One of the most asked questions is about rep.  Where can I find music written for contralto and what do you recommend?

Here is a list of the most popular pieces composed for contraltos:

Arias – Opera & Oratorio:

• Lullaby from the opera “The Consul” by Gian Carlo Menotti (English)
• Voce di donna from the opera “La Giocando” by Amilcare Ponchielli (Italian)
• Podrugi Milie from the opera “Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky (Russian)
• Alone and Yet Alive from the opera “The Mikado” by Gilbert & Sullivan (English)
• Stride la Vampa from the opera “Il Trovatore” by Verdi (Italian)
• Thy Hand Belinda from the opera “Dido and Aeneas” by Purcell (English)
• Va! Laisse couler mes larmes from the opera “Werther” by Massonet (French)
• Scherza Infida from the opera “Ariodante” by Handel (Italian)
• Parto, Parto from the opera “La Clemenza di Tito” by Mozart (Italian)
• Gelido in ogni vena from the opera “Il Farnace” by Vivaldi (Italian)
• Qui Sedes ad dextram Patris from the Vivaldi Gloria (Latin)
• Qui Sedes ad dextram Patris from Bach mass in B minor (Latin)
• Wie alles war (weiche, Wotan, weiche) from the opera “Das Rheingold” by Wagner (German)
• Merknyet Svyet Dnevnoy (Konchakavna’s Cantiva) from the opera “Prince Igor” by Borodin (Russian)

Art Song: Read more

A very nice review on our last concert of the season. Thanks to David Hawley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press who also acknowledged the fact that he could not stay for the 2nd half of the performance due to a deadline.

Palestrina, composer

Legend has it that Palestrina, perhaps the most-recognized composer before Bach, dissuaded the 16th century Council of Trent from banning polyphony in church music by composing a six-voice Mass that was reverent and clear and — well, ethereal.

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