only in heaven
shall I find rest.
If the deadly strike
of an arrow injured my heart,
I shall heal still,
and change my destiny,
death’s very heart
with the same arrow.
If the frigid heart
that stole mine
never has felt
love’s ardour;
if the cruel beauty
that charmed my soul
denies me compassion,
may she die one day
by me pained,
repenting, languishing.
