What would love be without music – or music without love! Many couples associate unforgettable beautiful hours, a first meeting, or first kiss with a particular song. And composers have always been inspired and stimulated by love, have celebrated romantic love and longing from afar, secret love, and jealousy. In her selection of 80 songs from seven centuries, Mirjam James evokes this tremendous feeling with the most beautiful songs ranging from medieval courtly songs, through Beethoven’s Ich liebe dich, to the Beatles song And I love her. Many of the songs come from German and English language traditions, but what would such a book be without the fire of southern Europe or a dose of French charm, without the moving melodies of cool northern climes, or the melancholy songs of the Russian soul? A vocal score has been published which contains all of the the songs in the new Carus book of lovesongs in easily playable accompaniments. For many of these songs choral settings by famous composers such as John Dowland, Thomas Morley, Thomas Tallis or Thoinot Arbeau have been adopted, wherever possible, in their original form. In addition, well-known and familiar original settings by Beethoven, Brahms, Benjamin Britten, and other composers will be found in this collection. Songs with entirely new accompaniments have also been included, resulting in a collection of lovesongs offering a distinctive stylistic variety suitable for many different occasions.