When Love Speaks

And I begin my posting with a wonderful cd I have just found, entitled When Love Speaks. It features, of course, Ioan Gruffudd reciting William Shakespeare's Sonnet 14.

Sonnet 14
Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck;

And yet methinks I have astronomy,

But not to tell of good or evil luck,

Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality;

Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,

Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind,

Or say with princes if it shall go well,

By oft predict that I in heaven find:

But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,

And, constant stars, in them I read such art

As truth and beauty shall together thrive,

If from thyself to store thou wouldst convert;

Or else of thee this I prognosticate:

Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date.

William Shakespeare

Of course, listening to Ioan recite the sonnet, trilling his r's, is completely enchanting. So enchanting that if I listen to it a few more times, I might swoon!

The cd can be found here. For Horatio Hornblower and Ioan Gruffudd fans, Robert Lindsay and Ioan's friend Matthew Rhys also recite sonnets. Others include Ralph Fiennes, Joseph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Branagh, and many more. One can hear a good portion of each poem at the site.

Enchanting!!!