Purcell Ode, and Other Poems
Date: 2018-01-27T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: English poetry -- 19th century

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Purcell Ode, and Other Poems

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Purcell Ode, and Other Poems

Author: Robert Bridges

Release date: January 27, 2018 [eBook #56448]
Most recently updated: January 24, 2021

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56448

Credits: Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Chuck Greif and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PURCELL ODE, AND OTHER POEMS ***

P u r c e l l   O d e
And Other Poems

Purcell   Ode

And Other Poems

By
Robert Bridges

Chicago
Way & Williams
1896

Copyright
By Way & Williams
MDCCCXCVI

University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U. S. A.

Two Hundred Copies printed on Van Gelder paper.

CONTENTS

| Page
Ode to Music | 29
The Fair Brass | 42
November | 45
The South Wind | 49
Winter Nightfall | 53

PREFACE

The words of the Ode as here given differ slightly from those which appeared with Dr. Parry’s Cantata, sung at the Leeds Festival and at the Purcell Commemoration in London last year.

Since the poem was never perfected as a musical ode,—and I was not in every particular responsible for it,—I have tried to make it more presentable to readers, and in so doing have disregarded somewhat its original intention. But it must still ask indulgence, because it still betrays the liberties and restrictions which seemed to me proper in an attempt to meet the requirements of modern music.

It is a current idea that, by adopting a sort of declamatory treatment, it is possible to give to almost any poem a satisfactory musical setting;[1] whence it would follow that a non-literary form is a needless extravagance. From this general condemnation I wish to defend my poem, or rather my judgment, for I do not intend to discuss or defend my poem in detail, nor to try to explain what I hoped to accomplish when I engaged in the work; it is still further from my intention that anything which I shall say should be taken as applying to the music with which my ode was, far beyond its deserts, honored and beautified. But I am concerned in combating the general proposition that modern music, by virtue of a declamatory method, is able satisfactorily to interpret almost any kind of good poetry.

Such questions are generally left to the musician, and it should not be unwelcome to hear what may be said on the literary side. I shall therefore state what appear to me to be impediments in the way of this announced happy marriage of music and poetry, and enumerate some of the difficulties which, it seems to me, must especially beset the musician who would attempt to interpret pure literature by musical declamation.

First, the repetitions in music and poetry are incompatible. Though some simple forms dependent on repetition are common to both, yet the general laws are in the two arts contraries. In poetry repetition is avoided, in music it is looked for. A musical phrase has its force and significance increased by repetition, and is often in danger of losing its significance unless it be repeated; whereas such a repetition in poetry is likely to endanger the whole effect of the original statement. And when reiterations that can be compared occur in both, then the second occurrence will in music be generally the strongest, but in poetry the weakest; and the intensity of the repetitions goes on decreasing in music, and increasing for some time in poetry, till both become intolerable.

Secondly, the difficulty which this difference occasions is much increased by the method of declamatory exposition. Musical declamation must mean that the musical phrase is not chosen, as the earlier musicians might have chosen or invented it, chiefly for the sake of its own musical beauty, in correspondence with the mood[2] of the words, and merely fitting the syllables, but that it is invented also to follow the verbal phrase in correspondence with some notion of rhetorical utterance, or natural inflection of speech enforcing the sense, and in so far with lesser regard to its own purely musical value. Such a musical phrase will therefore, in proportion to its success, be more closely associated with the words, and cannot well be repeated unless the words are repeated, which the declamation forbids.

Thirdly, when a declamatory musical movement is once started, the musician has very few means of bringing it to a conclusion. There is the method of repetition, which does not suit the Ode,[3] and which on his own theory he is almost forbidden to use; and there is the method of rising to a climax, which is perhaps the most usual device: but few poems can offer occasion for the recurrence of climax, and its employment would break up an ode into artificial sections, which the poet must repudiate. In pure music the musician has invented many beautiful devices, but in choral music he has not yet shown, so far as I know, any power to match the poet’s liberty in this respect, whose resources are as various as numerous, and are comparable to the freedom and caprices of a dancer, who can at any moment surprise by a gesture, and be still.

