WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART “Laudate Dominum,” from Vesperae Solennes de Confessore [Psalm 117]

Laudate Dominum omnes gentes Laudate eum, omnes populi Quoniam confirmata est Super nos misericordia eius Et veritas Domini manet in aeternum Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper Et in saecula saeculorum Amen

Praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise him, all ye peoples. For his loving kindness (mercy) has been bestowed upon us, and the truth of the Lord endures for eternity Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL “To fleeting pleasures make your court,” from Samson [Newburgh Hamilton]

To fleeting pleasures make your court, no moment lose, for life is short! The present now’s our only time, the missing that our only crime.

HANDEL “Lascia ch’io pianga,” from Rinaldo [Giacomo Rossi]

Lascia ch’io pianga mia cruda sorte, e che sospiri la libertà Il duolo infranga queste ritorte de’ miei martiri sol per pietà

Let me weep for my cruel fate And sigh after freedom! May sorrow shatter these chains, of my torments for pity alone.

GIACOMO PUCCINI “O mio babbino caro,” from Gianni Schicchi [Giovacchino Forzano]

O mio babbino caro, mi piace è bello, bello; vo’andare in Porta Rossa a comperar l’anello! Sì, sì, ci voglio andare! e se l’amassi indarno, andrei sul Ponte Vecchio, ma per buttarmi in Arno! Mi struggo e mi tormento! O Dio, vorrei morir! Babbo, pietà, pietà!

Oh, dear papa, I like him, he’s handsome, he’s handsome; I want to go to Porta Rossa to buy the ring! Yes, yes, I want to go! And if it’s useless to love him, I’ll go to the Ponte Vecchio and throw myself into the Arno! I am pining, I am tortured! O God, I could die! Papa, have pity, have pity!

REYNALDO HAHN

“L’heure exquise,” from 7 Chansons Grises [Paul Verlaine]

The exquisite hour

La lune blanche Luit dans les bois. De chaque branche Part une voix Sous la ramée. Ô bien-aimée… L’étang reflète Profond miroir, La silhouette Du saule noir Où le vent pleure. Rêvons, c’est l’heure. Un vaste et tendre Apaisement Semble descendre Du firmament Que l’astre irise. C’est l’heure exquise!

The white moon Glimmers in the woods; From each branch A voice sounds Beneath the canopy… O my beloved. The pond reflects, Deep mirror, The silhouette Of the black willow Where the wind weeps… Let us dream, it is the hour. A vast and tender Solace Seems to descend From the heavens The iridescent moon shines… It is the exquisite hour!

Si mes vers avaient des ailes [Victor Hugo]

If my verses had wings

Mes vers fuiraient, doux et frêles, Vers votre jardin si beau, Si mes vers avaient des ailes, Comme l’oiseau. Ils voleraient, étincelles, Vers votre foyer qui rit, Si mes vers avaient des ailes, Comme l’esprit. Près de vous, purs et fidèles, Ils accourraient nuit et jour, Si mes vers avaient des ailes, Comme l’amour.

My verses would flee, sweet and frail, To your garden so fair, If my verses had wings, Like a bird. They would fly, like sparks, To your smiling hearth, If my verses had wings, Like the mind. Pure and faithful, to your side They’d hasten night and day, If my verses had wings, Like love! —English translation © Richard Stokes

“Les étoiles,” from 12 Rondels [Théodore de Banville]

The stars

Les cieux resplendissants d’Étoiles Aux radieux frissonnements, Ressemblent à des flots dormants Que sillonnent de blanches voiles. Quand l’azur déchire ses voiles, Nous voyons les bleus firmaments, Les cieux resplendissant d’Étoiles, Aux radieux frissonnements. Quel peintre mettra sur ses toiles, O dieu! leurs clairs fourmillements, Ces fournaises de diamants Qu’à nos yeux ravis tu dévoiles, Les cieux resplendissants d’Étoiles?

The skies resplendent with stars Shimmering with radiance, Resemble sleeping waves Furrowed by white sails. When the sky tears its veils, We see the blue firmament, The skies resplendent with stars Shimmering with radiance. What painter will put on his canvases, O god! their bright glittering, These furnaces of diamonds Revealed to our delighted eyes, The skies resplendent with stars?

J. TODD FRAZIER We Hold These Truths

The preamble to the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

JOHN KANDER A Letter from Sullivan Ballou

Major Sullivan Ballou, Camp Clark, July 14, 1861 My very dear Sarah: The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall upon your eye when I am no more. I have no misgivings about or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American civilization now leans on the triumph of the government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the revolution. And I am willing, perfectly willing to lay down all my joys in this life to help maintain this government, and to pay that debt. Sarah, my love for you is deathless It seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but omnipotence could break; and yet my love of country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistably on with all these chains to the battlefield. The mem’ries of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but a few and small claims upon divine providence, but something whispers to me, perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name. Forgive my faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears ev’ry little spot upon your happiness … But, oh, Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights, always, always. And if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.

“So in Love,” from Kiss Me, Kate

Strange dear, but true dear, When I’m close to you, dear, The stars fill the sky, So in love with you am I. Even without you, My arms fold about you, You know darling why, So in love with you am I. In love with the night mysterious, The night when you first were there, In love with my joy delirious, When I knew that you could care, So taunt me, and hurt me, Deceive me, desert me, I’m yours, till I die … So in love … So in love … So in love with you, my love … am I.

ALAN JAY LERNER AND FREDERICK LOEWE “I Could Have Danced All Night,” from My Fair Lady

Bed, bed I couldn’t go to bed! My head’s too light to try to set it down. Sleep, sleep I couldn’t sleep tonight, Not for all the jewels in the crown! I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night And still have begged for more. I could have spread my wings and done a thousand things I’ve never done before. I’ll never know what made it so exciting, Why all at once my heart took flight. I only know when he began to dance with me I could have danced, danced, danced all night!