Per la gloria - G B Bononcini

From the opera "Griselda". Probably the most famous song from the opera is Ernesto's aria, "Per la gloria d’adorarvi", which remains to this day a popular selection for concert and  recital performance (Wikipedia).

The synopsis of this opera (Wikipedia) is rather interesting:

King Gualtiero has married Griselda, a peasant woman and his longtime mistress, and fears that she will not be accepted among the nobility. Concerned that a rebellion might arise, the king decides he must prove that Griselda is worthy to be their queen and the mother of their future king. He tests her virtue and steadfastness with a series of cruel ordeals, including telling her a lie that their long-lost daughter was killed on his orders. Gualtiero banishes Griselda from the court and announces that he intends to take another wife, the young woman Almirena, who is, unknown to all, their missing daughter. Almirena is highly upset over the king's proposal as she is in love with Ernesto.

Meanwhile, Griselda has returned to the humble cottage where she once lived. A beautiful woman, she has caught the attention of Rambaldo, a Sicilian nobleman, who attempts to woo her. After refusing him, Rambaldo threatens to kill her infant son, Everardo, unless she agrees to marry him. Griselda refuses and flees to the palace where she is permitted to stay as a servant to Almirena. Gualtiero, as a final test, orders Griselda to marry Rambaldo, which she refuses to his satisfaction. The king reveals his true motive for tormenting her and accepts her again as his queen to the satisfaction of Almirena and Ernesto who can now be reunited. Rambaldo, who confesses to having stirred up the nobles in the hope of winning Griselda, is forgiven.

教我如何不想她

This is a classic Chinese love song with beautiful melodies. Extremely easy to sing, however, not without the right singing technique. The melodic crescendo and the melodramatic decrescendo needed careful and delicate treatment in order to bring out the best mood.

This rendition by 2 tenors is absolutely brilliant. Love the harmony give to parts where the duet collide.

Dein Blaues Auge (Klaus Groth)

Dein blaues Auge

Dein blaues Auge hält so still,Ich blicke bis zum Grund.Du fragst mich, was ich sehen will?
Ich sehe mich gesund.

Es brannte mich ein glühend Paar,Noch schmerzt das Nachgefühl;Das deine ist wie See so klarUnd wie ein See so kühl.

Your blue eyes

Your blue eyes keep so still,That I can gaze upon their very depths.You ask me, what do I want to see?I see my own well-being.

A glowing pair burned me once;The scar still hurts, still hurts.Yet your eyes are like the sea so clear,And like the sea, so cool and detached.

Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive -- http://www.lieder.net/

Description by Erik Eriksson

Lasting scarcely more than two minutes, Dein blaues Auge (Your blue eyes) was written during the year in which Brahms turned 40 and it ruminates upon soothing temperateness after the narrator had been scorched by a fierier gaze. He now seeks restoration. The poem was contributed by Brahms' good friend Klaus Groth, a writer whose work was remarkable for frequently employing Low German (Plattdeutch). Here, however, he wrote without dialect of a theme that particularly appealed to the composer, perhaps to specifically suit Brahms. "Your eyes maintain such a silence," the singer tells the girl. He gazes into their depths and, in response to her question about what he seeks, he tells her he seeks to be restored. Once, he says, a pair of fervent eyes scorched him and, in the aftermath, he felt only hurt. "Your eyes are so clear, however, clear like a lake," he sings, "And like a lake, so cool." Marked Poco lento (somewhat slow), the song steadily moves in 4/4 meter. Eight notes populate the accompaniment in each hand, anchored in the bass clef by octaves and fuller chords at the beginning of the each verse as they are sounded in the treble and descending to the left hand at the close of both stanzas. The accompaniment begins at forte and gradually softens to piano over the four-measure introduction as the voice enters. Falling figures in the right hand are met by rising figures in the left in the first and third measures, while in the second and third, the right hand pulses in eighth notes over simple chords in the left. Those who accuse Brahms of insensitivity to the words he set might contemplate the subtleties found here. At the very beginning is a foreshadowing of the couple peering into each other's eyes. Similarly, the descent of the vocal line to the word "still" (silence) suggests rapt contemplation. The strophe-ending fall through an entire octave to "gesund" (restored) likewise intimates quiet resolve or hope. The song may also hold something more than a theme consonant with Brahms' imagination: there may be some autobiography. The five-note "Clara Schumann" theme is found in the left hand under "you inquire what I seek" and she was known for her lovely eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO1am3yGPxE

Grade 6 Exam Piece. A beautifully sad piece with so much emotion in less than 2 mins.

The Lord's My Shepherd

A very old hymn originally translated from Francis Rouse's 150 Psalms in Hebrews. It took the revision committee at Scotland 6 years to compare the metered Psalms with the original Hebrew, to ensure a translation that was accurate. In 1650, the Scottish Psalter was released and approved for congregational singing in Scotland, and this Psalm was later put to the Crimond melody developed by Jessie Seymour Irvine.

Personally, I still love the modern rendition of John Rutter. A version of this piece by Atlanta Master Chorale is simply beautiful. There are parts where you would wander with the music of the flute and parts where you are uplifted with the dramatic music that declares God's loving-kindness and mercy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOtsuzM6h7M

Taken from Then Sing My Soul, Robert J Morgan, 2003.

Le Violette

Le Violette ~ A Scarlatti

Rugiadose
Odorose
Violette graziose,
Voi vi state
Vergognose,
Mezzo ascose
Fra le foglie,

E sgridate
Le mie voglie,
Che son troppo ambiziose.

Translation 

Dewy
Scented
Pretty violets,
You are standing
Shy,
Half hidden
Among the leaves,

And you scold
My desires,
That are too ambitious. 

Grade 5 Vocal Exam Pieces

Now Thank We All Our God

In everything give thanks...

How do we give thanks to God when we are suffering, sick or depraved? The situation at hand tended to crowd our understand of the broader picture that God has for our whole life. Pain and sadness may be so strong at the moment, but how can it be compared to the blessings and joy that we otherwise obtained during other parts of our lives? It is our limited human understanding that kept us myopic in our views of the world around us. It is our limited capability that kept us from seeing the whole picture that God created in our lives.

If our lives flashed, for a brief moment, across our eyes, and we finally saw the good works of God, would we not see? Would we not give thanks?

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices.

The author, Martin Rinkart wrote this hymn during the times of the Thirty Years' War that raged through Germany. Imagine having to care for the sick and dying, and bury the dead, and at the same time preach the Gospel and give thanks? Had he stopped and lamented for a brief moment on the hopeless desperation, he would have lost sight of God's sovereignty.  With faith, there is trust, and the belief that all sufferings were but temporal, nothing except God's love will last forever.

Rinkart composed this hymn in thanksgiving for the survivors of Eilenberg, Germany. May we all remember God's goodness to us.

Taken from Then Sings the Soul, Robert J. Morgan, 2003

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Martin Luther - great reformer, Bible translator, political leader, fiery preacher and theologian.
Martin Luther - great musician! He restored worship to the German Church, created new music for Christians, helped revived congregational singing and wrote hymns.

"Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world." Martin Luther. None could articulate this any better than him.

This hymn reflects Luther's awareness of our intense struggle with Satan. In difficulty and in danger, Luther would often resort to this song, based on Psalm 46. This translation that appeared in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book of 1868 is most apt in expressing this faith that, God indeed is our mighty fortress, none will prevail except Him!

This rendition by Steven Green is the cleanest, clearest and strongest version to proclaim God's power.  A standing ovation, for God, is certainly in order!

Taken from Then Sing My Soul, Robert Morgan, 2003.