Donizetti wrote simpler songs for the lucrative market represented by a growing middle class, while his more difficult songs were showpieces fashioned for specific professional singers. Both types include songs of high caliber, which are represented in this collection. Many of them were commercial successes, even internationally, and were sung with delight by professionals and amateurs alike. This volume brings together a wonderful collection of Donizetti's songs, some of which were published in several editions during his lifetime and in the years just following, while others have never been in print. Recently, there has been a revival of interest in Donizetti's songs, but the works featured here have not been published anywhere else for more than a century.
Texts are in French and Italian.