Verdi piante, erbette liete (Angelica)
from Handel’s Orlando (1733)
Rosemary Joshua
Les Arts Florissants/William Christie
Verdi piante, erbette liete,
Vago rio, speco frondoso,
Sia per voi benigno il ciel.
Delle vostre omb'e segrete
Mai non turbi'l bel riposo
Vènto reo, nembo crudel.
Blooming thickets, bow'ry scene
lovely rill, and grotto green,
ever my serenest skies
cheer you with their kind supplies.
Never may destructive storm
your delicious sweets deform,
or the soft repose invade
of your ever secret shade.
- TRANSLATION by Samuel Humphreys (c. 1698-1738)
CD available from ERATO:
Art by Christine Ellger: