But Oh! What Art Can Teach
About this Piece
The Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day sets all seven stanzas and chorus of a 1687 poem by English poet John Dryden (1631-1700). The sixth stanza, “But oh! What art can teach,” was originally performed in 1739 by a soprano accompanied by organ, representing the most evocative part of the cycle.
— From program notes by Gregg Wager