Arleen Auger: Bist du bei mir (G. H. Stölzel *)

* The encyclopedia clarifies why this work should be attributed to Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel rather than to Johann Sebastian Bach. Bist du bei mir, geh' ich mit Freuden zum Sterben und zu meiner Ruh'. Ach, wie vergnügt wär' so mein Ende, es drückten deine lieben Hände mir die getreuen Augen zu! If you are with me, I go with gladness To death and to my rest. Ah, how pleasant would my end be, Were it your loving hands That closed my faithful eyes! Any purer singing voice than this? Admirers of Arleen and Lucia Popp will forgive me for detailing some of the parallels between them: 1939 - Both born, one in California, one in Slovakia. Both were such beautiful ladies with exquisite voices and techniques. Both worked with Irwin Gage. Both sang "Queen of the Night" early in their careers before developing wide repetoires, including opera, recital and Oratorio. Both recorded extensively. Arleen performed in front of one of the biggest audiences ever. The live TV pictures of her singing Exultate Jubilate at Prince Andrew's wedding in 1986 were watched by an estimated 700 million. 1993 - Brain tumor claimed both at age 53.