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{{Short description|1918 composition by Hubert Parry}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2018}}
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| genre = [[Choral music]]
| genre = [[Choral music]]
| style =
| style =
| text = Poems by [[Henry Vaughan]], [[John Davies (poet)|John Davies]], [[Thomas Campion]], [[John Gibson Lockhart]], [[John Donne]]; and the [[Book of Common Prayer]]
| text = Poems by [[Henry Vaughan]], [[John Davies (poet, born 1569)|John Davies]], [[Thomas Campion]], [[John Gibson Lockhart]], [[John Donne]]; and the [[Book of Common Prayer]]
| language = English
| language = English
| time = <!-- time signature if unusual or worth mentioning -->
| time = <!-- time signature if unusual or worth mentioning -->
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| first_recording =
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}}
}}

'''''Songs of Farewell''''' is a set of six choral [[motet]]s by the British composer [[Hubert Parry]]. The pieces were composed between 1916 and 1918 and were among his last compositions before his death.
'''''Songs of Farewell''''' is a set of six choral [[motet]]s by the British composer [[Hubert Parry]]. The pieces were composed between 1916 and 1918 and were among his last compositions before his death.


==Background==
==Background==
The songs were written during the [[First World War]] when a number of Parry's pupils at the [[Royal College of Music]] were being killed in action. Parry's choice of texts are thought to reflect a yearning to escape the violence of a world at war, and to find peace in a heavenly realm. In contrast to Parry's assured 1916 setting of [[William Blake]]'s poem "[[And did those feet in ancient time]]", "Jerusalem", ''Songs of Farewell'' is seen as representing a decline in national confidence.<ref name="hughes">{{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=Meirion |last2=Stradling |first2=Robert |last3=Stradling |first3=R. A. |title=English Musical Renaissance, 1840-1940 |date=2001 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719058301 |page=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-FzJC-B51EC&q=Songs%20of%20Farewell%20parry&pg=PA89 |accessdate=26 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="quinney">{{cite book |last1=Parry |first1=C. Hubert H. |editor1-last=Quinney |editor1-first=Robert |title=Songs of Farewell (notes to the vocal score) |date=2 November 2017 |isbn=9780193518469 }}</ref> During the war, Parry lost many of his students, [[George Butterworth]] was killed, [[Arthur Bliss]] wounded and [[Ivor Gurney]] was gassed. Having been a lifelong Germanophile, who previously believed that Britain would never go to war with the Kaiser, the war proved to be a time of personal despair for Parry, which is reflected in the six pieces.<ref>https://www.newcollegechoir.com/news/?pid=7&nid=1&storyid=73</ref>
The songs were written during the [[First World War]] when a number of Parry's pupils at the [[Royal College of Music]] were being killed in action. Parry's choice of texts are thought to reflect a yearning to escape the violence of a world at war, and to find peace in a heavenly realm. In contrast to Parry's assured 1916 setting of [[William Blake]]'s poem "[[And did those feet in ancient time]]", "Jerusalem", ''Songs of Farewell'' is seen as representing a decline in national confidence.<ref name="hughes">{{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=Meirion |last2=Stradling |first2=Robert |last3=Stradling |first3=R. A. |title=English Musical Renaissance, 1840-1940 |date=2001 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719058301 |page=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-FzJC-B51EC&q=Songs%20of%20Farewell%20parry&pg=PA89 |access-date=26 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="quinney">{{cite book |last1=Parry |first1=C. Hubert H. |editor1-last=Quinney |editor1-first=Robert |title=Songs of Farewell (notes to the vocal score) |date=2 November 2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780193518469 }}</ref> During the war, Parry lost many of his students, [[George Butterworth]] was killed, [[Arthur Bliss]] wounded and [[Ivor Gurney]] was gassed. Having been a lifelong Germanophile, who previously believed that Britain would never go to war with the Kaiser, the war proved to be a time of personal despair for Parry, which is reflected in the six pieces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newcollegechoir.com/news/?pid=7&nid=1&storyid=73|title=Choir of New College Oxford - Parry: Songs of Farewell and other choral works|website=Newcollegechoir.com|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>


==Performance==
==Performance==
The first concert performance of ''Songs of Farewell'' took place at the Royal College of Music on 22 May 1916, when [[The Bach Choir]] sang the first five pieces, directed by [[Hugh Allen (conductor)|Hugh Allen]]. Parry's piece was well received by critics; reviews in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and ''[[The Musical Times]]'' praised the pieces, and a review in ''[[The Times]]'' said that the fifth song, ""At the round earth's imagined corners", was "one of the most impressive short choral works written in recent years".<ref name="keen">{{cite book |last1=Keen |first1=Basil |title=The Bach Choir: The First Hundred Years |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781351546072 |pages=96–7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YS4rDwAAQBAJ&q=parry%20songs%20of%20farewell&pg=PA96 |accessdate=28 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
The first concert performance of ''Songs of Farewell'' took place at the Royal College of Music on 22 May 1916, when [[The Bach Choir]] sang the first five pieces, directed by [[Hugh Allen (conductor)|Hugh Allen]]. Parry's piece was well received by critics; reviews in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and ''[[The Musical Times]]'' praised the pieces, and a review in ''[[The Times]]'' said that the fifth song, ""At the round earth's imagined corners", was "one of the most impressive short choral works written in recent years".<ref name="keen">{{cite book |last1=Keen |first1=Basil |title=The Bach Choir: The First Hundred Years |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781351546072 |pages=96–7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YS4rDwAAQBAJ&q=parry%20songs%20of%20farewell&pg=PA96 |access-date=28 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

