The Classical Voice

The Classical Voice

Apple Music Classical

Updated 13 hours ago

Though classical music tends to be distinguished by symphonic instruments, some of its most beautiful pieces rely solely on the human voice's expressive power. This playlist showcases that range and potential, encompassing everything from Renaissance song to Romantic lieder, opera and oratorio. And remember: We regularly update these pieces, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.

Ecco l'orrido campo

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Lise Davidsen, Edward Gardner

1:30

No. 2, In Haven

Hamish Brown, Beth Taylor

1:54

Aria. Se d’un Dio fui fatta madre (I)

Camille Delaforge, Ensemble Il Caravaggio, Floriane Hasler

2:45

The Road Home (Arr. for choir by Stephen Paulus)

Lies'l Hill, Phoenix Chorale, Christopher Gabbitas

3:39

Francia, nobile suol, si caro ai miei verd'anni!

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner, Lise Davidsen

5:29

No. 7, Duo Seraphim

I Fagiolini, Nicholas Mulroy, Hugo Hymas, Matthew Long, Robert Hollingworth, The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble

6:13

Flame of Love

Ensemble Altera, Sumei Bao-Smith, Christopher Lowrey, Elijah McCormack

8:31

Placide a miglior vita

Kammerorchester Basel, Terry Wey, Jeanine De Bique

8:19

Aria. Lascia ch'io pianga (Almirena)

Fatma Said, Les Frivolités Parisiennes, Sammy El Ghadab

4:45

No. 1, La o copiliță

Konstantin Krimmel, Ammiel Bushakevitz

3:03

Je te veux

Antonio Pappano, Aigul Akhmetshina

4:11

La vie en rose

Fatma Said, Les Frivolités Parisiennes, Sammy El Ghadab

4:07

VIII. In an Hour

Eric Whitacre Singers, Emma Denton

5:54

No. 3, As I Lay in the Early Sun

Nick Pritchard, Ian Tindale

1:47

Son giunta! – Madre pietosa vergine

Edward Gardner, Apollo Voices, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Lise Davidsen

6:08

Scene 1, Aria di Giorgio. Ah! sempre l'istessa vision!

Vincenzo Milletarì, Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali, Freddie De Tommaso

1:59

Bésame mucho (Arr. Lakeland for Soprano & Piano)

Antonio Pappano, Aigul Akhmetshina

3:46

Ask, Seek, Knock

Phoenix Consort, Edie Tunnicliffe, Adam Whitmore

2:04

Se in campo armato

Warsaw Chamber Opera Orchestra, Julien Salemkour, Simone Kermes

5:42

III. Amadou Diallo, 23 "Mom, I'm Going to College."

Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble

3:15

No. 5, Am Feierabend

Markus Miesenberger, Christian Haimel

2:39

Duncano sarà qui?

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Lise Davidsen, Edward Gardner

2:28

O mio babbino caro (Lauretta)

Fatma Said, Les Frivolités Parisiennes, Sammy El Ghadab

2:20

Tale of the Leiden Riddle

Christian Forshaw, Grace Davidson

5:53

No. 19, Der Müller und der Bach

Alexander Gergelyfi, Georg Nigl

5:21

No. 9, Look at the Stars

Eric Holtan, True Concord Voices & Orchestra

4:53

O Cool Is The Valley Now

Kevin J. Miller, John Holiday

2:15

I. Liebesbotschaft

George Xiaoyuan Fu, Lotte Betts-Dean

3:07

III. Sequentia: No. 3, Rex tremendae

Chamber Orchestra of Europe, RIAS Kammerchor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin

2:01

Marizápalos

Núria Rial, ArteMandoline

5:30

No. 14, Selbstgefühl

Joseph Middleton, Katharina Konradi

1:55

The Caged Bird Sings for Freedom

Eugene Rogers, Raymond Santos, Ruben Reyes, EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble

7:18

Mujer Fatal

Antonio Pappano, Aigul Akhmetshina

5:43

Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes (Arr. for Voice and Ensemble by John Andrews)

John Andrews, David Webb, Academy of Ancient Music

2:52

Gloria (by David Davies)

Charles Maxtone-Smith, Matthew Searles, Buckfast Abbey Choir

4:18

XII. Danza del juego de amor

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel, Pasión Vega

2:49

I. Allegro, ma non tanto

Netherlands Radio Choir, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmytro Popov, Karina Canellakis

6:47

No. 3, Exile

Joanna Songi, Matthew Fletcher

1:46

III. Halt!

Roderick Williams, Carducci String Quartet

1:35

This Sweet and Merry Month of May, T. 317

Owain Park, The Gesualdo Six

2:59

Scene 1, Must the winter come so soon?

Gianandrea Noseda, National Symphony Orchestra, J'Nai Bridges

2:09

No. 1, Frühlingsmorgen

Sophie Rennert, Joseph Middleton

2:01

Scene 1, Chi sa se undì

Freddie De Tommaso, Vincenzo Milletarì, Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali

2:49

Scene 2, Conobbi appena mia madre

Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali, Eleonora Buratto, Vincenzo Milletarì, Freddie De Tommaso

3:48

Break It Gently to My Mother

Nathan Hodgson, Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Matthew Guard

3:13

Der Zwerg, D. 771

Joseph Middleton, Sophie Rennert

5:12

Songs to the Dark Virgin

Ted Black, Sascha El Mouissi

1:54

Air. Son amour, sa constance extrême (Léontine)

Orchestre de l'Opéra Royal, Lauranne Oliva, Théotime Langlois de Swarte

2:55

Una sanosa porfia

Axelle Verner, Simon-Pierre Bestion, Edouard Monjanel-Bensaïd, René Ramos Premier, Hélène Richaud, La Tempête

5:24

Ave Maria

Ringmasters, VOCES8

7:20

Scene 2, Aber, wie sah meine Mutter wohl aus?