Fourthly, the very rhythms of poetry and choral music are different in kind. The rhythms and balances of verse are unbarred, the rhythms of choral music are barred. Even the universally recognized fitness of the interpretation of a common measure in verse by the corresponding common measure in music depends much more on the power and satisfying completeness of the musical form in itself than on any right relation which obtains between words and music under these conditions. Where the poetry has a more elaborated rhythm there are two extremes, between which the musician’s manner of setting must lie. One extreme, the musical, is that he should disregard the poetic rhythm for the sake of new musical ideas, which must of course add beauty and not do violence to the words: the other is that he should follow the elaborate poetic rhythm as nearly as possible. The method of declamation takes this latter extreme; it forbids musical independence, and prefers to identify itself with the poetic rhythm, which in good poetry represents an ideal cadence of speech: but this interpretation is really a convention and a make-believe, and at best only an ingenious translation; and though it may often be desirable, and the occasion of true musical beauty, yet its exclusive use is an abnegation of musical spontaneity for the sake of a secondary, mediate form, conspicuously dependent on something extraneous, and giving prominence to ingenuity rather than to pure æsthetic beauty, so as to provoke criticism rather than unquestioning delight.

Fifthly, the most beautiful effects in poetry are obtained by suggestion. A certain disposition of ideas in words produces a whole result quite out of proportion to the parts; and if it is asked what music can do best, it is something in this same way of indefinite suggestion. Poetry is here the stronger, in that its suggestion is more definitely directed; Music is the stronger in the greater force of the emotion raised. It would seem, therefore, that music could have no more fit and congenial task than to heighten the emotion of some great poetic beauty, the direction of which is supplied by the words. But if it seeks to do this by a method of declamation, it makes this double mistake. First it tries to enforce the poetic means, which it may be assumed are already on full strain, and in exact balance, and will not bear the least disturbance; and secondly, it renounces its own highest power of stirring emotion, because that resides in pure musical beauty, and is dependent on its mysterious quality: for one may say that its power is in proportion to its remoteness from common direct understanding, and that just so far as its sounds are understood to mean something definite they lose their highest emotional power. It would follow from this that the best musical treatment of passages of great poetic beauty is not to declaim them, but, as it were, to woo them and court them and caress them, and deck them with fresh musical beauties, approaching them tenderly now on one side, now on another, and to keep a delicate reserve which shall leave their proper unity unmolested.

Sixthly, if this is true of the highest poetic beauty, how will the declamatory method fare when it has to deal with the commonplaces and bare or even ugly words which are the weaknesses and unkindnesses of language? Just when the poet must deplore that his material is not more musical, it cannot be the musician’s triumph to insist on the defect. The ordinary monosyllabic exclamations are a sufficient example; there is absolutely no declamatory rendering of these which is at all worthy of the emotion which they must often be employed to convey. What can be made of them by a purely musical treatment is seen in the long-drawn melodious sighs with which Carissimi or Purcell interpreted the Ohs and Ahs.

Seventhly, this leads to the more general remark that the inflections of all speech are much more limited in character, number, and scope than those of the trained singing voice. Whence it comes that the imitations of speech in declamatory music have a tendency to fall into a comparatively small number of forms, which, even when most skilfully disguised, are easily recognized by an attentive ear, and soon weary with their sameness. The basis of declamatory music is in fact no broader than that of the old recitativo secco, and it would seem unreasonable to hope that any ingenuity in the superstructure can long disguise this, or save itself ultimately from the same condemnation.

