Georg Frideric Handel - Rinaldo - "Lascia ch'io pianga" (Arleen Auger)

It had to come to this :-)... Handel is particularly famous for his various largos ("Cara sposa", anyone?), but I always felt that some of the most famous of these pieces are really not that good (I can't say I like "Ombra mai fu" or "Where'er you walk") and that some are injustly out of the public's favor (a prime example is Ino's introspective "Turn, hopeless lover" from "Semele" which, I hope, I will come around to posting). And yet, despite my critical view, I really like "Lashia ch'io pianga" which, because of it's evergrowing popularity, seems to have turned into a sort of pop ballad, so many artists have recorded it (Christ, even Charlotte Church gave it a try). But so many versions highlights the fact that not many artists can provide, at the very least, a decent account of the aria. The present post is my personal pick: Arleen Auger. Not only does this recording feature some truly beautiful singing (I especially like the very begining of each A section), but it is also taken at a very slow tempo (it takes a full minute longer to perform that it does usually), though such a tempo actually underlines the music's tragic notes. Hope you enjoy :-)!

P.S. I must stress though that in spite of all I have said here that this aria is still one of the highpoints of Handel's career, especially when sung as here :-)!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Arleen
• Auger
• Lashia
• ch'io
• pianga
• coloratura
• Handel
• Rinaldo
• classical

[Xerexda]

She is an artist from another world , more peacful than ours ,,, god rest her soul.

[verysmo]

Thank you for this wonderful posting. This is one recording of this piece that I can truly take seriously. Arleen Auger had some special connection to the divine when she sang.

[johnalce]

@achantus1 we are, maybe not all of us, European!

And this is deeply part of our culture.

Maybe not that easy to find out, but this is how we are!

[cugir321]

Very different from the norm of artists....such a sweet voice. Interesting phrasing.

[OlDoinyo]

That this is the best performance of this I have ever heard comes as no surprise at all, considering who the singer was. The more I listen to her recordings, the more I realize what an extraordinary singer this quiet, unassuming Californian was.

[stellapaulie]

Antichrist-amazing song and film

[witchcraftlord]

@achantus1 Hello fellow music lover. What attracts me is the tones and sounds of the instruments, baroque violins and strings sound way more full, brilliant than twangy country music fiddle. I love the way it sounds so smooth and organised, it is relaxing, i think its more emotional than classical music. I like Beethoven and Mozart, but they are of the classical peroid. At the end of Bach and Handels life, around 1750, is the end of the baroque era,

[achantus1]

@witchcraftlord Ok. I believe you! But I love baroque music too. What exactly about baroque music is it that attracts you? Do you have any favourites? I love Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner too.Greetings from Norway.

[JADEGOODYSCORPSE]

@sexualfuturist The intro to anti-christ is so depressing.

[achantus1]

@witchcraftlord I agree with you! There is something very special about early european music (though I love Mozart , Beethoven and Wagner also). Have you listen to Monteverdi or Purcell? It's the western worlds at it's best, most creative and vital. Unfortunately a world that now has lost all it's power and strength. I travel extencively in Europe almost every week, and I see this firsthand, and it makes so incredible sad. "Old" Europe, farewell! I will weep for you.

[sexualfuturist]

This was the only song in the Lars von Trier film, "AntiChrist", a metaphorical view of how grief can destroy a relationship...

[lllmozartlll]

Enregistrement sublime. Arleen Auger non seulement etait un personnage fort sympathique, mais aussi l'une des sopranos les plus douees et aimees de notre epoque. Cette version de 'Lascia ch'io pianga' est absolument phenomenal.