A gift on my birthday

Today is my birthday, and besides being exhausted from a long weekend working in the garden, I'm luxuriating in the many blessings in my life. I took Shadow for a lovely walk, I'll plant a few more vegetables before the rain that's supposed to arrive tonight, and I'm thinking I might go visit a dear friend in the hospital this afternoon... and take her a birthday cupcake.

And I will listen to some beautiful music... including the piece below. I had never run into Ah, perdona al primo affetto until I attended the music recital of my nephew's girlfriend back in March. Louise sang it with another B. Mus graduate, and their voices blended as beautifully as the voices in the video below. It's a gorgeous piece of music from Mozart's opera, La Clemenza di Tito, the story of an emperor whose clemency knows no bounds in the end, and this video is my favourite of the versions of Ah, perdona that you can find online.

Music is a gift that keeps on giving in my life, and it's been a while since I've shared any with my readers... so enjoy!