"Singer/Song of the Day" Month

Last year, I devoted a series of posts to the month of February called "Singer of Day" Month. This year, in keeping with the tradition, I'd like to highlight the Song, Lied and Mélodie. Hopefully, it will yield some great singers, examples of great music from the song repertoire and perhaps some unknown gems.

So far we've had:
February 1: Descúbrase El Pensamiento from Canicones Amatorias (Enrique Granados)
February 2: Bachiana Brasileira No. 5 (Villa-Lobos)
February 3: Du liebst mich nicht (Schubert)
February 4: Havanaise (Viardot)
February 5: Moi genie, moi angel, moi drug (Tchaikovsky)
February 6: Ging heut Morgen übers Feld (Mahler)
February 7: Schäfer's Klagelied (Schubert)
February 8: Non,Je Ne Regrette Rien (Charles Dumont)
February 9: Von Ewiger Liebe (Brahms)
February 10: Haugtussa (Grieg)
February 11: The Sound of Freedom (Moustafa Fahmy, Mohamed Khalifa, and Mohamed Shaker)
February 12: Mutya ng Pasig (Nicanor Aberlando)
February 13: Eri già tutta mia (Monteverdi)
February 14: Lied von der belebenden Wirkung des Geldes (Hanns Eisler)
February 15: Stripsody Cathy Berbarian
February 16: Youkali Kurt Weill
February 17: Berceuses du Chat Stravinksy
February 18: Berceuses du Chat Stravinksy
February 19: Berceuses du Chat Stravinksy
February 20: Berceuses du Chat Stravinksy
February 21: Como quieres que adivine? Guridi

Havanaise (Viardot) Cecilia Bartoli

Pauline Viardot,1821-1910, daughter of Manuel Garcia, the famous tenor and vocal pedagogue, was a major figure in her time. She was fluent in four languages by the age four, and she was an extremely gifted piano prodigy. She became a celebrated mezzo soprano and was well known for her extensive range, excellent technique and her expressive stage presence. She taught at the Paris Conservatory from 1871-1875.

Bartoli features some of her songs on her album, Chant D'Amour. This is one of the pieces on that album. It may not stand up to Schubert, Debussy or Brahms, but the melodic writing is beautiful and the piece offers the singer an opportunity for great expression,sensuality and agility. The style is a mixture of Spanish and French idioms, which are drawn from Viardot's Spanish/French background.

I'm not including a translation here because listening to the performance is all one needs to do. Bartoli is absolutely enthralling.