Fancy's charm

George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759).

L'Allegro, il Pensieroso ed il Moderato (HWV 55).

I. As steals the morn upon the night.

As steals the morn upon the night,
And melts the shades away:
So truth does fancy's charm dissolve,
And melts the shades away:
The fumes that did the mind involve,
Restoring intellectual day.
And as the morning steals upon the night,
Melting the darkness, so their rising senses
Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle
Their clearer reason.

[William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 5, scene 1]

Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Kate Royal (Soprano).
Ian Bostridge (Tenor).