Nabucco, Part III: Va pensiero (Chorus of the Enslaved Jews) (excerpt)

NABUCCO is the four-act Italian-language opera by Giuseppe Verdi that permanently established Verdi's reputation as a composer.  The opera, borrowed from the Bible, follows the plight of the Jews as they are violently conquered and exiled from the their homeland by the Babylonian king Nabucco, This story serves as a backdrop for the main romantic and political plot of the story.  The work best known from the opera is the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves," or "Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate" / "Fly, thought, on golden wings," a chorus that frequently receives encores in contemporary performances.  Sung at the end of the Act 3, the text of the chorus presents the Israelites as longing for their homeland after they've all been sentenced to execution.  The choral score is available separately from the publisher.