DESCRIPTION:
From a recital given at the Concertgebouw in 1956, here is Canadian soprano Lois Marshall with pianist George van Renesse performing "Incassum Lesbia, incassum rogas" by Henry Purcell. This elegy on the death of Queen Mary was written by a Mr. R. Herbert.

Link to my Lois Marshall playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL549E09B46DF26512

"Incassum Lesbia, incassum rogas,
Lyra mea, mens est immodulata;
Terrarum orbe lachrymarum pleno,
Dolorum pleno,
Rogita tu cantilenam?

En nymphas! En pastores!
Caput omne reclinat
Juncorum instar!
Admodum fletur;
Nec Galutea canit,
Nec ludit Tityrus agris;
Non curant oves,
Moerore perditi.

Regina, heu!
Arcadiae regina periit!
O! damnum non exprimendum!
Non suspiriis, non gementibus imis,
Pectoris aut queruli
Singultu turbido.
Miseros, Arcades!
O quam lugentes!
Suorum gaudium oculorum, mirum
Abiit, nunquam, O nunquam reversurum!
Stella sua fixa
Coelum ultra lucet."

"In vain, Lesbia, do you beseech me,
The mood of my lyre is discordant;
When the world is filled with tears,
Filled with grief,
Do you entreat me to sing?

Lo, the nymphs, lo, the shepherds,
All heads are bent low
As if gathered in a herd,
There is much shedding of tears.
Galatea sings no more,
Nor does Tityrus play in the fields;
They are not caring for the flock,
But are lost in mourning.

The Queen, alas!
The Queen of Arcadia is gone forever,
O loss that cannot be expressed,
Neither by sighs, nor by deepest groans,
Nor by lamenting breast's
Unrelenting sobbing.
Deeply afflicted Arcadians!
O how they are grieving!
The happy look of their eyes
Is gone, never, never to return!
Her star, immovable,
Shines on in the heavens."

The New York Times said Lois Marshall was "a singer who could make "Frère Jacques" sound like a cry from the heart."