Le violette
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)

You dew-covered, richly-scented,
Graceful, lovely violets,
Which are standing, shy and bashful
And half hidden amongst the leaves.
You are scolding my desires,
That are overly ambitious.

Al Paño Moruno
Siete Canciones populares Españolas
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)

On the delicate fabric in the shop
there fell a stain.
It sells for less
for it has lost its value
Ay!

Nana
Siete Canciones populares Españolas
Manuel de Falla

Sleep, little one, sleep,
sleep, my darling,
sleep, my little
morning star.
Lullaby, lullaby,
sleep, my little
morning star.

Se Florindo è fedele
Alessandro Scarlatti

If Florindo will behave in loyalty, I'll fall in love with him
If he's loyal, I'll fall in love with him.
Let him tighten his bow, That quiverful archer,
That I'll be able to defend myself from such a tempting glance.
I won't listen to petitions, tears and quarrels.
But if he'll behave in loyalty, I'll fall in love with him
If he's loyal I'll fall in love with him.

Lascia, Ch’io Pianga
G. F. Handel (1685-1759)

Armida, cruel fortune with a power inhuman
withdraw my heart from Heav’n and my contentment
And here with grief eternal
Living it holds me in torment most infernal
O Lord! In pity hear me tears will relieve me.

Here let my tears flow!
Let hope my soul know,
My heart is longing
For Liberty,
My heart is longing,
My heart is longing
For Liberty.
Here let my tears flow
Let hope my soul know
My heart is longing
For Liberty!
Assuage the sorrow to chains belonging
O, great tomorrow
That I may be free,
O, great tomorrow
That I may be free.

Lamento
Henri Duparc (1848-1933)

Do you know the white tomb,
Where the shadow of a yew
Waves plaintively?
On that yew a pale dove,
Sad and solitary at sundown
Sings its song;
As if the awakened soul
Weeps from the grave, together
With the song,
And at the sorrow of being forgotten
Murmurs its complaint
Most meltingly.

Ah! nevermore shall I approach that tomb,
When evening descends
In its black cloak.
To listen to the pale dove
On the branch of the yew
Sings its plaintive song!

Ouvre ton cœur
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

The daisy has closed its petals,
darkness has closed the eyes of day,
will you, fair one, be true to your word?
Open your heart to my love.
Open your heart to my ardour, young angel,
that a dream may charm your sleep –
I wish to recover my soul,
as a flower unfolds to the sun!

Mandoline
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

The gallant serenaders
And their fair listeners
Exchange sweet nothings
Beneath singing boughs.

Tirsis is there, Aminte is there,
And tedious Clitandre too,
And Damis who for many a cruel maid
Writes many a tender song.

Their short silken doublets,
Their long trailing gowns,
Their elegance, their joy,
And their soft blue shadows

Whirl madly in the rapture
Of a grey and roseate moon,
And the mandolin jangles on
In the shivering breeze.

Si j'étais jardinier
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)

Were I gard’ner of the sky,
Stars for thee I’d cull gleaming brightly!
Jewels fair should delight thine eye,
Were I gard’ner of the sky!
When the pale shadows veil thee nightly.
Thou should’st beam in glory on high.
Were I gard’ner of the sky,
Stars for thee I’d cull, gleaming brightly!

Or if gard’ner of Love I were,
With caresses I would delight thee.
All the day would I feast thee, dear.
If the gard’ner of Love I were!
Flowers with voiceless charm should invite thee,
And in lowly homage appear.
If the gard’ner of love I were,
With caresses I would delight thee!

My garden hath no flower but song;
To thee alone that flower is given.
The birds within the thicket throng,
My flower hath no flower but song.
Come thou, oh, come to me at even,
Rapture deep my heart shall thrill?
My garden hath no flower but song,
And to thee alone that flower is given!

Auf dem Wasser zu singen
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Amid the shimmer of the mirroring waves
the rocking boat glides, swan-like,
on gently shimmering waves of joy.
The soul, too, glides like a boat.
For from the sky the setting sun
dances upon the waves around the boat.
Above the tree-tops of the western grove
the red glow beckons kindly to us;
beneath the branches of the eastern grove
the reeds whisper in the red glow.
The soul breathes the joy of heaven,
the peace of the grove, in the reddening glow.
Alas, with dewy wings
time vanishes from me on the rocking waves.
Tomorrow let time again vanish with shimmering
wings, as it did yesterday and today,
until, on higher, more radiant wings,
I myself vanish from the flux of time.

Heidenröslein
Franz Schubert

A boy saw a wild rose
growing in the heather;
it was so young, and as lovely as the morning.
He ran swiftly to look more closely,
looked on it with great joy.

Wild rose, wild rose, wild rose red,
wild rose in the heather.
Said the boy: I shall pluck you,
wild rose in the heather!
Said the rose: I shall prick you
so that you will always remember me.
And I will not suffer it.
Wild rose, wild rose, wild rose red,
wild rose in the heather.
And the impetuous boy plucked
the wild rose from the heather;
the rose defended herself and pricked him,
but her cries of pain were to no avail;
she simply had to suffer.
Wild rose, wild rose, wild rose red,
wild rose in the heather.

Du ring an meinem finger
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

You ring on my finger,
My golden little ring,
I press you devoutly to my lips,
To my heart.

I had finished dreaming
Childhood’s peaceful dream,
I found myself alone, forlorn
In boundless desolation.

You ring on my finger,
You first taught me,
Opened my eyes
To life’s deep eternal worth.

I shall serve him, live for him,
Belong to him wholly,
Yield to him and find
Myself transfigured in his light.

You ring on my finger,
My golden little ring,
I press you devoutly to my lips,
To my heart.