Parry died on 7 October 1918 and one of the pieces from ''Songs of Farewell'', "There is an old belief", was sung at the composer's funeral in [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref name="Dibble">{{cite book |last1=Dibble |first1=Jeremy |title=C. Hubert H. Parry: His Life and Music |date=1992 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=9780193153301 |pages=496 |language=en}}</ref> The first performance of the complete set of six songs was at a memorial service to Parry held in the chapel of [[Exeter College, Oxford]] on 23 February 1919, four months after his death.<ref name="shrock">{{cite book |last1=Shrock |first1=Dennis |title=Choral Repertoire |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=9780195327786 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SVnDAAAQBAJ&q=My%20soul%2C%20there%20is%20a%20country&pg=PA536 |access-date=26 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref>


Parry died on 7 October 1918 and one of the pieces from ''Songs of Farewell'', "There is an old belief", was sung at the composer's funeral in [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref name="Dibble">{{cite book |last1=Dibble |first1=Jeremy |title=C. Hubert H. Parry: His Life and Music |date=1992 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=9780193153301 |pages=496 |language=en}}</ref> The first performance of the complete set of six songs was at a memorial service to Parry held in the chapel of [[Exeter College, Oxford]] on 23 February 1919, four months after his death.<ref name="shrock">{{cite book |last1=Shrock |first1=Dennis |title=Choral Repertoire |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=9780195327786 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SVnDAAAQBAJ&q=My%20soul%2C%20there%20is%20a%20country&pg=PA536 |accessdate=26 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
Songs from the ''Songs of Farewell'' are now part of the repertoire of [[Anglican church music]] and are often sung as anthems at services in churches and cathedrals.<ref name="routley">{{cite book |last1=Routley |first1=Erik |last2=Dakers |first2=Lionel |title=A Short History of English Church Music |date=1997 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=9780264674407 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jd3TAwAAQBAJ&q=%22my%20soul%20there%20is%20a%20country%22%20church%20anthem&pg=PA83 |access-date=29 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref>


Motet 1 (''My soul, there is a country'') was sung during [[Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II#Funeral service|the funeral service of Elizabeth II]] at [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>see also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9e6KEQ58Fg youtube.com] (3:36 min)</ref>
Songs from the ''Songs of Farewell'' are now part of the repertoire of [[Anglican church music]] and are often sung as anthems at services in churches and cathedrals.<ref name="routley">{{cite book |last1=Routley |first1=Erik |last2=Dakers |first2=Lionel |title=A Short History of English Church Music |date=1997 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=9780264674407 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jd3TAwAAQBAJ&q=%22my%20soul%20there%20is%20a%20country%22%20church%20anthem&pg=PA83 |accessdate=29 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref>


==Songs==
==Songs==
[[File:Hubert Parry c1893b.jpg|thumb|upright|The composer, [[Hubert Parry]]]]
[[File:Hubert Parry c1893b.jpg|thumb|upright|The composer, [[Hubert Parry]]]]
The six motets consist of poems by British poets and a text from the [[Psalter]] found in the 1662 [[Book of Common Prayer]], set to music for [[a cappella|unaccompanied choir]].<ref name="shrock" />
The six motets consist of poems by British poets and a text from the [[Coverdale Bible|Coverdale]] translation of the [[Psalter]] found in the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']], set to music for [[a cappella|unaccompanied choir]].<ref name="shrock" />


;"My soul, there is a country"
;"My soul, there is a country"
:Text by [[Henry Vaughan]], set for [[SATB]] choir in [[E minor]]
:Text by [[Henry Vaughan]], set for [[SATB]] choir in [[G major]]


;"I know my soul hath power"
;"I know my soul hath power"
:Text by [[John Davies (poet)|John Davies]], set for SATB choir in [[B flat major]]
:Text by [[John Davies (poet, born 1569)|John Davies]], set for SATB choir in [[B flat major]]


;"Never weather-beaten sail"
;"Never weather-beaten sail"
Line 57: Line 61:


;"At the round earth's imagined corners"
;"At the round earth's imagined corners"
:Text from ''[[Holy Sonnets]]'' No. 7 by [[John Donne]], set for SSAATTBB choir in [[B minor]]
:Text from ''[[Holy Sonnets]]'' No. 7 by [[John Donne]], set for SSAATBB choir in [[B minor]]


