Johannes Brahms - Symphony no.1, op.68

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POW-u-RGspY

Alessandro Scarlatti - Stabat Mater

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

Stabat mater dolorósa
juxta Crucem lacrimósa,
dum pendébat Fílius.

Cuius ánimam geméntem,
contristátam et doléntem
pertransívit gládius.

O quam tristis et afflícta
fuit illa benedícta,
mater Unigéniti!

Quae mœrébat et dolébat,
pia Mater, dum vidébat
nati pœnas ínclyti.

Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si vidéret
in tanto supplício?

Quis non posset contristári
Christi Matrem contemplári
doléntem cum Fílio?

Pro peccátis suæ gentis
vidit Iésum in torméntis,
et flagéllis súbditum.

Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriéndo desolátum,
dum emísit spíritum.

Eia, Mater, fons amóris
me sentíre vim dolóris
fac, ut tecum lúgeam.

Fac, ut árdeat cor meum
in amándo Christum Deum
ut sibi compláceam.

Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifíxi fige plagas
cordi meo válide.

Tui Nati vulneráti,
tam dignáti pro me pati,
pœnas mecum dívide.

Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifíxo condolére,
donec ego víxero.

Juxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociáre
in planctu desídero.

Virgo vírginum præclára,
mihi iam non sis amára,
fac me tecum plángere.

Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
passiónis fac consórtem,
et plagas recólere.

Fac me plagis vulnerári,
fac me Cruce inebriári,
et cruóre Fílii.

Flammis ne urar succénsus,
per te, Virgo, sim defénsus
in die iudícii.

Christe, cum sit hinc exíre,
da per Matrem me veníre
ad palmam victóriæ.

Quando corpus moriétur,
fac, ut ánimæ donétur
paradísi glória.

Amen.


At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to her Son to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother's pain untold?

For the sins of His own nation,
She saw Jesus wracked with torment,
All with scourges rent:

She beheld her tender Child,
Saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.

O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord:

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified:

Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live:

By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.

Virgin of all virgins blest!,
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine;

Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.

Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
be Thy Mother my defense,
be Thy Cross my victory;

While my body here decays,
may my soul Thy goodness praise,
Safe in Paradise with Thee.

Translation by Edward Caswall, Lyra Catholica (1849)

G.B. Pergolesi - Stabat Mater. Freni/Berganza

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUIfwKPS-w

Stabat mater dolorosa
Juxta Crucem lacrimosa,
Dum pendebat Filius.

Stabat mater dolorosa
Juxta Crucem lacrimosa,
Dum pendebat Filius.

Dolorosa,
Lacrimosa,
Dum pendebat Filius

Stravinsky - "The Rite of Spring"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UJOaGIhG7A

Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps / The Rite of Spring - Jaap van Zweden - Full concert in HD

Amy Macdonald - "Left That Body Long Ago"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdv6igKBHw0

Oh my dance is getting slower now,
Cause my years they're getting older now.
And my eyes, they won't cry.
My tears have all run dry.
And my memory doesn't get me very far,
I can't remember my name or exactly who you are.
And I don't know why, no I don't know why.

Will you please believe
I'm not the person you see,
I left that body long ago.
I left it way back there.
Will you please believe,
Given all that you see,
I left that body long ago
But somehow nobody knows.

So goodbye,
You were my world and my life.
And I don't know why
You've lost your mother, lost your wife.
But there's more,
Something more than meets the eye.
This is not the end,
This is only goodbye.

Will you please believe
I'm not the person you see,
I left that body long ago.
I left it way back there.
Now I'm free, I'm as happy as can be.
I just wanted you to know
That I left that body long ago.
So long ago.