Eighthly, in consideration of the commonest difficulties which arise in setting to music words which have not been specially contrived for it, it appears that, compared with a more purely musical way, the declamatory method is absolutely at a disadvantage. It can do nothing with parentheses or dependent clauses. The weak polysyllables, which have fit place in the diction and rhythm of verse, may be helped out by convention or by pure musical distraction; but declamation can only make them ugly. And as those for their weakness of sound, so other words unable for their sense to bear the stress of singing,—such as metaphorical words of slight meaning, which in poetry contribute but a part of themselves to the main idea,—these declamation would make ridiculous. Nor, on the other hand, with the words and phrases which are generally held most suitable for music is the declamatory method any richer or happier: these are the well-sounding words of broad meaning and their common collocations, which require a fresh imagination to revivify them. But the musician was always at his ease with these words, because his music was free to adorn them with any quantity of enrichment; and this commanded the attention the more completely when the words required none. Now, if they are to be declaimed, they must return to their old prosaic nakedness; and since the attention is to be called to them, they will be even worse off than ever.

The above remarks are sufficient for my purpose; but so many negations may provoke the reader to look for some positive indication of the writer’s opinion as to what sort of words are best suited for music, and what sort of setting they should have. This question is far too wide to be treated summarily; and if it has not been given to me to assist in solving it practically, I cannot venture to meddle with it further. I had hoped, as a matter of fact, to contrive something; but it seems to me that the musician’s difficulty in advancing towards a solution is much increased by the necessity of pleasing large audiences. It is certain that the final appeal is not to the first hearing of any large audience in this country. What sort of music is really in request may be judged from the repertories of our military bands and the programmes of the Royal concerts. Even the highest class concerts I have seen interlarded with unworthy items, which were rapturously received by the fashionable hearers who did not recognize the trap.

“The man that hath no music in himself
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;”

and these were the stratagems to obtain his spoils.

It is possible enough that an audience may enjoy having commonplaces vociferated at them with orchestral accompaniment; but this is nothing. To the musician the poet will say that he is surprised to find a term which is considered a reproach in poetry esteemed as the expression of the best means of its interpretation. To call a poem declamatory or rhetorical is to condemn it; and music is naturally less rhetorical than speech; so that in a declamatory interpretation of poetry Music would seem to abnegate its own excellence for the sake of a quality foreign to itself and repudiated by the art which it is seeking to heighten.

He will not be satisfied by the assurance that the method will serve to introduce and explain poetry to some people who are generally indifferent to it; it will seem to him that the musician is laboring to introduce into pure vocal music the old dramatic crux,—that awkwardness from which it has, in its best forms, been beautifully free. Because in the musical drama that must be sung which should be spoken, why try to make that seem to be spoken which should be sung?

ANALYSIS OF ODE.

This analysis is taken from the concert programme:—

I. An invitation to Music to return to England: that is, in the sense that England should be again pre-eminent for music above other European nations, as she was in the sixteenth century. The three English graces are Liberty, Poetry, and Music.

II. Music invited in the name of Liberty: the idea associated with the forest.

III. Music invited in the name of Poetry: the idea of Poetry associated with pastoral scenes and husbandry.

IV. The Sea introduced as the type of Love; isolating our patriotism, and making our bond with the rest of the world.

V. The national intention gives way to wider human sympathies. Music here considered as the voice of Universal Love, calling and responding throughout the world. A national meaning also underlies, in respect of our world-wide colonization.

VI. Sorrow now invites Music; asserting her need to be the chiefest. The occasion being the celebration of Purcell’s genius, her complaint implies a call for some musical lament for his untimely death.

VII. Music replies with a DIRGE for the dead artist; offering no consolation beyond the expression of woe.

VIII. The chorus consoled, praise dead artists, and pronounce them happy and immortal.

IX. A picture of the ideal world of delight created by Art.

X. The invocation repeated, with the idea of responsibility of our colonization.

ODE TO MUSIC

Written for the Bicentenary Commemoration
of

HENRY PURCELL

ODE TO MUSIC

Written for the Bicentenary Commemoration of Henry Purcell.

I.

