Jewish

From the first CD from Shir "From The Heart"
A Selection of Jewish Folk Music - Klezmer Yiddish Israeli
Maurice Chernick - Clarinet, Vocals
Ivor Goldberg - Guitars, Vocals
Piotr Jordan - Violin
Rob Levy - Bass

More about Shir at www.shirmusic.co.uk

Erev Ba

From "Ashk'farad" - 3rd CD from Shir - Klezmer and Ladino instrumentals and songs.

HaKlezmer   Nigun Shel Yossi

Russian Sher

Arto Tuncboyaciyan - Butterfly

2 DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE ACT I - ZU HILFE! ZU HILFE! (TAMINO, THE THREE LADIES)

Philippe Jaroussky and his Ensemble Artaserse live, Versailles, 2009. You can find the whole concert on YouTube! (I cleaned up the audio a little.) 

The opera "(La) Merope" tells the story of Merope, the widow of King Cresfonte (greek: Kresphontes). Her husband and children were killed by his enemy, with only her son Epitide (greek: Aipytos) escaping this fate. Growing up in exile, Epitide falls in love with Argia. The plot culminates in Act III, when Epitide finds himself completely alone among the two people who he thought knew him best. 

Originally, the role of Epitide was sung by Farinelli. 

In "Sposa, non mi conosci", Epitide addresses his mother Merope and his lover, Argia, alternately, which makes for a slightly confusing text. Later, Vivaldi used the achingly beautiful piece for his pasticcio "Bajazet", but with an altered text: "Sposa, son disprezzata".

*Italian*
Sposa, non mi conosci? 
Madre, tu non mi ascolti. 
(Cieli che feci mai!)
E pur sono il tuo Cor, 
Il tuo figlio, il tuo amor 
La tua speranza.

Parla, ma sei infedel
Credi, ma sei crudel
Morir mi lascerai?
Oh dio! manca il valor
E la costanza.

*English translation*
And am I to my spouse unknown? 
Will not my mother lend an ear? 
Say, oh ye gods, what have I done,
Deserves a torture thus severe! 
I once was object of thy love; 
Thou plac'd thy hopes in me thy son. 

Speak; but thou dost faithless prove. 
Believe; but thou art cruel grown. 
What will ye both, than, let me die, 
Ye gods, I find I can't prevail: 
And now I feel my constancy,
And former courage both do fail. 

*** Disclaimer ***
I believe the publication of this track fulfils the criteria of fair use, discussion and study. If you have any objections against this being online, please get in touch and I will remove it immediately.

Philippe Jaroussky sings "Sposa, non mi conosci" from Geminiano Giacomelli's opera "La Merope"

"Gelido in ogni vena"
Giovanni Battista Ferrandini, "Siroe"
Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Countertenor + piano accompagniment: Philippe Jaroussky
Live on France Inter Nov 2023
Cosroes' aria (Act III, scene V)

Gelido in ogni vena
Scorrer mi sento il sangue,
L'ombra del figlio esangue
M'ingombra di terror.

E per maggior mia pena
Vedo che fui crudele
A un'anima innocente,
Al core del mio cor.

**
I feel my blood congealing run 
Thro' ev'ry vein, in ev'ry part, 
And the pale ghost of my dear son,
Strikes dread and terror to my heart. 

And still to add to greater woe,
The loyal innocent I've slain,
Of cruelty at length I know,
I, on myself, have fix'd the stain. 

Gelido in ogni vena" is an aria from a libretto by Pietro Metastasio*. It appears in two distinct operas: "Siroe" and "Farnace". (Farnace: 1927, "Gelido in ogni vena" was set to music by almost every composer in Baroque and beyond. The approaches are very different and interesting to hear. They range from Vinci's approach which is more pleasing than it is gripping to Vivaldi's soul-crushing benchmark of what a baroque aria can be.

The fellow Venetian Giovanni Battista Ferrandini (*1710) has a yet different approach. It's not quite clear when his version was composed, only that it happened before 1758. The dread that befalls Cosroe when he imagines seeing his deceased son whom he (justly) feels he has wronged that makes his blood run cold with fear and guilt, Ferrandini illustrates with fragile diminished jumps and subtle harmonic shifts and chromatics as Cosroe's world is coming apart at the seams, shifting and shaking while he tries to somehow smoothen the cracks and live on. More personal and intimate than Vivaldi's, Ferrandini's interpretation is sublime by its own merit.

*) (this seems more likely even though some sources credit Antonio Maria Lucchini, but it seems that his version didn't contain "Gelido ...")

The full radio podcast is still available here: 
https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/le-grand-atelier/le-grand-atelier-du-dimanche-05-novembre-2023-5102248

Translation Source: Siroe, re di Persia. Drama per musica, etc.
1736, British library
https://www.google.de/books/edition/Siroe_re_di_Persia_Drama_per_musica_etc/NnkCXEdNB4wC?hl=de&gbpv=0

I believe the publication of this excerpt fulfils the criteria of "fair us", discussion on study. Should you object against this being online, drop me a line and I'll remove it immediately.

Philippe Jaroussky sings "Gelido in ogni vena" from Giovanni Battista Ferrandini's "Siroe"

A recording of Ernest Gold's Main Theme from the 1960 epic war film 'Exodus' played by Neil Balfour. 

This piece is dedicated to Cathy Holmes who introduced a love for old movie film scores to Neil at a young age.


Erev Ba

Shir Jewish Music

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