The Hollies - "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l0xpkk0yaQ

Saturday night I was downtown
Working for the FBI
Sitting in a nest of bad men
Whiskey bottles piling high

Bootlegging boozer on the west side
Full of people who are doing wrong
Just about to call up the DA man
When I heard this woman singing a song

A pair of 45's made me open my eyes
My temperature started to rise
She was a long cool woman in a black dress
Just a 5'9" beautiful tall
With just one look I was a bad mess
Cause that long cool woman had it all

I saw her heading to the table
Well a tall walking big black cat
When Charlie said "I hope that you're able boy"
Well I'm telling you she knows where it's at
Well then suddenly we heard the sirens
And everybody started to run
Jumping under doors and tables
Well I heard somebody shooting a gun

Well the DA was pumping my left hand
And she was holding my right
Well I told her, "Don't get scared
cause you're gonna be spared"
Well I'm gonna be forgiven
If I wanna spend my living
With a long cool woman in a black dress
Just a 5'9" beautiful tall
With just one look I was a bad mess
Cause that long cool woman had it all
Had it all, had it all, had it all...

Beethoven's Symphony No.9 Op.125 - Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Riccardo Muti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOjHhS5MtvA


O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Freude!
Freude!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muß er wohnen.


English “Ode to Joy” Translation

O friends, no more of these sounds!
Let us sing more cheerful songs,
More songs full of joy!
Joy!
Joy!
Joy, bright spark of divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
Fire-inspired we tread
Within thy sanctuary.
Thy magic power re-unites
All that custom has divided,
All men become brothers,
Under the sway of thy gentle wings.
Whoever has created
An abiding friendship,
Or has won
A true and loving wife,
All who can call at least one soul theirs,
Join our song of praise;
But those who cannot must creep tearfully
Away from our circle.
All creatures drink of joy
At natures breast.
Just and unjust
Alike taste of her gift;
She gave us kisses and the fruit of the vine,
A tried friend to the end.
Even the worm can feel contentment,
And the cherub stands before God!
Gladly, like the heavenly bodies
Which He sent on their courses
Through the splendor of the firmament;
Thus, brothers, you should run your race,
Like a hero going to victory!
You millions, I embrace you.
This kiss is for all the world!
Brothers, above the starry canopy
There must dwell a loving father.
Do you fall in worship, you millions?
World, do you know your creator?
Seek Him in the heavens;
Above the stars must he dwell.

Billie Holiday - "Strange Fruit"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

[Intro]
Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Mozart - "The Marriage of Figaro"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IugFH6PxeMQ Glyndebourne 1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fef03047ZX8 Film 1975

Cast and vocal parts

Count Almaviva, a nobleman (baritone)
Countess Rosina, the count’s wife (soprano)
Figaro, the count’s valet (baritone)
Susanna, the countess’s maid and Figaro’s betrothed (soprano)
Cherubino, a page (mezzo-soprano)
Doctor Bartolo, a physician (bass)
Marcellina, Bartolo’s housekeeper (mezzo-soprano)
Don Basilio, a music master (tenor)
Antonio, a gardener (bass)
Barbarina, Antonio’s daughter (soprano)
Don Curzio, a lawyer (tenor)
Villagers, peasants, servants, wedding guests

The Marriage of Figaro is set in Count Almaviva’s castle near Seville (now Sevilla), Spain, in the late 18th century.

Act I Count Almaviva’s castle, in an empty room where Figaro and Susanna will live after their marriage.

Figaro is measuring a space for his nuptial bed while his fiancée, Susanna, tries on her bridal hat. She does not like their new bedroom. Her objection confounds Figaro, for the room is conveniently close to the bedrooms of the Count and Countess whom they serve. But Susanna warns Figaro that it is all too convenient and close for the Count, who is plotting with her music master, Don Basilio, to seduce her. The Countess rings for her, and Susanna leaves. Alone, Figaro vows revenge (“"Se vuol ballare, signor Contino"”) and storms off in a rage.