Myriad-voicèd Queen, Enchantress of the air,
Bride of the life of man! with tuneful reed,
With string and horn and high-adoring quire
Thy welcome we prepare.
In silver-speaking mirrors of desire,
In joyous ravishment of mystery draw thou near;
With heavenly echo of thoughts, that dreaming lie
Chain’d in unborn oblivion drear,
Thy many-hearted grace restore
Unto our isle our own to be,
And make again our Graces three.

II.

Turn, oh, return! In merry England
Foster’d thou wert with infant Liberty.
Her hallowed oaks that stand
With trembling leaves and giant heart
Drinking in beauty from the summer moon,
Her wildwood, once was dear to thee.

There the birds with tiny art
Earth’s immemorial cradle-tune
Warble at dawn to fern and fawn,
In the budding thickets making merry;
And for their love the primrose faint
Floods the green shade with youthful scent.

Come, thy jocund spring renew
By hyacinthine lakes of blue:
Thy beauty shall enchant the buxom May;
And all the summer months shall strew thy way,
And rose and honeysuckle rear
Their flowery screens, till under fruit and berry
The tall brake groweth golden with the year.

III.

Thee fair Poetry oft hath sought,
Wandering lone in wayward thought,
On level meads by gliding streams,
When summer noon is full of dreams:
And thy loved airs her soul invade,
Haunting retired the willow shade.

Or in some wallèd orchard nook
She communes with her ancient book,
Beneath the branches laden low;
While the high sun o’er bosom’d snow
Smiteth all day the long hill-side,
With ripening cornfields waving wide.

There if thou linger all the year,
No jar of man shall reach thine ear,
Or sweetly come, as when the sound
From hidden villages around,
Threading the woody knolls, is borne
Of bells that dong the Sabbath morn.

IV.

I.

The sea with melancholy war
Moateth about our castled shore;
His world-wide elemental moan
Girdeth our lives with tragic zone.

He, ere men dared his watery path,
Fenced them aloof in wrath;
Their jealous brotherhoods
Sund’ring with bitter floods;
Till science grew and skill,
And their adventurous will
Challenged his boundaries, and went free
To know the round world, and the sea
From midday night to midnight sun
Binding all nations into one.

II.

Yet shall his storm and mastering wave
Assure the empire to the brave;
And to his billowy bass belongs
The music of our patriot songs,
When to the wind his ridges go
In furious following, careering a-row,
Lasht with hail and withering snow;
And ever undaunted hearts outride
His rushing waters wide.

III.

But when the winds, fatigued or fled,
Have left the drooping barks unsped,
And nothing stirs his idle plain
Save fire-breathed ships with silvery train,
While lovingly his waves he layeth,
And his slow heart in passion swells
To the pale moon in heav’n that strayeth,
And all his mighty music deep
Whispers among the heapèd shells,
Or in dark caverns lies asleep,
Then dreams of Peace invite,
Haunting our shore with kisses light;
Nay, even Love’s Paphian Queen hath come
Out of her long-retirèd home
To show again her beauty bright,
And twice or thrice in sight hath play’d
Of a young lover unaffray’d,
And all his verse immortal made.

V.

I.

Love to Love calleth,
Love unto Love replieth:
From the ends of the earth, drawn by invisible bands,
Over the dawning and darkening lands,
Love cometh to Love;

To the pangs of desire;
To the heart by courage and might
Escaped from hell,
From the torment of raging fire,
From the sighs of the drowning main,
From shipwreck of fear and pain,
From the terror of night.

II.

All mankind by Love shall be banded
To combat Evil, the many-handed;
For the spirit of man on beauty feedeth,
The airy fancy he heedeth,
He regardeth Truth in the heavenly height,
In changeful pavilions of loveliness dight,
The sovran sun that knows not the night;
He loveth the beauty of earth,
And the sweet birds’ mirth;
And out of his heart there falleth
A melody-making river
Of passion, that runneth ever
To the ends of the earth and crieth,
That yearneth and calleth;
And Love from the heart of man
To the heart of man replieth:
On the wings of desire
Love cometh to Love.

