The Poet's Song
For SATB Voices with Piano Accompaniment
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mp3 - Florida State University Singers, Tallahassee, FL
Peter J. Durow, conductor
Peter J. Durow, conductor
Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Poet's Song" is a thought provoking poem with descriptive language. I like this poem because it is open ended, allowing for many different interpretations. I would challenge the singers of this song to come up with their own interpretation for what this poem is about. I also hope the text painting (writing music that reflects the literal meaning) that abounds throughout the work will be as fun for the singer and listener as it was for me to write.
Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
The rain had fallen, the Poet arose,
He pass'd by the town, and out of the street;
A light wind blew from the gates of the sun,
And waves of shadow went over the wheat,
And he sat him down in a lonely place,
And chanted a melody loud and sweet,
That made the wild-swan pause in her cloud,
And the lark drop down at his feet.
The swallow stopt as he hunted the fly,
The snake slipt under a spray,
The wild hawk stood with the down on his beak,
And stared, with his foot on the prey,
And the nightingale thought, "I have sung many songs,
But never a one so gay,
For he sings of what the world will be
When the years have died away."