Dr. Bartolo enters with his housekeeper, Marcellina. Figaro had once promised to marry her, and Bartolo promises her that he will find a way to hold Figaro to his promise. Bartolo would love to take revenge on Figaro for having earlier foiled his plan to marry Rosina (now the Countess). Bartolo leaves to put his scheme into effect. Susanna returns, and Marcellina jealously spars with her, then leaves in a huff. The teenaged page Cherubino comes in. He tells Susanna that he is in love with the Countess, but the Count has caught him with young Barbarina (Susanna’s cousin and daughter of the gardener Antonio). Cherubino cannot contain his romantic desires (“"Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio"”).

Cherubino hides behind a chair when the Count arrives to beg Susanna for a tryst before he goes to London with Figaro on diplomatic business. But his wooing is interrupted by the arrival of Don Basilio, and the Count seeks a hiding place. He heads for the chair that conceals Cherubino, forcing the boy to jump into the seat. Susanna hastily covers him with a cloth. When the jealous Count hears Basilio gossip about Cherubino and the Countess, he reveals himself. Basilio naturally concludes that the Count and Susanna are in a relationship. This is all too much for Susanna, who begins to faint. The Count and Basilio rush to her aid and try to get her into the chair where Cherubino is concealed, but she revives and orders them away. The Count vows to make Cherubino leave the castle. When Susanna expresses sympathy for the boy, the Count tells her that Cherubino has been caught with a woman before. Recalling how he found the page hiding under a tablecloth in Barbarina’s room, he lifts the cloth that conceals Cherubino. The Count accuses Susanna of dallying with the boy.

Their argument is interrupted by the arrival of Figaro and a group of peasants. Figaro leads them in singing the Count’s praises for having abolished the feudal droit du seigneur, the right of the lord of the manor to sleep with his servant’s bride on her wedding night. Figaro invites the Count to place the bridal veil on Susanna as a symbol of his blessing on their marriage, which is to take place later that day. The Count is forced to agree, but he privately vows to help Marcellina marry Figaro instead. He also gets Cherubino out of the way by drafting him into his regiment. Figaro teases the boy, who now must trade his pursuit of women for the “glories” of war (“"Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso"”).

Act II The Countess’s boudoir.

The Countess bemoans the Count’s infidelity (“"Porgi, amor"”). Susanna has told her about the Count’s plan to seduce her. Figaro arrives. He knows that the Count is plotting to help Marcellina. He has his own plan: through Basilio, he will send the Count an anonymous note about the Countess’s “lover.” This is sure to drive him to distraction. Meanwhile, Cherubino, disguised as Susanna, will meet the Count in the garden. The Countess can then surprise and embarrass him. Figaro goes off to get the boy.
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Cherubino arrives and, at Susanna’s urging, sings the Countess a love song that he wrote for her (“"Voi che sapete"”). He shows the Countess the regimental commission he had just gotten from Basilio. She and Susanna realize that the commission has no seal on it. Figaro has told Cherubino of the plan to deceive the Count, and Susanna begins to dress the uncomfortable boy as a woman. When she goes into another room to find some ribbon, he declares his love for the Countess. At that moment, the suspicious Count bangs on the door, and Cherubino dives into the closet.

The Count demands to know who was with the Countess, and she tells him it was Susanna, who has gone into another room. The Count shows his wife the anonymous letter that Figaro had written about her “lover.” A noise from the closet obliges the Countess to say that Susanna is in there, not in the other room. Susanna reenters the room, unseen by the Count and Countess, and realizes that there is a problem, so she hides behind a screen. As Cherubino cowers, terrified, in the closet, the Count orders “Susanna” out, but the Countess insists that the door remain closed. The Count is convinced that the Countess is hiding a lover in there. As they argue, they warn each other not to go too far and create a scandal. Susanna remains behind her screen, horrified by the situation. The Countess absolutely refuses to open the closet, so the Count brings her with him to look for something with which to break the closet open. He locks the door behind them. Susanna lets Cherubino out of the closet. In a panic, he escapes through the window, and Susanna hides in the closet.