VI.

I.

To me, to me, fair-hearted Goddess, come,
To Sorrow come,
Where by the grave I linger dumb;
With Sorrow bow thine head,
For all my beauty is dead.
Leave Freedom’s vaunt and playful thought awhile;
Come with thine unimpassioned smile
Of heavenly peace, and with thy fourfold choir
Of fair, uncloying harmony,
Unveil the palaces where man’s desire
Keepeth celestial solemnity.

II.

Lament, fair-hearted queen, lament with me;
For when thy seer died no song was sung,
Nor for our heroes fall’n by land or sea
Hath honor found a tongue,
Nor aught of beauty for their tomb can frame
Worthy their noble name.
Let Mirth go bare; make mute thy dancing string;
With thy majestic consolation
Sweeten our suffering.
Speak thou my woe, that from her pain
My spirit arise to see again
The Truth unknown that keeps our faith,
The Beauty unseen that bates our breath,
The heaven that doth our joy renew,
And drinketh up our tears as dew.

VII.

DIRGE.

Man born of desire
Cometh out of the night,
A wandering spark of fire,
A lonely word of eternal thought,
Echoing in chance and forgot.

I.

He seeth the sun,
He calleth the stars by name,
He saluteth the flowers.
Wonders of land and sea,
The mountain towers
Of ice and air
He seeth, and calleth them fair.
Then he hideth his face:—
Whence he came to pass away
Where all is forgot,
Unmade,—lost for aye
With the things that are not.

II.

He striveth to know,
To unravel the Mind
That veileth in horror;
He wills to adore;
In wisdom he walketh
And loveth his kind;
His laboring breath
Would keep evermore.
Then he hideth his face:—
Whence he came to pass away
Where all is forgot,
Unmade,—lost for aye
With the things that are not.

III.

He dreameth of beauty,
He seeks to create
Fairer and fairer,
To vanquish his fate;
No hindrance he,
No curse will brook;
He maketh a law
No ill shall be.

Then he hideth his face:—
Whence he came to pass away
Where all is forgot,
Unmade,—lost for aye
With the things that are not.

VIII.

Rejoice, ye dead, where’er your spirits dwell;
Rejoice that yet on earth your fame is bright,
And that your names, remembered day and night,
Live on the lips of those who love you well.
’Tis ye that conquered have the powers of Hell
Each with the special grace of your delight;
Ye are the world’s creators, and by might
Alone of heavenly love ye did excel.

Now ye are starry names,
Behind the sun ye climb,
To light the glooms of time
With deathless flames.

IX.

Open for me the gates of delight,
The gates of the garden of man’s desire;
Where spirits touched by heavenly fire
Have planted the trees of life.
Their branches in beauty are spread,
Their fruit divine
To the nations is given for bread
And crushed into wine.

To thee, O man, the sun his truth hath given;
The moon hath whispered in love her silvery dreams;
Night hath unlockt the starry heaven,
The sea the trust of his streams;
And the rapture of woodland spring
Is stayed in its flying,
And Death cannot sting
Its beauty undying.

Fear and Pity discontinue
Their aching beams in colors fine;
Pain and woe forego their might.
After darkness thy leaping sight,
After dumbness thy dancing sound,
After fainting thy heavenly flight,
After sorrow thy pleasure crowned:
Oh, enter the garden of thy delight,
Thy solace is found.

X.

To us, O Queen of sinless grace,
Now at our prayer unveil thy face;
Awake again thy beauty free;
Return and make our Graces three.
And with our thronging strength to the ends of the earth
Thy myriad-voicèd loveliness go forth,
To lead o’er all the world’s wide ways
God’s everlasting praise,
And every heart inspire
With the joy of man in the beauty of Love’s desire.

THE FAIR BRASS.