Fabio Luisi, Daniel Johansson, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

2:06

Glück, das mir verblieb

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Malin Byström, Thomas Søndergård

5:39

No. 4, Vast, Green

Myra Huang, Nicholas Phan, Jasper String Quartet

3:31

Schön wie die blaue Sommernacht (From "Giuditta")

Nikola Hillebrand, Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Jonas Kaufmann, Dirk Kaftan

4:09

Scene 1, Vorspiel. Walkürenritt (The Ride of the Valkyries); Hojotoho!…Hojotoho!

Alexandra Loutsion, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Deniz Uzun, Kathryn Henry, Sun-Ly Pierce, Renee Tatum, Fabio Luisi, Miriam Clark, Melody Wilson

7:48

T'ubbidirò, crudele...Fammi combattere

Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu, Franck-Emmanuel Comte, Xavier Sabata

4:19

An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht, D. 614

Sophie Rennert, Joseph Middleton

7:15

Cavatina. Casta Diva (Norma, Coro)

Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Elsa Dreisig, Coro del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Massimo Zanetti

5:16

Sospiri, volato, G. 130

Lauranne Oliva, Orchestre de l'Opéra Royal, Théotime Langlois de Swarte

3:46

If Music Be the Food of Love, Z. 379 (Third Version)

Michał Biel, Jakub Józef Orliński

4:43

II. Gloria in excelsis Deo

Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens

5:35

Vissi d'arte (Piano Reduction) [Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023]

James Baillieu, Lise Davidsen

3:41

II. BETH. Plorans ploravit

Peter Phillips, The Tallis Scholars

5:23

Amour, cruel amour

Véronique Gens, Ensemble les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas

4:03

Gaude et laetare Ferrariensis civitas

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers

6:35

No. 2, Extase

Elsa Dreisig, Massimo Zanetti, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova

3:42

No. 10, Es war der Tag der weißen Chrysanthemen

Aleksandra Myslek, Florian Störtz

2:40

Psalm 22.21

1:30

Non più mesta

Apollo Voices, Aigul Akhmetshina, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniele Rustioni, Genevieve Ellis

3:14

Nos esprits libres et contents

Paul Figuier, Les Bacchantes, Ronan Khalil

2:56

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation

Owen Rees, Choir of the Queen's College, Oxford, Molly Skeil

5:19

I. Villanelle

Carrie-Ann Matheson, Benjamin Bernheim

2:03

Sonetto. Proemio dell’opera

Les Kapsber'girls

5:45

Can she excuse my wrongs?

Ruby Hughes, Jonas Nordberg

2:25

No. 1, Chorus. Herr, unser Herrscher

Raphaël Pichon, Pygmalion

7:48

Donna non vidi mai

Edward Gardner, Freddie De Tommaso, London Philharmonic Orchestra

2:32

IX. Agnus Dei

The Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice

2:17

I attempt from Love’s sickness

Sounds Baroque, Helen Charlston

1:50

Quand l’espoir t’es ravi (Live)

Kenneth Kellogg, Patrick Dupré Quigley, Chauncey Packer, Opera Lafayette Orchestra

2:18

Ave Maria

The King's Singers

5:19

Crudel tu non farai

Laurence Cummings, Academy of Ancient Music, Mary Bevan, Randall Scotting

5:30

No. 1, C'est l'extase langoureuse

Magdalena Kožená, Mitsuko Uchida

3:14

"Il faut nous séparer" (Charlotte, Werther)

Matthew Polenzani, Isabel Leonard, Robert Spano, Houston Grand Opera

2:07

Alalt a ci (Arr. Schuen for Voice and Piano) [Musical Moments]

Andrè Schuen, Daniel Heide

3:33

Sombre déesse du silence

Véronique Gens, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, Ensemble les Surprises

1:44

Solveig's Song. Kanske vil der gå både Vinter og Vår (Solveig)

Massimo Zanetti, Elsa Dreisig, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova

5:26

No. 25, If I can stop one Heart from breaking (on Praetorius "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming")

Time for Three, Joyce DiDonato

2:05

I. Ô bon printemps

Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Normandie, Julien Henric, Hélène Guilmette, Pierre Dumoussaud, Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur

2:14

Duo de la Paix et de la Félicité

Adèle Charvet, Mariamielle Lamagat, Ensemble Théodora

4:52

No. 2, A Song of Qiu-pu

Hugo Hymas, Nicholas Daniel

1:56

O mio babbino caro (Lauretta)

Maria Callas, Tullio Serafin, Philharmonia Orchestra

2:38

There Will Be Rest

6:57

Petite bague taillée (Live)

Chauncey Packer, Patrick Dupré Quigley, Nicole Cabell, Kenneth Kellogg, Joshua Conyers, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Opera Lafayette Orchestra

3:14

Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen

Les Frivolités Parisiennes, Sammy El Ghadab, Fatma Said

3:04

All Bells in Paradise

Britten Sinfonia, Daniel Hyde, The Choir of King's College, Cambridge

5:08

I’d roam the world over with you

Iain Burnside, Roderick Williams

3:54

VI. Benedictus

Alex Rosén, Beth Taylor, Laurence Kilsby, Raphaël Pichon, Pygmalion, Ying Fang

4:33

Caro Mio Ben

Cecilia Bartoli, György Fischer

2:43

Franchigia a Floria Tosca

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Jonathan Tetelman, Daniel Harding, Eleonora Buratto

2:14

A Hymne to God the Father

Eligio Quinteiro, Grace Davidson, Richard Gowers

3:00