When the Count and Countess return, she finally admits that Cherubino is in the closet, claiming that it was just a joke. He does not believe her protestations of innocence and threatens to kill Cherubino. Drawing his sword, he flings open the closet door. They are both astonished to find Susanna. The Count, abashed, is forced to beg his wife’s forgiveness. She and Susanna explain that the episode with the closet, and the anonymous note, were all a prank. Figaro arrives to announce that the wedding is about to begin. Questioned by the Count, he denies writing the anonymous note, to the consternation of Susanna and the Countess. The Count is anxious for Marcellina’s arrival so that he can stop the wedding.

Antonio, the gardener, barges in, complaining that someone has jumped from the Countess’s balcony onto his flower garden. Susanna and the Countess caution Figaro, who had seen Cherubino jump. Figaro claims that he himself leapt from the balcony. But Antonio claims he saw a boy, someone half Figaro’s size. The Count immediately realizes that the fugitive was Cherubino. Figaro, sticking to his story, says such optical illusions are common and that Cherubino was on his way to Seville. Figaro explains that he was hiding in the closet waiting for Susanna. After hearing the Count’s shouts, he decided to escape by jumping, and he has injured his foot in the process. He suddenly develops a limp in order to prove his story. But Antonio produces Cherubino’s military commission, which he found in the garden. Figaro, confounded, throws the gardener out. Prompted by the women, Figaro triumphantly explains that the page gave the paper to him because it lacks a seal. Marcellina, Bartolo, and Basilio arrive to demand justice, claiming that Figaro had entered into a contract to marry Marcellina in exchange for a loan. The Count agrees to judge the case, to the joy of Marcellina and the consternation of Figaro.

Act III An elegantly decorated room in the castle where the wedding will take place.

Alone, the Count ponders the confusing situation. Unseen by the Count, the Countess urges a reluctant Susanna to go ahead with Figaro’s plan and tell the Count that she will meet him in the garden later. Because Cherubino is gone, the Countess will impersonate Susanna. The Countess leaves. Susanna overhears the Count talking to himself about Figaro marrying Marcellina. Emboldened, she approaches him, claiming that she has come to get some smelling salts for the Countess, who is having a fainting fit. He tells her that she should keep the salts for herself because she is about to lose her intended husband. She counters that she will repay Marcellina’s loan with the dowry the Count had promised her. But the Count claims he cannot remember any such promise. She has no choice but to flirt with him, and they agree to meet in the garden at night. But as she is leaving, she runs into Figaro, and the Count overhears her saying that they have “won the case.” Enraged, the Count threatens to punish them for their betrayal (“"Vedrò mentr’io sospiro"”).

The judge Don Curzio arrives with Marcellina and Bartolo. He announces that Figaro must marry Marcellina or repay the loan. Figaro claims that he is of noble birth and cannot marry without his relatives’ consent. When the Count asks who they are, Figaro replies that he was stolen as an infant but hopes to find his parents within 10 years. Bartolo demands proof of his claim, so Figaro shows him a birthmark on his arm—a birthmark that reveals that he is the love child of Marcellina and Bartolo. The reunited family embrace as the frustrated Count rails against fate. Meanwhile, Susanna, unaware of this development, arrives with the money to pay Marcellina, only to be enraged by the sight of Figaro and his mother fondly embracing. But peace reigns when all is explained to her. The Count storms off with Don Curzio. Bartolo proposes marriage to Marcellina. Marcellina tears up Figaro’s debt. Bartolo gives Figaro and Susanna a dowry, and Susanna adds to it the money she had come in with. The four, chuckling at the Count’s frustration, go off to plan a double wedding.

The Countess enters, wondering if the plan to catch the Count will work and recalling sadly the loss of their love (“"Dove sono"”). After she leaves, Antonio and the Count arrive. Antonio tells the Count that he knows that Cherubino is still in the vicinity, because he found at his house the women’s clothing that Cherubino had been wearing. They run off to look for him. The Countess returns with Susanna, and the two concoct a note, from Susanna to the Count, asking for a meeting in the garden. They seal the note with a pin, which the Count is to return if he agrees to meet her.