An effigy of brass,
Trodden by careless feet
Of worshippers that pass,
Beautiful and complete,

Lieth in the sombre aisle
Of this old church unwreckt,
And still from modern style
Shielded by kind neglect.

It shows a warrior armed:
Across his iron breast
His hands by death are charmed
To leave his sword at rest,

Wherewith he led his men
O’er sea, and smote to hell
The astonisht Saracen,
Nor doubted he did well.

Would we could teach our sons
His trust in face of doom,
Or give our bravest ones
A comparable tomb:

Such as to look on shrives
The heart of half its care,
So in each line survives
The spirit that made it fair;

So fair the characters
With which the dusky scroll
That tells his title stirs
A requiem for his soul.

Yet dearer far to me,
And brave as he, are they
Who fight by land and sea
For England at this day;

Whose vile memorials,
In mournful marbles gilt,
Deface the beauteous walls
By growing glory built.

Heirs of our antique shrines,
Sires of our future fame,
Whose starry honor shines
In many a noble name

Across the deathful days,
Linked in the brotherhood
That loves our country’s praise
And lives for heavenly good.

NOVEMBER.

I.

The lonely season in lonely lands, when fled
Are half the birds, and mists lie low, and the sun
Is rarely seen, nor strayeth far from his bed;
The short days pass unwelcomed one by one.

Out by the ricks the mantled engine stands
Crestfall’n, deserted,—for now all hands
Are told to the plough,—and ere it is dawn appear
The teams following and crossing far and near,
As hour by hour they broaden the brown bands
Of the striped fields; and behind them firk and prance
The heavy rooks, and daws gray-pated dance:
Or awhile, surmounting a crest, against the sky
Pictured a whole team stands, or now near by
Above the lane they shout, lifting the share,
By the trim hedgerow bloomed with purple air;
Where, under the thorns, dead leaves in huddle lie
Packed by the gales of Autumn, and in and out
The small wrens glide
With a happy note of cheer,
And yellow amorets flutter above and about,
Gay, familiar in fear.

II.

And now, if the night shall be cold, across the sky
Linnets and twites, in small flocks helter-skelter,
All the afternoon to the gardens fly,
From thistle-pastures hurrying to gain the shelter
Of American rhododendron or cherry-laurel;
And here and there, near chilly setting of sun,
In an isolated tree a congregation
Of starlings chatter and chide,
Thickset as summer leaves, in garrulous quarrel.
Suddenly they hush as one,—
The tree-top springs,—
And off, with a whirr of wings,
They fly by the score
To the holly-thicket, and there with myriads more
Dispute for the roosts; and from the unseen nation
A babel of tongues, like running water unceasing,
Makes live the wood, the flocking cries increasing,
Wrangling discordantly, incessantly,
While falls the night on them self-occupied,—
The long, dark night, that lengthens slow,
Deepening with winter to starve grass and tree,
And soon to bury in snow
The earth, that, sleeping ’neath her frozen stole,
Shall dream a dream crept from the sunless pole
Of how her end shall be.

THE SOUTH WIND.

I.

The south wind rose at dusk of the winter day,
The warm breath of the western sea
Circling wrapped the isle with his cloak of cloud,
And it now reached even to me, at dusk of the day,
And moaned in the branches aloud:
While here and there, in patches of dark space,
A star shone forth from its heavenly place,
As a spark that is borne in the smoky chase;
And, looking up, there fell on my face—
Could it be drops of rain,
Soft as the wind, that fell on my face?
Gossamers light as threads of the summer dawn,
Sucked by the sun from midmost calms of the main,
From groves of coral islands secretly drawn,
O’er half the round of earth to be driven,
Now to fall on my face
In silky skeins spun from the mists of heaven.

II.

