Two Songs from Twelfth Night for baritone and chamber orchestra are excerpts from my opera of the same name based on Shakespeare’s comedy. Two of Shakespeare’s most beautiful songs, they are both sung by Feste, the fool who sets much of the mood for the comedy. “O Mistress Mine” is an idyllic celebration of young love, “Come away, come away, death” a courtly lament for a lost love. They seem to come from a paradise, but in the play (and in the opera) they can be shocking: the first is sung for two old drunkards, the second for two lovers who because of delusion and disguise are unable to express their love, the sentimental lament highlighting their very real pain.
From the opera Twelfth Night.