Caro Mio Ben

This song is often attributed to Giuseppe Giordani, a Neapolitan contemporary of Mozart. However, it has been proven that the composer is not Giordani, but an unidentified author working around the mid of the 18th century.

The bay of Naples. Pietro Fabris/masterart.com

The music is between the Italian baroque and the classical style. The prominent building block of melody is the scale, characteristic to the baroque songs, however, the accompaniment (string quartet in the original version) is airy and graceful, and follows merely the style of classical harmonization. The musical form is ABA and a coda with opportunity for a cadenza.

Thou, all my bliss, believe but this when thou art far my heart is lorn. Thy faithful always sighs, do but forgo such cruel scorn.

Claude Debussy: Green

Songs and chansons form very significant part of Debussy's early oevrue, he wrote almost a hundred songs prior to his opera Pelléas and Melisande in 1902. Green is the fifth song from the cycle Ariettes oubliées (mélodies pour voix et piano) of Verlaine's poems. The cycle was written in 1885 and revised in 1887, and it is often mentioned as a milestone in Debussy's handling of lyrics. During these years, he discovered how to arrange musical elements - colors and motion - in respect of the lyrics - the words - with great sensitivity.

Particularly Green is composed on the poem Green (Aquarelles #1) by Verlaine. The song has an ABA form with a short coda. Probably the coda is the most difficult part of the interpretation, due to its constantly deep vocal range.

Interesting to note that this is characteristic to a handful number of Debussy's songs, the tessitura - the average vocal range - is low in general, however one cannot transpose up because of a few high notes. With this technique, Debussy wanted to reach a spoken-like sounding to emphasize the lyrical part as the base of his music.

Claudin de Sermisy: D'ou vien cela

Little is known about Sermisy's youth, even his birthdate is unknown. In 1508 the young Sermisy was appointed as a singer in the Royal Chapel of Louis XII, where he was also a cleric - this probably happened when he was 18. He was a famous composer of sacred music. Today we understand that Sermisy's most famous contribution to music literature is his output of chansons, of which there are approximately 175.

Ercole de Roberti: Portia and Brutus

D'ou vien cela is the song of a disappointed lover to his beloved, trying to ensure her about his deep devotion. The tune consists of 6 lines which are all quite long and they are arranged to a surprising musical structure of ABABCC, however, B is a slightly higher variant of A, and moreover, C is also a variant of A. The opus was so famous that several contemporary arrangements were written, including the one of the great Cabezón, transcribed to the lute. The tune is in the upmost part, played mostly by the fifth finger of the right hand in this clavirchord interpretation of Cabezón's work.

Claudio Monteverdi: Lasciatemi morire

We know only the Lamento from Monteverdi's second opera L'Arianna, written arond 1608. This aria would be so popular that Monteverdi rearranged it to a madrigal as well and published independently from the opera in other different versions, too. It has survived in this form - although all other parts of the opera have been lost.

(Austrian National Library/wikimedia)

The whole Lamento is longish, ~11 min, and very often, only the introductory part is performed in concerts. This excerpt has a ternary musical form (ABA) in a dark and dramatic style - eventually, Monteverdi was the first master of musical drama. The aria is originaly written for a soprano, but out of the operatic context it is also performed by alts, tenors and even baritones.

The text is: Let me die; let me die! What you think could comfort me in such a harsh fate, in such a great martyrdom? Let me die.