Who art thou, in wind and darkness and soft rain
Thyself that robest, that bendest in sighing pines
To whisper thy truth? that usest for signs
A hurried glimpse of the moon, the glance of a star
In the rifted sky?
Who art thou, that with thee I
Woo and am wooed?
That, robing thyself in darkness and soft rain,
Choosest my chosen solitude,
Coming so far
To tell thy secret again,
As a mother her child on her folding arm,
Of a winter night by a flickering fire,
Telleth the same tale o’er and o’er
With gentle voice, and I never tire,
So imperceptibly changeth the charm,
As Love on buried ecstasy buildeth his tower,
Like as the stem that beareth the flower
By trembling is knit to power.
Ah! long ago
In thy first rapture I renounced my lot,
The vanity, the despondency, and the woe,
And seeking thee to know,
Well was’t for me, and evermore
I am thine, I know not what.

III.

For me thou seekest ever, me wondering a day
In the eternal alternations, me
Free for a stolen moment of chance
To dream a beautiful dream
In the everlasting dance
Of speechless worlds, the unsearchable scheme,
To me thou findest the way,
Me and whomsoe’er
I have found my dream to share
Still with thy charm encircling; even to-night
To me and my love in darkness and soft rain
Under the sighing pines thou comest again,
And staying our speech with mystery of delight,
Of the kiss that I give a wonder thou makest,
And the kiss that I take thou takest.

WINTER NIGHTFALL.

The day begins to droop,—
Its course is done;
But nothing tells the place
Of the setting sun.

The hazy darkness deepens,
And up the lane
You may hear, but cannot see,
The homing wain.

An engine pants and hums
In the farm hard by:
Its lowering smoke is lost
In the lowering sky.

The soaking branches drip,
And all night through
The dropping will not cease
In the avenue.

A tall man there in the house
Must keep his chair:
He knows he will never again
Breathe the spring air.

His heart is worn with work;
He is giddy and sick
If he rise to go as far
As the nearest rick.

He thinks of his morn of life,
His hale, strong years;
And braves as he may the night
Of darkness and tears.

ERRATA. (corrected in this etext.)

Page 40, second line from bottom, for “discontinue,” read “disentwine.”

Page 51, third line from top, for “thy,” read “the.”

FOOTNOTES:

[1] For example, there is a passage in Dr. Parry’s recent work, “The Art of Music,” which will illustrate what I mean. It is in the chapter on Modern Tendencies. See especially, page 311.

[2] I omit the idea, the musical suggestion of which is a feat of genius, independent of style. The apprehension and exhibition of the mood is generally considered a simple matter, but really it affords a wide field for subtlety of interpretation. I have, for the sake of simplicity, assumed that in their choral music the older musicians altogether disregarded the speech inflection of the phrase; but this is not quite true, and since, especially in such words as they usually set, the speech inflection is often uncertain and unimportant, or altogether a nonentity, and would very well correspond with almost any simple musical expression of the mood, this distinction between ancients and moderns cannot always be seen, or will appear only as a difference of degree.

[3] Throughout these remarks I speak chiefly of the Ode. It is necessary in so wide a subject to aim at a definite mark, and while an ode happens to be in question, the Ode is also the example which is taken by Dr. Parry in the passage to which I have referred the reader.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PURCELL ODE, AND OTHER POEMS ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg electronic works provided that:

- • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

- • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

- • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 41 Watchung Plaza #516, Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

Table of Contents

- Purcell Ode And Other Poems

- CONTENTS
- PREFACE
- ANALYSIS OF ODE.

- ODE TO MUSIC Written for the Bicentenary Commemoration of HENRY PURCELL

- ODE TO MUSIC Written for the Bicentenary Commemoration of Henry Purcell.

- I.

- II.

- III.

- IV.

- I.

- II.

- III.

- V.

- I.

- II.

- VI.

- I.

- II.

- VII.

- DIRGE.

- I.

- II.

- III.

- VIII.

- IX.

- X.

- THE FAIR BRASS.

- NOVEMBER.

- I.

- II.

- THE SOUTH WIND.

- I.

- II.

- III.

- WINTER NIGHTFALL.

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE