#paladilhe

Émile Paladilhe: Psyché

Je suis jaloux, Psyché, de toute la nature ! Les rayons du soleil vous baisent trop souvent, Vos cheveux souffrent trop les caresses du vent, Quand il les flatte,  j’en murmure! L’air même que vous respirez Avec trop de plaisir passe sur votre bouche. Votre habit de trop près vous touche ! Et sitôt que vous soupirez Je ne sais quoi qui m’effarouche Craint, parmi vos soupirs, des soupirs égarés !

The Under-Appreciated of the Week goes to the stunning French art song, "Psyché" by Émile Paladilhe (1844-1926). Greek legend has it that Psyché wasbeautiful enough to make even Venus jealous. Venus eventually ordered her son, Cupid, to shoot Psyché with one of his arrows, in the hopes that she would fall in love with a strategically-placed ugly beast. But when the time comes, Cupid is so struck by her beauty that he shoots himself with his own arrow.

Psyché Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Antonio Canova, The Louvre

There are only a handful of recordings on YouTube - Spotify offers a few, namely Renée Fleming's version that is taken at her typical (under)tempo. But Beverly Sills delivers a rendition that does the song justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3Xw_Cy6VA

How can a song be so simple yet so haunting? If only Beverly's last 45 seconds were of a higher audio quality!