Cavatina

Goethe’s Faust has already been set to music by various renowned musicians, such as Berlioz, Busoni and Spohr, and indeed Charles Gounod, who built his eponymous opera around the tale. Gounod’s Faust is primarily known for its lovely melodies and its beautifully expressive vocal parts and subtle orchestrations. One of the high points of this opera is doubtless this impressive Cavatina (“Salut, demeure chaste et pure”). Wil van der Beek has arranged the Cavatina with the euphonium as solo instrument.