This dramatic masterpiece is a standard selection in the soprano repertoire. The origin of this concert aria, though, is swathed in mystery. We still do not know where Beethoven found the text for the aria.
We do not know very much about Handel's compositions on poems by Barthold Heinrich Brockes. We can only date their composition to approximately 1724-1727. The autograph does not shed any light on the titles
The vocal works collected in this volume were composed for very different occasions. Several of them were tailor-made for female singers of Beethoven's acquaintance; with others he was trying his hand at