;"Lord, let me know mine end"
;"Lord, let me know mine end"
Line 67: Line 71:
* ''Hubert Parry — Songs of Farewell'' — [[Tenebrae (choir)|Tenebrae]], [[Nigel Short (singer)|Nigel Short]] ([[Signum Records]], 2011)
* ''Hubert Parry — Songs of Farewell'' — [[Tenebrae (choir)|Tenebrae]], [[Nigel Short (singer)|Nigel Short]] ([[Signum Records]], 2011)
* ''Parry: Songs of Farewell and other choral works'' — Choir of New College, Oxford, [[Robert Quinney]] Novum Records, August 2018
* ''Parry: Songs of Farewell and other choral works'' — Choir of New College, Oxford, [[Robert Quinney]] Novum Records, August 2018
* ''An Old Belief'' — [[The Sixteen]], [[Harry Christophers]] (The Sixteen Productions Ltd, 2022)


==See also==
==See also==
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[[Category:Anglican church music]]
[[Category:Anglican church music]]
[[Category:Psalm settings]]
[[Category:Psalm settings]]
[[Category:Motets]]
[[Category:Musical settings of poems by John Donne]]

Latest revision as of 03:48, 25 August 2024

Songs of Farewell
Six choral motets by Hubert Parry
Year1916 (1916)
PeriodRomantic
GenreChoral music
TextPoems by Henry Vaughan, John Davies, Thomas Campion, John Gibson Lockhart, John Donne; and the Book of Common Prayer
LanguageEnglish
Composed1916 (1916) – 1918 (1918): England
Premiere
Date22 May 1916,
LocationRoyal College of Music (first 5 pieces only)[1]

Songs of Farewell is a set of six choral motets by the British composer Hubert Parry. The pieces were composed between 1916 and 1918 and were among his last compositions before his death.

Background

[edit]

The songs were written during the First World War when a number of Parry's pupils at the Royal College of Music were being killed in action. Parry's choice of texts are thought to reflect a yearning to escape the violence of a world at war, and to find peace in a heavenly realm. In contrast to Parry's assured 1916 setting of William Blake's poem "And did those feet in ancient time", "Jerusalem", Songs of Farewell is seen as representing a decline in national confidence.[2][3] During the war, Parry lost many of his students, George Butterworth was killed, Arthur Bliss wounded and Ivor Gurney was gassed. Having been a lifelong Germanophile, who previously believed that Britain would never go to war with the Kaiser, the war proved to be a time of personal despair for Parry, which is reflected in the six pieces.[4]

Performance

[edit]

The first concert performance of Songs of Farewell took place at the Royal College of Music on 22 May 1916, when The Bach Choir sang the first five pieces, directed by Hugh Allen. Parry's piece was well received by critics; reviews in The Daily Telegraph and The Musical Times praised the pieces, and a review in The Times said that the fifth song, ""At the round earth's imagined corners", was "one of the most impressive short choral works written in recent years".[5]

Parry died on 7 October 1918 and one of the pieces from Songs of Farewell, "There is an old belief", was sung at the composer's funeral in St Paul's Cathedral.[6] The first performance of the complete set of six songs was at a memorial service to Parry held in the chapel of Exeter College, Oxford on 23 February 1919, four months after his death.[1]

Songs from the Songs of Farewell are now part of the repertoire of Anglican church music and are often sung as anthems at services in churches and cathedrals.[7]

Motet 1 (My soul, there is a country) was sung during the funeral service of Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey.[8]

Songs

[edit]
The composer, Hubert Parry

The six motets consist of poems by British poets and a text from the Coverdale translation of the Psalter found in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, set to music for unaccompanied choir.[1]

"My soul, there is a country"
Text by Henry Vaughan, set for SATB choir in G major
"I know my soul hath power"
Text by John Davies, set for SATB choir in B flat major
"Never weather-beaten sail"
Text by Thomas Campion, set for SSATB choir in C major
"There is an old belief"
Text by John Gibson Lockhart, set for SSATBB choir in G major
"At the round earth's imagined corners"
Text from Holy Sonnets No. 7 by John Donne, set for SSAATBB choir in B minor
"Lord, let me know mine end"
Text from Psalm 39 from the Book of Common Prayer, set for SATB double choir in D major

Notable recordings

[edit]

See also

[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Songs of Farewell.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Shrock, Dennis (2009). Choral Repertoire. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 9780195327786. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. ^ Hughes, Meirion; Stradling, Robert; Stradling, R. A. (2001). English Musical Renaissance, 1840-1940. Manchester University Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780719058301. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. ^ Parry, C. Hubert H. (2 November 2017). Quinney, Robert (ed.). Songs of Farewell (notes to the vocal score). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780193518469.
  4. ^ "Choir of New College Oxford - Parry: Songs of Farewell and other choral works". Newcollegechoir.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  5. ^ Keen, Basil (2017). The Bach Choir: The First Hundred Years. Routledge. pp. 96–7. ISBN 9781351546072. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  6. ^ Dibble, Jeremy (1992). C. Hubert H. Parry: His Life and Music. Clarendon Press. p. 496. ISBN 9780193153301.
  7. ^ Routley, Erik; Dakers, Lionel (1997). A Short History of English Church Music. A&C Black. p. 83. ISBN 9780264674407. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  8. ^ see also youtube.com (3:36 min)
[edit]
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