Barbarina and some peasant girls, including Cherubino in disguise, come to serenade the Countess. Antonio and the Count return to unmask Cherubino, to the consternation of the Countess. The Count threatens to punish the boy, but Barbarina persuades the Count—who had once, with kisses, promised her anything she wanted—to let her marry Cherubino.

Figaro arrives, eager for the wedding preparations to begin. The Count begins to cross-examine him again, and Antonio produces Cherubino as proof that they have caught Figaro lying. But Figaro cleverly claims that it is possible that both he and Cherubino had jumped into the garden. The wedding march begins, and everyone goes off to get ready, leaving the Count and Countess alone. She refuses to discuss her confusion about Cherubino with him. The wedding party returns in procession, singing another paean to the abolition of the feudal right to sleep with the bride. Susanna slips the sealed note to the Count. As the couples dance the fandango, the Count opens the note, pricks his finger on the pin, and drops it. Figaro watches him with great amusement, believing the note to be from some unknown lady. The Count finds the pin, thrilled at the prospect of meeting Susanna later, and invites everyone to a magnificent wedding banquet.

Act IV The castle garden.

Barbarina, terribly upset, is searching the garden for something that she has lost (“"L’ho perduta, me meschina!"”). When Figaro arrives with Marcellina and asks the weeping girl what is wrong, she replies that she has lost the pin that the Count gave her to deliver to Susanna as a token of their tryst. Angry, but pretending that he already knows all about it, he plucks a pin from Marcellina’s dress and gives it to Barbarina, who goes off to give it to Susanna. Figaro collapses into his mother’s arms. She advises him to stay calm, but rage overtakes him and he vows to avenge all deceived husbands. Marcellina, afraid for Susanna, leaves to warn her. Figaro then enlists Basilio and Bartolo to help trap the lovers. Alone again, he denounces the perfidy of women (“"Aprite un po’ quegli occhi"”). He hides as Susanna arrives, accompanied by Marcellina and the Countess. Marcellina warns Susanna that Figaro is already in the garden. That suits Susanna just fine, as she can avenge herself on both Figaro for his jealousy and the Count for his philandering. Marcellina retires into the pavilion. The Countess is too nervous to remain but allows Susanna to stay for a bit to enjoy the breezes. Susanna sings a love song to an unnamed lover to punish the spying Figaro (“"Deh, vieni, non tardar, o gioia bella"”). Then she hides nearby and puts on the Countess’s cloak.

Figaro is furious, but he continues to lie in wait. Cherubino arrives, looking for Barbarina, who has meanwhile hidden herself in the pavilion. At the same time, the Countess enters, disguised as Susanna. Cherubino, not realizing who she really is, begins flirting with her. The Count comes in and receives the kiss Cherubino has meant for “Susanna.” The Count slaps Cherubino for his impudence, and the boy flees into the pavilion. Now the Count does some flirting of his own with “Susanna,” and Figaro becomes even angrier. The Count tries to lure “Susanna” into the dark pavilion. But hearing Figaro’s voice and fearing discovery, he tells her to go into the pavilion without him. He exits, promising to meet her later.

The real Susanna arrives, disguised as the Countess. When Figaro hears her voice, he immediately realizes who she is. He pretends to court the “Countess.” Susanna is furious until he reveals his joke, and they tenderly reconcile. When the Count returns, the couple replay the joke. The enraged Count seizes Figaro and calls for weapons. “The Countess” flees into the pavilion as Bartolo, Basilio, Antonio, and Curzio rush in. The Count demands that his wife come out of the pavilion. To everyone’s amazement, out pop Cherubino, Barbarina, Marcellina, and Susanna, who is still dressed as the Countess. She and Figaro pretend to beg the Count’s forgiveness. He refuses, and the Countess reveals herself. The chastened Count humbly asks her pardon. She grants it, and everyone rejoices.

Haydn - The Seasons (Die Jahreszeiten)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R__MYDtq6U