Er, der Herrlichste von allen
Robert Schumann

He, the most wonderful of all,
How gentle and loving he is!
Sweet lips, bright eyes,
A clear mind and firm resolve.

Just as there in the deep-blue distance
That star gleams bright and brilliant,
So does he shine in my sky,
Bright and brilliant, distant and sublime.

Wander, wander on your way,
Just to gaze on your radiance,
Just to gaze on in humility,
To be but blissful and sad!

Do not heed my silent prayer,
Uttered for your happiness alone,
You shall never know me, lowly as I am,
You noble star of splendour!

Only the worthiest woman of all
May your choice elate,
And I shall bless that exalted one
Many thousands of times.

Then shall I rejoice and weep,
Blissful, blissful shall I be,
Even if my heart should break,
Break, O heart, what does it matter?

Nymphs and Shepherds
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Nymphs and shepherds, come away.
In this grove let’s sport and play.
For this is Flora’s holiday.
Sacred to ease and happy love.
To music, to dancing and to poetry.
Your flocks may now securely rest
Whilst you express your jollity.
Nymphs and shepherds, come away.

There will be stars
John Duke (1899-1984)

There will stars over the place forever;
Though the house we loved, and the streets we loved are lost,
Every time the earth circles her orbit
On the night the autumn equinox is crossed,
Two stars we knew, poised on the peak of midnight
Will reach their zenith;
Stillness will be deep;
There will stars over the place forever,
There will be stars forever, while we sleep.

The Daisies
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

In the scented bud of the morning - O,
Where the windy grass went rippling far,
I saw my dear one walking slow,

In the field where the daisies are.
We did not laugh and we did not speak
As we wandered happily to and fro;
I kissed my dear on either cheek,
In the bud of the morning – O!
A lark sang up from the breezy land,
A lark sang down from a cloud afar,
A he and I went hand in hand,
In the field where the daisies are.

Two Little Flowers
Charles Ives (1874-1954)

On sunny days in our backyard,
two little flowers are seen,
One dressed, at times, in brightest pink
and one in green.
The marigold is radiant,
the rose passing fair;
The violet is ever dear,
the orchid, ever rare;
There’s lovliness in wild flow’rs
of field or wide savannah,
But fairest, rarest of them all
are Edith and Susanna.

Evening
Charles Ives

Now came still Evening on, and Twilight gray
Had in her sober livery all things clad;
Silence accompanied; for the beast and bird
They to their grassy couch, these to their nests
Were slunk, all but the wakeful nightingale;
She all night long her amorous descant sung;
Silence is pleased.

Where the Music Comes From
Lee Hoiby (1926-2011)

I want to be where the music comes from
Where the clock stops, where it's now
I want to be with the friends around me
Who have found me, who show me how
I want to sing to the early morning
See the sunlight melt the snow
And oh, I want to grow
I want to wake to the living spirit
Here inside me where it lies
I want to listen till I can hear it
Let it guide me and realize
That I can go with the flow unending
That is blending, that is real
And oh, I want to feel
I want to walk in the earthly garden
Far from cities, far from fear
I want to talk to the growing garden
To the devas, to the deer
And to be one with the river
Breezes blowing, sky above
And oh, I want to love

I Don’t Need a Roof
Andrew Lippa (b. 1964)

In your face
I see a lifetime.
In this place
I feel at ease.
Wallpaper peeling, paint wearing thin.
Here’s where I end and begin
I don’t need a roof to say I’m covered
I don’t need a roof to know I’m home
There could be a single shingle-dangling overhead
I don’t need a roof to make my bed.
Close your eyes, I’m still beside you.
No goodbyes needed today
Hear what the rain says,
Know what it knows
After the rain something grows
I don’t need a roof to say I love you
I don’t need a roof to call you mine
I don’t need adventure in some far away frontier
I don’t need a roof to feel you near.
All I need is you and you forever
All I feel is true and absolute
I don’t need a legal deed
To help me play my part
I don’t need a roof to hold my heart
Stay with me
Stay with me

Fable of the Silent Son
Alter Bridge (b. 2004)

Lost where we can't escape
Blind to our own decay
Lamenting when we can't let go
Until we heal, we die alone
We hope that it's not too late
I used to lie awake
And sing this song
Fear is a hollow place
A dark beyond
The coldest season that
I've ever known
But it's over now
I've learned from my mistakes
Times have changed
And I have changed
It's hard to recognize the person that I was
But a wasted life is still worth saving
I was too scared to fight
Forgiveness wouldn't come
But it's over now
I've learned from my mistakes

But it's over now
I've learned from my mistakes
Times have changed
Those were the darkest days
I never will return
This I confess so you may learn
Convey the truth, the pain
So you won't have to hurt
Please never second guess these words
Like a phoenix rising from the dust
I've come to lift you up
Like a new day dawning from above in turn
So you may you learn
A lesson from the things I've done
A fable of the silent son
And buried way below
We have our deep regrets
With waves of anger to respect
We face our demons with intentions to protect
Our future angels for what's next
Like a phoenix rising from the dust
I've come to lift you up
Like a new day dawning from above in turn
So you may you learn
A lesson from the things I've done
A fable of the silent son
A warning of the things to come
Foreshadowing the end for some
Who dare and lose it all
A fable of the silent son
A warning of the things to come
Forgive me for the things I've done
I could have lost it all
I used to lie awake
And sing this song
Fear is the hollow place
A dark beyond
The coldest season that
I've ever known
But it's over now
I've learned from my mistakes
But it's over now
I've learned from my mistakes
Like a phoenix rising from the dust
I've come to lift you up
Like a new day dawning from above in turn
So you may you learn
A lesson from the things I've done
A fable of the silent son
A fable of the silent son
A fable of the silent son