Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix

I discovered A. Francis Pinto’s transcription of the timeless “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” aria from Camille Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila on an online archival collection of harp music in the public domain. I immediately printed it out and began working on it, but I soon realized that Pinto’s transcription transposed the aria into C Major, when it is originally sung in D-flat Major. I then took Pinto’s transcription and decided it would be worth it to transpose it back to the original key of D-flat. In doing so, I had to creatively troubleshoot a couple of pedal passages, which I solved through some editing, enharmonic spelling, and shifting my left foot over to change the F pedal. Not only is it musically fulfilling to play the aria in its original key, but the harp resonates beautifully in D-flat Major and this idiomatic trait enhances the experience of performing, and listening to, this aria on the harp.

I would like to thank A. Francis Pinto for creating such a beautiful transcription of this aria, on which I could edit and create this iteration. I encourage the player to listen to recordings of different sopranos singing this aria and to take inspiration from their differing interpretations.

Download and Read a Sample