Quote Originally Posted by Fritz The Cat View Post
Tell about your experience with Romance languages! Which is the most romantic language?
In Switzerland we have 4 national languages: German, Italian, French and Romantsch. According to surveys, people here like the Romantsch (of Canton of Grisons) the most, though nearly nobody understands it. But its sounds great! Is it the most Romantic language of Switzerland?
Fritz, sorry to have taken so long to get back to you on this. I am not sure how I can approach this because for me that choice is more musically than romantically based. My favorite is Italian currently, but that is because of how many singers I am completely impressed with who happen to sing in Italian (and English coincidentally) because that is where they are from. That began with Maria Pia De Vito many years ago.

If I define romantic as deeply expressive, not particularly a Romance family language, Irish Gaelic and its close relative Scots Galic pop right up. Lately, however, Norwegian leaves the strongest impression. The reason for that is again a significant number of individual musicians of immense talent who grew up with Norwegian as their first language. Singing either their native tongue or English, they are massively expressive. Examples would be Anneli Drecker, Bendik, and Aurora. Drecker began as the vocalist of Bel Canto decades ago.

One thing many of these vocalists share is being phenomenal singers technically as well as expressively. De Vito, the Irish Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, and Lisa Gerrard are the best living singers I have heard, period.